Cobalt and area from the mid-80s

The Best Ol’ Town from Nip HIll 1985

New Photos!

Thanks to Mark Smyk, we are able to share with you this series of photos.

He wrote, “I recently visited Cobalt for the first time in a few years. My visit has prompted me to reach out to you to see if the CHS would be interested in the photos that I took between 1985 and 1987 while I was working on my MSc Geology thesis and on contract at the Resident Geologist Office, MNDM.”

Mark generously scanned the digital photos from coloured slides. We were able to confirm his ID of all but two of the pictures – we left those at the end. Perhaps you can help us fill in the missing detail.

People

Standing, Left to Right: Karen Larabie, Larry Francis, Terry Beairsto, Andrew Marvin, Pat Anderson, Leo Owsiacki, Elaine Dodd, Bill Grant, Mark Smyk Kneeling: Doug Irwin 1986

Places from around the area

Cobalt Station, 1985
Drummond Cairn, 1985 before it was relocated to the Cobalt Public Library
Giroux Lake School 1986

The Mines

You’ll note that these photos were taken just before remediation work was mandated by the provincial government. Open cuts and mine workings are not fenced off. 

Silverfields Mill, Cart Lake, 1986
Provincial No. 2, 1986
Nipissing O’Brien Cobalt, 1987
This plant was built in 1954 over the original O’Brien Mill
Nipissing No. 96 Mine, 1986 looking southeast toward Cart Lake
The Lawson Mine 1985
Langis Mine, Casey Township 1985
Frontier Mine, 1985
Crown Reserve Mine, Kerr Lake, 1985
Little Silver Vein 1985

Unknown mine ruins from Crosswise Lake

These two images were from the same mine, located on the south side of Crosswise Lake – Mark believes it may have been closer to the south end of the lake, possibly the Morgan Silver Cross Mines property. 

2 thoughts on “Cobalt and area from the mid-80s”

  1. The brave gentleman at the Little Silver Vein is me! I met Mark in 1984 and we became friends for life and we did a lot of exploring mine sites in Cobalt camp back in the 80s fun times.

    1. Cobalt Historical Society

      Bob! Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a human danggling off the edge like that! [shudder] That said, our trail manager always likes to have a body in the FOV for scale, so… thanks?

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