Mineral shipments in Quebec in 1987 were worth $2.71 billion, up 24% compared with the previous year, the province’s Ministry of Energy and Resources reports in its publication Mineral Resources.
Exploration expenditures, concentrated in the precious metals sector and in the province’s northwest, increased by 69% over 1986 to reach $466.9 million. Total capital expenditures in 1987 rose by 19% to $129.9 million.
Exploration financing through tax shelters, at about $565 million, was almost double the previous year’s total.
It is estimated the province’s mining sector employed more than 21,000 persons last year.
Top metallic mineral in terms of shipment value was gold, at $576.7 million, followed by copper at $120.3 million and zinc at $105.3 million. Among industrial minerals, asbestos ranked first, at $214.2 million. Cement was the top construction material, at $227.3 million.
Gold production in Quebec during 1987 increased by 8% compared with the previous year, while silver production jumped by 97% (attributed mainly to Les Mines Selbaie’s copper-zinc-silver-gold operation in northwestern Quebec).
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