North Main Shaft 1930

NORTH MAIN SHAFT 1930

North Main Shaft was the centrepiece of Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co. Ltd., for many years until it was dismantled in 2011. North Main shaft went into production in 1930. The 2210 foot level of North Main shaft serviced the north zones of the ore body.

In 1965 this cairn was erected in the shadows of North Main Shaft and there was a plaque placed upon this cairn which says it all.

One thing I will always remember about North Main is each and every year approximately a week before Xmas, you would see the electrical crew erecting and maintaining the Merry Xmas sign which remained brightly lit throughout the holiday season until the conclusion of Ukrainian Xmas. Believe it or not it did help portray a Xmas spirit in our northern community.

In 1983, North Main, HBM&S' first major shaft, was sealed off above the 1170 ft. (350 m) level so that the remaining ore in the shaft crown pillar could be removed. This ore was transported by underground train to South Main where it was hoisted to surface. South Main continues to service the south portion of the ore body. These two shafts have mined the “mother lode” for 54 years producing over 68 million tons of ore from the original ore body.

The above photo shows North Main Shaft and the entrance to the gyrator crusher. The ore was hauled from South Main, dumped into the crusher where it was crushed to a much smaller grade similar to gravel, then onto secondary crushers, then to the ball mills where it was ground to a talc, and from there to the flotation cells, where copper, zinc and waste were separated. The small green building was the steel shop and this is where all drill steel, and scaling bars were straightened and repaired. The drill bits had the old carbon tip inserts removed and new ones replaced, so they could be returned to the work place to drill more holes. North Main from the 30's well into the 50's was a beehive of activity.

The above photo shows scaling bars being sharpened and straightened. This was an area that many of the older men spent their final years before retirement straightening and sharpening steel which was a valuable service to the work force and it was all performed on site.

The above photo shows carbon inserts being replaced into a bit. After they were replaced in the correct slots, the area was heated and brazed to seal the inserts into the bit head. This again was a valuable service because each and every day the miners required a good supply of bits in the workplace to get the footage required to keep production at an acceptable level.

The above photo was taken in 1968 at one of the levels at North Main. This is one of the first photos that I took underground of two miners, Don Bray on the left and Jack Williamson on the right. This is a drift that they were driving with two drills and a jack leg. They would drill approximately 8 ft., blast and muck out in an 8 hour shift. This was considered a good days work. These men only stopped to eat. To complete this cycle in an 8 hour period, all had to go well. When I look at modern methods of mining today, we have come along way.

The above photo shows a two boom electric hydraulic jumbo which will drill 16 ft. The drift will be approximately 16 ft. square and this will take them approximately 12 hours to drill, blast and muck out which is done by one man. Mines are being mined out much quicker today than they were 40 & 50 years ago.

The above photo shows mining instructor Ken Burr. Ken was a long time miner and had experience in all phases of mining. In the 70's Ken was put in charge of a miner training program and this was carried out at the 390 ft. level at North Main. Here they were able to do hands on training in the environment that they would work in. There were also surface classroom sessions but most of the students felt they learned what the job was about and how to use the equipment before they got to it. Ken was an excellent instructor and respected by all.

This photo illustrates different tools, equipment for explosive procedures such as caps, ropes which were used to teach employees various knots to use on safety ropes, ladders when securing them to each other, various pipe fittings which were used for air and water. This was all valuable information for a new employee.

This shows a mining student using a drill and jack leg to learn how to collar a hole and drill, how to change steel and bits. Once they became part of the work force, these procedures were not totally foreign to them as with practice and experience, it would not be long before they would become efficient at their job.

This photo was created by Rich Billy to help individuals who have never been to a mine, understand some of the terminology and procedures that go on in a day to day mining operation. This flow chart resembles the mine below north main shaft and the surface portion of this flow chart gives good representation of the metallurgical plants such as crusher, mill, zinc plant and smelter. Once you become familiar with mining and metallurgical plants, you start to realize how much science and technology has gone into this process and how much it has advanced over the last 50 years.

Mine RescueTraining was also another activity carried out at North Main. With the classroom being on surface, many old drifts and stopes were used for mine rescue training. My first knowledge of mine rescue training was in 1967 when I became involved with Safety & Training. Cuthbert McNeil better known as Mac was in charge of mine rescue. After his retirement, he was succeeded by Jack Chrisp, Gerry Trueman, Dennis Hydamaka and Olaf Hettrick. I spent a good number of hours working with the mine rescue teams and their trainers. I will say this was one of the more enjoyable parts of my job of CPR and First Aid training.

Mine Supervision – April 25, 1953

Back Row (L-R) – Gordon Syms, Fred Winter, George Lyons, Lawrence Ogryzlo, Sandy Morrice, Ed Hammill, John Lautamus, Chuthbert McNeil, Stewart Crerar

Fourth Row – Gunner Hammerstad, Tunney Havorka, Dave Sutherland, Chuck Donald, Gus Goldstrand, Nip Johnson, Leo Twerdun, Bernie Knudson, Harold Reesor, Ernie Mooney, Jim Billingsley, Vic Hook, Howard Black, Frank Highfield, Joe Warick, Joe Ciprik, Ted Coates, Cece Johnson

Third Row – Bob Coombs, Lawrence Fancy, Carl Brauner, Hans VanBentham, Roy Mooney, Archie Welsh, Colin Harrell, O.K. Sorli, Charlie Willox, Garnet Eidt, Iver Heggmark, Oswald Webber

Second Row – Larry Kenny, Jim Overland, Bob Ash, Jack Chrisp, Charlie Robillard, Thor Grant, Harry Wennerlund, Joe Skoda, Jim Watt, Eric Austin

Front Row – Jim Wilson, Frank Lawson, Art Skoda, Tom Kennedy, Pete Wiebe, Keith Sproxton, Leonard Lapointe, Jack Honeyman

So you can understand

There had to be some system,

To keep them all in hand.

The shifter says “You go with Mike”

You look at and shout,

“Which Mike are you speaking of?”

He simply points him out.

Some bright shifter . . . he got smart,

And after many tries,

He finally hits upon a plan,

To distinguish all the guys.

The plan was quite a simple one,

But worked out just the same,

Instead of having twenty Mikes,

Each got a new Nick Name.

So nowadays when you report,

He simply nods his head,

He looks at you as proud as Hell,

“You go with Barn Yard Fred.”

And thus did Nick Names get its start,

I'll try and name a few,

Most are guys we all know well,

And maybe one is you.

There's POP-EYED PAUL,

And WEASEL EIDT,

BULL*SHIT BERT,

And SCAR FACE MIKE.

There's SHERRIDON PAUL,

And DYNAMITE DAN,

CHICAGO BILL,

And YAPPY STAN.

There's CROSS-EYED FRANK,

And TEDDY BEAR JOHN,

SHEEP SKIN PETE,

And TURKEY TOM.

There's POKER BILL,

And KILOWATT DAN,

HOLLYWOOD STEVE,

And CURLY KHRAN.

There's CUE BALL SMITH

And FEARLESS FRED,

SILENT JOHN,

And a few called RED.

There's MOTHER WATKINS,

A MIKE that's slow,

KOREA JOHN

And MOANING JOE.

There's A CRAZY ALEC,

And STATIONARY GEORGE,

Old PIPE JOE,

He's a human forge.

There's NINE HUNDRED WALTER,

And ONE TRACK JACK,

COCA COLA GEORGE,

And our SAFETY MAC.

Well that's all I can think of,

So I guess I'd better quit,

In case someone doesn't like this

And they give me shit.

Bill Martin

Bill hired on June 12, 1946 and he retired March 31, 1982 and passed away April 21, 1991. Bill was first employed in the mine department and worked at North Main. Bill was like many individuals who worked at HBM&S, he had a hidden talent which came to the forefront when he worked in the mine department. I first got to know Bill when he worked in the Foundry which would of been sometime in the 70's, later moving to Security where he completed his employment with HBM&S until he retired. When I look at the above write up of North Main, I didn't feel it was complete without a poem which was penned by Bill in the late 1940's when he was employed in the mine. Although many of the names have since left our employment, many old timers will remember Bill. For the ones who didn't know Bill, you will see that he was an individual who brought smiles and laughs to the work place. The following poem outlines the good old days of North Main.

Underground there's many men

Bill Martin - 1940's