At its height, the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec, produced half
of the world’s asbestos. It was the largest open pit asbestos mine on the planet, driving much of Canada’s growth to the largest world asbestos producer in an industry totaling $1.2billion a year at its peak.
Opened in 1879, it ran for 122 years before a combination of the discovery of the mineral’s deadly properties and cessation of government subsidies forced it to close in 2001. It was formally decommissioned in 2012 and left to continue simply as a controversial and burdensome neighbour for the residents of Asbestos – driven largely by the association with its carcinogenic namesake.
Our team analysed an approximate 2,000km2 area surrounding the Jeffrey Mine and recorded a predominantly stable set of displacement results, with distribution centered on 0.