Cobalt, Ontario
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Cobalt | |
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705, 249 | |
Website | cobalt.ca |
Cobalt is a town in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 1,118 at the 2016 Census. The population is now closer to 943.
In the early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for silver; the silver ore also contained cobalt. By 1910, the community was the fourth highest producer of silver in the world.[2] Mining declined significantly by the 1930s, together with the local population. In late 2017 one publication referred to Cobalt as a ghost town, but the high demand for cobalt, used in making batteries for mobile devices and electric vehicles, is leading to great interest in the area among mining companies.[3]
History
Boomtown
The subsequent Cobalt silver rush led to the development of the McKinley Darragh, La Rose, Nipissing, and O'Brien silver mines. In 1904, Willet Miller, on a visit to Mile 104 on the T&NO, along with brothers Noah and Henry Timmins, named the future town Cobalt. The Timmins brothers bought the remaining claims from Fred La Rose, and erected some cabins.[4]: 18
Speculation over mining stocks on Wall Street in New York City required mounted police to control the crowds. The town was incorporated in 1906.[4]: 32, 40
By 1908, the camp was considered the world's largest producer of silver and of the cobalt which is a byproduct of the process.[8]
In 1911, the 34 mines produced over 30 million ounces (937.5 tons) of silver. The town's population soared to 10,000 by 1909.[9]
During 1914 the main mines in operation were the City of Cobalt Mining Company, Combat Comet Mine, Cobalt Lake (who owned the bed and edge of the lake), Cobalt Townsite, Colonial Silver Mine, Coniagas Mine, Crown Reserve Mine, the Drummon Fraction Could, Hargrave, Hudson Bay, Kerr Lake, La Rose Consolidated, Lumsden, McKinley-Darragh-Savage, Meteor, Nipissing, O'Brien, Penn-Canadian, Peterson Lake, Provincial, Seneca-Superior, Silver Bar, Temiskaming, Trethewey, and York-Ontario.[10]
Mining continued until the 1930s, then slowed to a trickle. Activity renewed in the 1950s then slowly dropped off, and since the 1980s, there have been no operating mines in the area. By the 1960s, the area had produced over 420 million ounces of silver.
The silver mines of Cobalt, and the prospectors and miners who discovered them and worked them, left an indelible mark on Canadian history, and the town is known as the birthplace of
Fires
Cobalt suffered two devastating fires in the 20th century. In 1909, a fire in a cafe spread quickly through debris and garbage-filled alleyways. Half the town was destroyed; 150 buildings were lost and 3,000 residents left homeless; by that time the water table had been contaminated and a typhoid outbreak earlier in the year had killed 111 people.[9] Fire protection at the time was inadequate and firefighters were forced to dynamite buildings to create a firebreak.[13] On a hot and windy Victoria Day in 1977, a discarded cigarette started a fire that destroyed 140 buildings and left over 400 homeless.[14][15]
Hockey
The Cobalt Silver Kings played in the inaugural 1910 NHA season.
Administration
Cobalt, Haileybury, and New Liskeard were formerly known as the Tri-Towns.
In 2001 Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a in panel of judges on the
Renewed interest in cobalt and silver mining
Cobalt is a byproduct of silver mining and was not of significant interest as a mineral until recently; in fact, many considered it to be a "nuisance".
By 2017, several cobalt exploration companies were focusing on the area around Cobalt,
Stock prices of First Cobalt Corp. and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. had soared in 2017 based on this prospect. The CEO of First Cobalt made this comment after returning from a trip to the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia: "We've got some of the biggest resource companies in the world interested".[12] In October, the company was planning to prospect the Caswell, Ophir and Silver Banner areas, as well as mines around Kerr Lake and Maiden Lake, via the staff of Bjorkman Prospecting of Whiskey Jack, Ontario.[27] At the time, First Cobalt was negotiating a merger with two other companies, Cobalt One and CobalTech.[28] If the merger is completed, the group expected to control about 45% of the potential mining properties in the Cobalt area including 50 mines that previously produced cobalt and silver; a competitor, Agnico Eagle, controls approximately 21%.[29] However the latter ceased production there in the 1980s.
Silver was selling for US$17 per ounce in late November 2017, down significantly from its peak of US$50 in 2012,[30] but cobalt was at about US$31 per pound at that time, up significantly from the US$10 price in late 2015.[31] The prices will increase according to Gino Chitaroni, the president of the Northern Prospectors' Association. He also predicted that the area around Cobalt would be a primary source of both minerals. "It's spectacular ... We have the infrastructure. We have a historic mining area. It puts us a step up on anywhere [else] in the world."[18]
In March 2017, the town's mayor estimated that mining production could start in about three to five years.[32]
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1911 | 5,638 | — |
1921 | 4,449 | −21.1% |
1931 | 3,885 | −12.7% |
1941 | 2,376 | −38.8% |
1951 | 2,230 | −6.1% |
1961 | 2,209 | −0.9% |
1971 | 2,197 | −0.5% |
1981 | 1,759 | −19.9% |
1991 | 1,470 | −16.4% |
2021 | 989 | −11.5% |
[1] |
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cobalt had a population of 989 living in 454 of its 542 total private dwellings, a change of -12.3% from its 2016 population of 1,128. With a land area of 2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi), it had a population density of 477.8/km2 (1,237.4/sq mi) in 2021.[33]
2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|---|
Population | 989 (-12.3% from 2016) | 1,118 (-0.4% from 2011) | 1,133 (-7.4% from 2006) |
Land area | 2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi) | 1.44 km2 (0.56 sq mi) | 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi) |
Population density | 478.5/km2 (1,239/sq mi) | 776.0/km2 (2,010/sq mi) | 553.0/km2 (1,432/sq mi) |
Median age | 48.0 (M: 47.6, F: 48.0) | 47.5 (M: 47.2, F: 47.7) | 46.5 (M: 46.1, F: 47.0) |
Private dwellings | 542 (total) 454 (occupied) | 611 (total) | 559 (total) |
Median household income | $56,000 | $42,816 |
Environmental issues
The mining activities in Cobalt have left a significant environmental legacy. Millions of tons of mine waste rock and mill
The Cobalt area is also laced with many miles of underground mine workings, surface trenches, pits and shaft openings. As a result, there are risks of collapse, or subsidence of underground mine workings, and many areas have been fenced off to prevent entry.
Tourism and attractions
Visitors to Cobalt can visit the Cobalt Mining Museum, which boasts the world's largest display of locally mined silver, as well as "The Bunker" military museum and the Northern Ontario Firefighters Museum.
Visitors can also take a tour of an old underground mine. Tours start at the Mining Museum, and are guided by museum staff. The narrow damp tunnels of the mine give a real appreciation for the conditions under which miners worked, and tour guides sprinkle the tour with many stories to help bring the past to life.[42]
On February 14, 2008, plans were announced to convert the vacant Fraser Hotel building into a complex which will include The Bunker museum, housing units, tourist accommodations, and a proposed culinary school.[43]
Passenger rail service continued to be provided from the
A notable tourist attraction in the area in the 20th century was the Highway Book Shop, which closed in 2011.
Notable people
- Charlie Angus, federal Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay
- Mike Bolan, former provincial MPP
- Kent Douglas, hockey player, winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1963.
- Boer Wardied in Cobalt in 1948.
- Walter Frederick Light, President of Northern Telecom 1974-1979, CEO and chairman of Northern Telecom 1979-1984.
- Timiskaming
- Elmer Sopha, former provincial MPP
See also
- List of francophone communities in Ontario
- Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower (2022 book by Charlie Angus)
References
- ^ a b c "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Cobalt [Population centre], Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador [Province]". 2.statcan.gc.ca. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Cobalt (Ont)". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ a b "The PayPal Mafia of Self-Driving Cars Has Been at It a Decade". Bloomberg News. 30 October 2017.
- ^ ISBN 091978352X.
- ^ "The Rise and Fall of a Mining Camp". Cobalt Mining Legacy. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ "Canada's forgotten silver boomtown". magazine.cim.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ "Dipping into the silver stream". magazine.cim.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ Pain, S.A. (1960). Three Miles of Gold. Toronto: The Ryerson Press. pp. 2–3.
- ^ a b "A Glimpse Into the History of Cobalt, Ontario".
- ^ ONTARIO. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (1914). Ontario Sessional Papers, 1914, No.3-9. Robarts - University of Toronto.
- ^ "History of Cobalt — Town of Cobalt". cobalt.ca.
- ^ a b c "The Canadian Ghost Town That Tesla Is Bringing Back to Life". Bloomberg News. 31 October 2017.
- ^ The Cobalt Adventure Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2015-03-08.
- ^ "Terrible fires shaped Tri-Towns - JOHN R. HUNT's On the Rocks". North Bay Nugget. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ The Cobalt Adventure Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2015-03-08.
- ISBN 0889544123.
- ^ Cobalt Mining District National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ a b nurun.com. "ACCENT: Cobalt could take centre stage again". Sudbury Star.
- ^ West, Karl (29 July 2017). "Carmakers' electric dreams depend on supplies of rare minerals". the Guardian.
- ^ Shilling, Erik (31 October 2017). "We May Not Have Enough Minerals To Even Meet Electric Car Demand".
- ^ "Cobalt Mining Legacy". Cobaltmininglegacy.ca. 1903-08-15. Archived from the original on 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Boom times ahead in the Cobalt camp". 6 August 2017.
- cleantechnica.com. 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Boom times ahead in the Cobalt camp". 31 July 2017.
- ^ "Lack of ethical cobalt undermines Tesla debt issue". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10.
- ^ "Tesla & GE Face Major Shortage Of Ethically Sourced Cobalt". 31 May 2017.
- ^ "First Cobalt starts exploration work at Cobalt property". 25 October 2017.
- ^ "First Cobalt Commences Exploration on Cobalt One and CobalTech Properties". Marketwired.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Cobalt: First Cobalt proposes mergers with Cobalt One and CobalTech - Canadian Mining Journal". 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Silver Spot Price Live Chart - BullionVault". www.bullionvault.com.
- ^ "Electric cars yet to turn cobalt market into gold mine - Nornickel - MINING.com".
- ^ "'Like an old fashioned staking rush' mining companies buy land in Cobalt, Ont. - CBC News".
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- 2021 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
- 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Andrew Leung (March 2009). Heavy Metals in Sediments, Water and Fish from the lakes of Cobalt, Ontario (Report). Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
- ^ "Museums — Town of Cobalt". Town of Cobalt. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
- ^ "Cobalt Historical Society~Heritage Silver Trail". heritagesilvertrail.ca. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ^ "Tours — Town of Cobalt". Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ^ "The Temiskaming Speaker".[permanent dead link]