Document NGwQZddZNZ9dJv78mR80NV9BD

FILE NAME: Asbestos Z>> DATE: DOC#: AC> OCUMENT DESCRIPTIONZZ,Z History -\lllhl li'cC;1 the;\.' i, tl)(b\ ,,1111,-' di'f)lltc .1' tll \\ lill di,,-',\\ C[",-,J Chn:'>lltiic-\,rc,t\)s ill \\ h~!l i, IW\\' k11U\\ Il ~h the Tilet "l'rd \lincs arC~1 l)" Queoec', E~l:--t crn Tu\\ n.. hirs, it is generally agred that it \\a~ first fuund in the yeJr 1875. And it i:-, here th;lt the history of Asbe::;tl)S Curporation Limited reJlly starts. In that ye::lr Andre\\' Juhnson. a timber merchant from a vilbge near Thetford Mines, determined the e\act nature of this peculiar rock \vhich could be fluffed up like thistledown. Perhaps some use cuuld be made of it. As a result of his pioneering efforts, the first commercial e\traction of asbestos in Canada tock place in 1876 and the first shipment of hand-cobbed chunks of crude asbestos \...as made by o\-cart to the ne~lrest railroad, 30 miles away. From this modest beginning came the Johnson's Company, incorporated in 1885, whose mll1Ing properties were eventually acquired by Asbestos Corporation Limited in 1964. In 187S King Brothers, timber merch::lI1ts of Quebec City, began to mine the asbestos deposits on their land. King Brothers Asbestos Company operated until 1909. At that CrocE~XrH6IB-rIT~ /' r;Jo.d)90~ tilllC It hl",-'~lI11C !)~ln \1" -\l1ulg:11l1 ~llCd-\, h,>, 1\,..; C\ \IT'1 ["~l tiUJ1. a 'inn (r(,~It..:J tel JI.'\cll11' the King \lille ~lIHj the prl)liertic-., l)" the Be:l\Cr. Briti,h Canadian. and Fr~bcr Cumpanies. as \\'ell. To this dJy the originJl King '\line. the Beaver and the British CanadiJn mines are still operating. In 1912 the Amalgamated Asbestos Corporation became Asbestos Corporation of Canada Limited, which in turn became the present Asbestos Corporation Limited in 1925. At the time of its founding. Asbestos Corporation Limited included seven other asbestos mining companies, many of \vhich were, themselves, the results of earlier mergers. The new Asbestos Corporation Limited consolidated its mining properties. Unprofitable mines were shut down and the operations confined to four main ore bodies-the King, the Beaver, the British Canadian and the Vimy Ridge Mines, until 1955. In that year the Normandie Mine was brought into production and the Vimy Ridge shut down. In 1958 the Ki ng and the Beaver Mines were consolidated and a new mill built to handle ore from both properties. The Company therefore had three plants in pro- dllCti\)I1. the Kil1;-Be~l\er. thc Br it i"h Call:1 d ia 11 :111 d the "or-malldie. Theil. ill 1%-1-. A:\besros CorplHatioll Limited made t\\O importallt new ~lcquisitions the two mines and mills of the Johnsun's Companies and the Asbestos Hill property in Unga va. The first of these brough t together the two pioneering Canadian asbestos producers. both of whom had been mining side by side on the same asbestos orebodies for almost 90 years. At the same time it substantially increased the Company's ore reserves. The Asbestos Hill property, a high grade ore body located 1130 miles due north of Montreal in the U ngava peninsula of Quebec, is scheduled for production in 1970. The Company is, as a result, in a strong position to supply the market for a high quality asbestos fibre for years to come. But all this is history ... a record of growth that makes Asbestos Corporation Limited a world leader. Common shares are listed on both the , Mon treal and Toronto stock exchanges and 93C:C of the shareholders are registered in Canada. The Company employed 2,162 people at a cost of $13,129,647 during the year 1965. 9