Canada Tungsten Mining

Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation mined tungsten at Cantung in the Nahanni district of the Northwest Territories, near the Yukon border. The deposit was found in 1954. The company was formed in 1959. Open-pit production started in 1962. Underground ore from the E Zone entered the mill in 1974. The town of Tungsten housed the workforce.

Cantung was Canada's principal tungsten mine and, when running, one of the larger tungsten mines outside China.

Why it mattered

Cantung was Canada's principal tungsten mine and, when running, one of the larger tungsten mines outside China. Concentrate was a strategic export. The town existed for the mine.

Now

The mine closed in 1986 on low prices. Amax, then Aur Resources, then North American Tungsten held the property. NATC reopened it in bursts and stopped mining in October 2015 after creditor protection. Canada took care of the site that November. It is a Crown reclamation project, not a producing mine.

Shut (2015) · Now: North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd. (insolvent); site now a Crown care-and-maintenance / reclamation project