Photograph depicts group of unidentified men and women gathered around table in what appears to be the community lounge. Curtain, counter, and far wall in background.
Photograph depicts three unidentified women (two behind counter) at till in grocery store. "MEAT" and FROZEN FOOD" sections visible in background.
Photograph depicts unidentified man wearing apron while handling fruit in produce section of grocery store. Second individual semi-visible on far right.
Photograph depicts group of men and women on rocky shore, pile of fish in foreground. Photo speculated to have been taken in the Telegraph Creek area, possibly at the Tahltan or Stikine River, B.C.
Photograph depicts two fire trucks semi-visible in garage with the sign "FIRE HALL". House and snowmobile can be seen in left midground, truck and power pole in right foreground. Mountains in background. Warning visible on front of trucks: "KEEP BACK 500m".
Photograph depicts large auditorium, seats filled with unidentified individuals (mostly children). Rounded stage in foreground, curtain on wall in background. This building was built in the late 1970s and belonged to the community's cultural society.
Photograph depicts examination chair and dental supplies. Winter scene visible through window in background.
Photograph depicts three unidentified individuals browsing magazine section of store.
Photograph depicts six unidentified individuals in interior of curling rink.
Photograph depicts mobile home modified for Cassiar winters (steeply sloped roof added). Yellow suburban parked in driveway in left foreground. Forest trees and mountainside visible in background. Sign reading "686" posted on tree in left foreground. Believed to be the home of Gerry Cooper.
Photograph depicts interior of church believed to be the All Saints Anglican Community Church at Cassiar, B.C. Table and pulpit in foreground, pews and door in background. Stained glass windows line both sides of the building.
Photograph depicts church believed to be the All Saints Anglican Community Church at Cassiar, B.C. Trees and fence in foreground, forest and mountain in background.
Photograph depicts six children playing hockey on indoor ice rink, goalie and sideboards visible in background.
Photograph depicts group of children standing in front of diving board, watching a peer dive into water below. Group of swimmers visible in background below domed roof of pool.
Photograph depicts unidentified child climbing front of slide in playground. Monkey bars in foreground, mobile homes in background. Trees visible throughout.
Photograph depicts copy of the February 1978 issue of "Cassiar Courier / the Voice of Cassiar Country". Front page features "RAYBESTOS MANHATTAN AWARD" and "PUBLIC HEALTH IN CASSIAR".
Photograph depicts two unidentified individuals in canoe on Boya Lake, B.C. (formerly known as Chain Lakes). Foliage silhouetted in foreground; forest and hills on opposite shore in background.
Photograph depicts trees and pickup trucks in front of long building speculated to be an apartment residence.
Photograph depicts exposed asbestos fibre in talus.
Photograph of CIR Drill master in what is believed to be the mountains surround Cassiar.
Photograph depicts three men with fishing gear. Trees and mountains in background. Left to right: Plato Malezemoff (holding fish), Jack Christian, Tam Zimmermann.
Photograph depicts three men fishing from shore. Water and trees in background. Left to right: Jack Christian, Plato Malezemoff, Tam Zimmermann.
Photograph depicts three men fishing from shore. Water and trees in background. Left to right: Jack Christian, Plato Malezemoff, Tam Zimmermann.
Photograph depicts large Caterpillar engine on flatbed. Road in foreground, trees in background. Accompanying note reads: "MTCE 4-01 (b) Cat 3612 Engine".
Photograph depicts large Caterpillar engine in large shop with sheeted walls and brick floor. Accompanying note reads: "MTCE 4-01 (b) Cat 3612 Engine".
Photograph depicts large Caterpillar engine against painted brick wall in building with brick floor. Miscellaneous equipment in background. Accompanying note reads: "MTCE 4-01 (b) Cat 3612 Engine".
Photograph depicts the Cassiar townsite behind shadow in foreground. Plantsite can be seen including the mill, dry rock storage building, tailings pile, and many other buildings. Mountains in background. Handwritten annotation on recto: "<- 13 1/2" ->". (This photograph was made into a promotional poster.)
Photographs of various Cassiar Staff at work. There is extensive annotations on the back of each photo explaining who is depicted and where they are working.
This file contains images of a land dispute around Cassiar. The photographs depict a cabin on a lot, a destroyed cabin, and outhouses. The accompanied documents in the original file refer to the subjects of "Claims, Leases, and Land lots," and it is implied that there were issues of squatters, illegal occupation, and mineral claims.
Fonds consists of textual, photographic, cartographic, electronic and promotional films/video recordings related to the mining operations of Cassiar Asbestos Mining Corporation (CAMC) and creation of Cassiar townsite. CAMC records primarily consist of records related to mining operations including construction, engineering, daily mining operations, administration of CAMC, tallies of extractions, labour and union activities, corporate events and visits by dignitaries. Townsite records are primarily visual representations of townsite construction, including the creation of health, education and community services including Cassiar's private hospital, school, library, as well as townsite images. Photographs include documentation of natural and man-made landscapes within the Cassiar region of Northern BC. Other holdings include a near complete run of Cassiar's community newspaper.
Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd.Photographs depict aerial views of the Cassiar townsite, plantsite, tailings pile, mine road, bench and pit mine, mine buildings (tramline loading station, crusher, shop, and garage), and surrounding mountain range. Here "aerial" refers to photos depicting a large area and taken from the air or from a high point of elevation.
Stick, boom, and bucket of a "NORTHWEST" cable shovel excavator can be seen left of a steep wall of earth in lower level of construction area. Construction worker is partially visible in foreground on far right. Building materials in background.
Photograph depicts man driving bulldozer in front of framework for Crusher building, view facing into the mountain. Excavated dirt in foreground.
Photograph depicts a round bucket attached to the main hook line of a crane and suspended over building framework in crusher construction site (crane not visible in image). Men stand around the bucket on high level of crusher building. A dirt road and long building believed to be housing conveyor "B" can be seen in background.
Photograph depicts a round bucket attached to the main hook line of a crane (crane not visible in image) suspended over building framework in crusher construction site. Four construction workers stand around the bucket. Two men can be seen on roof of long building in background believed to be the section of the crusher building which housed conveyor B. Dirt road crosses midground.
The Cassiar Asbestos Corporation and townsite records encompass a massive archival holding of approximately 1,600 bankers boxes. A box level inventory was created by student employees of the archives over a 15-year period. This inventory is provided here for access purposes only and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
In 1952 the Cassiar Asbestos Mining Corporation constructed an asbestos open-pit mine and mill and created a town site for its workers that became the town of Cassiar, British Columbia, 50 miles south of the Yukon border, and 80 miles north of Dease Lake. For 40 years Cassiar was a thriving asbestos mining town with a population at its peak of about 2500, with production statistics for 1989, recording over 60 million tonnes of ore mined, producing a billion dollars of new wealth. In 1989 Cassiar added an underground mine to the site, and despite attempts to run it profitably, in 1992 the entire mine closed partially due to the global market decline in the demand for asbestos, resulting in the closure of the town, and the move of its workers and families out of Cassiar. An auction was held to sell off all the mining equipment, townsite infrastructure, its buildings, people’s residences and the site was bull-dozed, with many houses burned to the ground. Today little remains in this remote area of Northern British Columbia to mark Cassiar’s industrial, economic or social history.
In 1992 the University of Northern British Columbia acquired the holdings of CAMC and the Cassiar townsite recognizing its potential for academic research, as the records could provide insight into natural resource industry extraction operations in Northern BC from mid to late 20th century, illustrative of ‘boom & bust’ industries, and to provide context to the development of the Cassiar Asbestos Mining Corporation and the history of the ‘life’ of a one-industry company town. The holdings document mining operations by CAMC and of the town site of Cassiar, originally consisting of the equivalent of 1800+ bankers’ boxes, including records on construction, engineering, operations, administration of CAMC, tallies of extractions, labour and union activities, corporate events and visits by dignitaries (including Prime Minister Trudeau who visited CAMC’s northern operations unit in Clinton Creek in 1968 and M.P. Iona Campagnolo in 1978). As CAMC was owner of both the mine and the Cassiar town, the company provided municipal services (i.e. sewer, water, and electricity) for its workers and their families. The archived municipal records document townsite construction, including the creation of health, education and community services such as Cassiar’s private hospital, school, library, community centre, hockey arena, and retail store. The holdings also include extensive visual documentation of natural and man-man landscapes within this remote and scenic area of Northern British Columbia. The formats of the archival holdings are diverse consisting of textual, photographic, cartographic materials, electronic records, films, promotional video-recordings, and a near complete run of the Cassiar community’s print newspaper.
File contains photographs featuring members of the Board of Directors of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd., which was formed on the 17th of May, 1951. Cassiar's forerunner was a company named Conwest, formed in 1534, a consolidation of two companies owned by Fred Martin Connell and his brother W. Harold Connell. The first board of directors included the Connell brothers, George Armstrong, John E. Kennedy, Charles & Arthur Mortimer, and Charles Rainforth Elliot (chartered accountant and secretary-treasurer of Conwest & Cassiar). Directors depicted in this file include F.M Connell, Harold Connell, Charles Elliot, John E. Kennedy, George Armstrong, Ken A. Creery, John Drybrough, Tam Zimmermann, George Washington Smith (president of Bell Asbestos Mines), Nick Gritzuk, Jack Christian (general manager, president, and CEO). Other individuals depicted include Fred Murry, Andre Beguin, Plato Malozemoff from Newmont Mining (co-founder of Cassiar with F.M. Connell), Alfred Lloyd Penhale (founder and CEO of Asbestos Corporation of Canada Ltd.), C.B. Brown, Pierre Marcotte, Francis Parker Smith (brother of George Smith), Bill Oughtred, Bill Johnson, and a Mr. Janitsch. File also includes a portrait of an unidentified director of Cassiar from Turner and Newall in England, taken at the corporate club in Toronto. Group portraits were taken at the Cassiar Valley, the office building, "House 130," fishing outings, and at formal events in unidentified locations.
Photograph depicts two blasthole drills on bench in mine, old garage visible in centre background. Snow-covered mountain range in background.
Four construction workers stand to left of blasthole drill number "604" among many empty cardboard boxes. Mountain range can be seen in background.
Photograph depicts William (Bill) Storie at location known as Limestone Mountain, southwest of Cassiar, B.C. Photo features profile of Bill, hands in pocket, Cassiar valley and mountains in background. Storie was a renowned prospector in the Cassiar area, and the new school at Cassiar was named for him in 1992.
Photograph of Cassiar's Chief Geologist Bill Plumb who led many exhibitions for the purposes of Cassiar's outside exploration endeavors. Various photos in this collection depict Bill on some of these exhibitions.
Photograph depicts benches after strip mining at Cassiar. Drill visible in distance, ore haul trucks on road in foreground.
Photograph depicts benches above open pit at Cassiar mine. Drills and haulpaks visible in centre image.
Handwritten caption beside this photo reads: "Elaborate barricades required due to amount of loose rock falling continuously". Three men work in area confined by barricades made of vertical metal rods and horizontal wood planks. Miscellaneous building material and supplies cover the ground. Rock pile in foreground on right.
Three men work in area confined by barricades made of vertical metal rods and horizontal wood planks (see item 2000.1.1.2.352). Two ladders in foreground, (one being used by construction worker). Lumber and semi-finished walls can be seen at higher level of elevation in background.
File contains photographs depicting superintendents accepting safety awards on behalf of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation ltd, and BCIT Scholarship Winners.
Photograph depicts samples of Cassiar asbestos.
File contains images relating to Incident & Accident Investigations and Occurrences. The photographs are grouped into sets relating to separate incidents.
File contains photographs related primarily to the following subject areas: personnel vehicle accidents, mine vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, fires, and rock falls in the pit mine.
Identified objects include Euclid ore hauling trucks, Wabco ore haulage trucks, drill rigs, derailed train car, Clark forklift, dump trucks, twisted steel girder, and cat machine.
Locations identified include the townsite, mill building, pit mine, tramline, railroad, the powerhouse, the plantsite, and the underground mine.
The following is abbreviated description of the incidents documented in this file:
- Photos and negatives of a rock slide in the pit mine, a flooding creek, a house severely damaged by fire, a parking lot in Cassiar, and what are speculated to be oil drums.
- Various of Finning Tractor and equipment damage incidents, one occurred on 2 July 1981 because of HOS blade, another in Nov, 1987, and another in Oct. 1986. Also Euclid accidents, of which one occurred 29 May 1987
- Photos of split fibre bags in snow, a damaged brown car in Cassiar parking lot, various Blast Hole Drill accidents, of which one occurred in pit in September 1985, and another planned blast that failed to detonate - powergel 'A' slurry failure on 10 June 1985.
- a derailed train, and a young woman measuring damaged steel trellis.
- Photos of Drill #707 fallen over in bank, a broken haulage truck, a fire damaged truck, and of Drill and Wzbco accident, #650 Haulage Truck accident on Oct. 24, 1990, and another accident near gas pump area involving truck on 5 Feb. 1987.
- Photos of damaged tramline after avalanche with annotated envelope "Bill Zemenchick", a set of photos showing tramline trackrope incident in 1986, and a derailed tramline carts in discharge area on 6 October 1986.
- Photos of Pressure Packer Accumulator Failure from the Plantsite in 1986, incident neraby Fibre Storage building involving #872 Forklift during 80s, another incident involving the #489 Hydraulic Shovel in the Mine during 80s.
- Photos of broken windshield and overloaded bucket on 30 April 1985, a screw gun malfunction caused by outlet having 600v power source in 1985, incident caused injury.
- Photos of "G" conveyor accident in April 1988, equipment damage in Underground mine in 1990, damaged screens in Mill, malfunctioning blade incident 11 Jan. 1992.
- Photos of Cat Engine cracking, damaged garbage truck, Haulage Truck engine failure on 27 Oct. 1986, Truck #84 backed into trench on 17 Oct. 1990, a loader that caught fire 21 June 1989, a grader accident on 21 Nov. 1985, and Haul track #59 broken tie rod that caused significant equipment damage.
- Photos of a fuel oil spill on 11 June 1990 in the Cassiar valley around plantsite.
- Photos of ground failure in Cassiar open pit 22 June 1988, 5 May 1987, and 2 Sept. 1987.
- Photos of damaged tires and damaged cart, a panfeeder accident in trench, shovel accidents on 6 March 1986 and 15 November 1986, Cylinder rod accident on 7 March 1986, manhole incident 9 April 1984, snow damage to building 29 March 1982, another loader engine fire on 3 Sept. 1987, and a broken tail light on 6 April 1988.
- Photos of accident in Underground mine when drilling piece of shotcrete fell on 20 June 1991, incident of disconnecting sling from chute causing damage on 4 July 1990, and accident in open pit of machinery going off road on 14 January 1988.
- Photos of Mine Garage Parts-room fire collection; 18 January 1986, also included are two photographs of a Euclid truck - kept with collection of context. Truck could have been used to transport debris.
- Important collection of three photographs of scoop tram sabotage incident - "foul play" on 15 June 1990. The Scoop tram was used in the underground mine.
Some of the above accidents involved personnel and therefore access is restricted - See Archivist for accessibility.
Typed annotation on caption below photograph: "General Superintendent A.C. Beguin receiving 1965 Safety Award for Open Pits and Quarries in British Columbia from Mr. R.B. Bonar, Dept. of Mines and Petroleum Resources." Photograph depicts A.C. Beguin shaking hands with Mr. Bonar as he accepts a large plaque. Counter bar and curtains in background.
This collection is proposed Cassiar development for the operating budget in 1979. The photographs are of poster-size presentation information. Topics covered include: operating graph of cost vs. fibre production, productivity rates, waste removal, ore mining cost vs. ton, primary crushing cost vs. ton, ore delivery cost vs. ton transported, stockpile drying and storage cost vs. ton feed, milling cost vs. ton fibre, establishment of funds allocated to townsite, staff, O&T and P&M, three proposed plans for 1979 and the requirements and costs for these proposals.