Peter Edwin Graham, who in 1975 formed Graham Mining Ltd. with his father and built it into one of Ontario’s major mine contracting firms, died in Thunder Bay, Ont., June 11 of a massive brain hemorrhage. He was 47.
Born in Matachewan, Ont., Graham lived in several mining camps as he grew up. He attended Haileybury School of Mines, but at the age of 18 decided to take a job in the mine engineering office at Giant Yellowknife Mines in Yellowknife, N.W.T. Before setting up his own company, he worked for mining contractor J.S. Redpath of North Bay, Ont. He was a mine captain on the project to sink the Creighton No. 9 shaft for Inco Ltd. in Sudbury, Ont.
From 1972 to 1974 he worked with his father, E.P. Graham, in developing and mining out a small but profitable, high-grade zinc deposit about 80 km north of Kingston, Ont., known as the Long Lake mine owned by Lynx Canada.
In 1975 he obtained a contract to drive a decline ramp from the bottom of the Geco mine at Manitouwadge, Ont. On the strength of that contract, he and his father started Graham Mining. Peter Graham then moved to Manitouwadge and made it his home.
Graham Mining subsequently completed major contracts for development work and mining at the Golden Giant and Williams mines at Hemlo, Ont., and the Winston Lake mine at Schreiber, Ont. While most of the company’s activities were in Ontario, it worked as far afield as the Hope Brook mine in Newfoundland.
Graham Mining, which is continuing under the supervision of Aubrey Sproule and with the help of Peter Graham’s father, grew to become one of Manitouwadge’s largest employers, second only to the Geco mine.
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