Manitoba Mining Facts

Mining is the second largest primary resource industry in Manitoba. In 2008, the combined value of mineral production for metals (1.55 billion), industrial minerals (141 million) and petroleum (831 million) totalled $2.5 billion. The province’s 8 operating mines employ about 5,200 workers directly with another 18,000 in spin-off jobs.

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What do Manitoba mines produce?

Base and precious metals, such as nickel, copper, zinc and gold.
Specialty minerals like lithium and cesium.
Plus industrial minerals such as dolomite, spodumene, silver, gypsum, salt, granite, limestone, peat, lime, sand and gravel.
Manitoba mineral resources with potential for future economic development include diamonds, platinum-group metals (PGM), rare earth elements (REE), titanium, vanadium, chromite, silica and potash.

Manitoba produces:

12.3% of Canada's nickel
8.8% of Canada's cobalt
8.9% of Canada's copper
15.6% of Canada's zinc
4% of Canada's gold
100% of Canada's tantalum and cesium

Operating Mines

Company	Mine	Location	Date Opened	Metals Mined
Crowflight Minerals Inc.	Bucko Lake Nickel Mine	Wabowden	2009	nickel
HudBay Minerals Inc.	Trout Lake Mine	Flin Flon	1982	copper, zinc
HudBay Minerals Inc.	777 Mine	Flin Flon	2000	copper, zinc
San Gold Corporation	Rice Lake Gold Mine	Bissett	2006	gold
San Gold Corporation	San Gold #1 Mine	Bissett	2006	gold
Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada, Ltd.	Tanco Mine	Lac du Bonnet	1969	spodumene, tantalum, pollucite
Vale Inco Limited	Thompson mine T1 & T3	Thompson	1958	nickel, copper
Vale Inco Limited	Birchtree Mine	Thompson	1968	nickel, copper

Manitoba's Rich History

Manitoba Mining: A Rich History (pdf)
Minerals: A Fundamental Part of Life (pdf)

Manitoba's Legends of Rock

John F. Thompson (pdf)

Manitoba's Mining Communities

Mining is the reason for communities such as Thompson, Flin Flon, Snow Lake, Wabowden, Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids in the north, and Bissett and Lac du Bonnet in the south.

Stake Your Future in Mining

Click on the job profiles listed below to explore some of the career opportunities in the mining industry.

More Mining Facts

Click on the links below to discover even more facts about the world of minerals

Manitoba Minerals give you mOre
The Rock Cycle (pdf)
How to Turn "A" Nickel into a Dollar (pdf)

Manitoba's Mineral Resources