Major talc deposit found in Quebec’s eastern twps.

Asbestos miners in Thetford Mines may soon have a new mine in their unemployment-stricken area of Quebec’s eastern townships.

Carey Canada Inc., which shut down its asbestos mine in the area, has discovered a large, high grade talc deposit located on farm land between the towns of Leeds Station and East Broughton.

Indications from seven diamond drill holes and surface prospecting carried out last summer are that the deposit contains eight million tons of possible ore grading 78%-80% talc, according to Micheal Prus, president. About half of this tonnage would require no stripping in order to mine by open pit methods, he tells The Northern Miner, and the remaining four million tons would require only limited stripping.

The company has taken samples of the deposit and has done preliminary metallurgical tests which indicate a high-quality, marketable product. Processing through flotation cells and a micronizer, which pulverizes the ore to -2 microns size, indicates recoveries of 85%- 90%. Metallurgical testing also indicates there is no asbestos in the rock and calcite and dolomite occur in quantities of less than 1%.

Since recoveries are so high, if the material were to be mined, virtually all of it would be used as a saleable product. This implies that a mining operation of 50,000-100,000 tons per year would require very few people to operate compared to the 250,000-ton mine the company just closed.

This year Carey Canada intends to spend $50,000 to $100,000 proving up the deposit before deciding whether to mine the deposit. Entirely new milling facilities would be required in the event of a positive production decision and pre- production work could take 2-3 years for a sizeable operation.

Two companies, one in Europe and one in Canada have expressed an interest in buying the deposit from Carey Canada.

The major market for talc is as a filler in paper products, rubber, plastics, paints and sealants. The largest supplier in North America at the present time is a 300,000-ton- per-year mine in Montana.

The mineral is produced commercially only in Quebec and Ontario. It is valued for its extreme whiteness, smoothness, high fusion point, low thermal and chemical conductivity and chemical inertness.

Since 1982, Canadian production of talc has risen as a result of new capacity and aggressive marketing, especially in the U.S.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Quebec