Magpie Mine
History

Ministry of Northern Development and MInes, early 1900s
Three prospectors, by the names of Blackington, Burke, and Gibson, discovered a large iron deposit north of the Helen Mine in 1909. The Algoma Steel Corporation purchased the property and began trenching the main exposed vein, which was 60 feet wide and 2000 feet long. Diamond drilling indicated there was a large quantity of ore, averaging at least 33-37% in iron content.
In 1911 the Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway (later renamed the Algoma Central Railway), built a 12-mile spur line from Magpie Junction in order to transport equipment for the new mine and smelter with east. The mine, smelter and townsite were all constructed in 1912. The site included the Magpie’s head frame, the roasting plant, boiler house, a large machine shop, a storehouse, assay office and chemical lab, as well as the hoist house. They also prepared large beds for the storing of coal and roasted matte.
In order to obtain power, they built a line to the Helen Mine’s former powerhouse for use until completion of a hydroelectric plant at Steephill Falls in 1913. However they has to surmount one major obstacle before continuing with profitable mining. Specifically they discovered the iron deposits at the Magpie Mine weren’t hematite but siderite ore. It was harder to process siderite ore because of its high sulfur content. Although the iron content was exceptionally rich, this type of ore was never profitable in the past. They shut down the mine in order for the engineers to redesign the roasting plant. It was operational again by 1914.
It was possible for the roasting plant to produce matte containing 50 per cent iron for processing at Algoma Steel’s blast furnaces in Sault-Ste-Marie. Shortly after reopening the mine produced 90,070 tons of roasted ore, but the general malaise in the North American industry forced the mine to close down after barely six months of operation.
The First World War (1914-1918) assured a ready market for young mine along with a high price for its product. The mine reopened again in 1915. The Magpie Mine was now the first siderite iron mine to produce any ores of this type commercially and profitably even though development costs had ballooned to over two million dollars, a small fortune for the time.
About 225 employees worked in the mine and the mill. The new mine soon supplanted the Helen Mine in production levels. By 1916 the Magpie had produced 211,000 tons of ore as opposed to the Helen’s 110,000. They roasted ores from the Helen Mine along with those from the Magpie at the smelter on site. The highest output ever attained was in 1916 when they produced over 210,522 tons of roasted matte. From 1913-1922 the smelter produced 1.2 million tons of roasted ore.
Rising inflation in the latter part of the war forced the Magpie to cut back its operations in order to meet costs. In 1917 the mine reduced its payroll to 173 employees and curtailed operations to one daily eight-hour shift. By 1918 the Helen had closed and the Magpie Mine became the sole employer in Northern Algoma.
In 1920, the roasting plant shut down the better part of a year for general upgrading. Although it later resumed operation, by March of 1921 the rich ores that were easily mined had petered out. The mine closed the following year. After they completed clean-up efforts, they forced the last 300 tons out of the Magpie.
The townsite, which Algoma Ore constructed for its employees, was a model town in its own right. Standing in a neat little row were 14 duplexes, all serviced with electricity, water and sewers. Nearby stood another row containing three bunkhouses, a cookery and a dining hall, all used by the single men. Along the same row there was a hospital and a root house, while a company office stood in front the hospital. The company store sat beside the warehouse and office with a school between the family homes and office.
In 1912, when the townsite first opened, nearly 300 residents called this piece of rugged bush home. When the mine reopened for good in 1915, the Magpie Mine counted no less than 600 residents. A post office that opened at the mine in 1913 lasted until 1922. When the mine closed in 1922, they kept the smelter intact due to the possibility of the Helen Mine’s reopening. However this never materialized. They sold and removed the plant sometime after 1926. They also salvaged the townsite about the same time, ending an era forever.