Blezard Mine
History

©Jeri Danyleyko
The Blezard Mine was established in 1885 following the discovery of minerals. Situated on the south half of Lot 4, Concession 2, Blezard Township, Colbert Ducharme and Edward Hillman took possession of the grant. The following year they sold the parcel to the Dominion Nickel Company (DNC). A newly reorganized DNC began working the property in 1889. At that time, it was the first attempt by Canadian interests, mainly from the Sudbury and North Bay area, to develop and finance a copper-nickel mine. Some notable shareholders were James Worthington, a railway contractor and John Ferguson, North Bay’s founder and later well-beloved mayor and citizen.
In 1888, the railway pushed the Stobie spur from the Sudbury station to the Stobie Mine. The following year they built an extension terminating at the Blezard Mine. The company built a shaft, along with a rock house and established a roast yard. In 1890 they erected a smelter to process the ores and produce nickel and copper matte. James Worthington was a major shareholder and director of the DNC. He also owned the Worthington Mine, situated 35 kilometres west of Sudbury. Not surprisingly, the Worthington Mine used the Blezard smelter for treatment.
Hopes ran so high for the DNC that they built a townsite just to keep a steady workforce at hand. In 1890, they hurriedly erected 20 log-hewn homes in a semi orderly fashion, just east of the mine. The settlement also included a store, company office, and boarding facilities for single men. They went on to add a warehouse, school and a post office. By 1891, there were nearly 300 people at the site.
In 1892, Robert McBride a mining captain at the Blezard Mine, discovered an important nickel deposit south west of the mine on Lot 7, Concession 1, Blezard Township. The property, later known as the Cameron Mine was a small deposit, named after Ian Cameron, the Blezard Mine’s manager. The DNC was experiencing financial difficulties and closed the Blezard Mine in 1893 after producing 100,000 tons of ore. However, since the Worthington Mine was still producing, the smelter remained in operation.
In 1895 the company acquired the Cameron Mine to shore up their ore reserves, but apart from a 65 foot shaft and some minor exploration, the property remained dormant. Due to a lack of operating funds, suspension of operation at the Worthington Mine and Blezard smelter later that year. The Blezard Mine, unlike most Sudbury properties, was never reworked after that.