Mines de Poirier, Baie-James, Jamésie, Nord-du-Québec, Québec, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Mines de Poirier	Mine
Baie-James	Municipality (Regional)
Jamésie	Territory Equivalent to a Regional County Municipality
Nord-du-Québec	Administrative Region
Québec	Province
Canada	Country

Copper, zinc and silver mine in the Joutel area in argillite tuff. Activity from 1959 until 1975.

Coordinates taken by GPS on mine site.

The Mine de Poirier orebodies were discovered during geophysical surveys conducted by Rio Algom in the late 1950's. Mine de Poirier was developed on one of three groups of volcanogenic massive sulphide orebodies located a few miles west of the townsite of Joutel. The others were the Joutel Copper mine and the Explo Zinc prospect. All three ore deposits appear to be localized along the rim of a caldera, a major felsic volcanic eruptive center. All the ore deposits are typical of the VMS deposits in Achaean greenstone belts.

Mine de Poirier produced approximately 5.5 million tons from a defined reserve of approximately 7 million tons between 1965 and 1975. Ore was produced from two lens shaped orebodies. A third, zinc-rich orebody was never mined. The mine closed because of a deteriorating world economy and depressed metal prices. All three orebodies are open at depth below the 2500 foot level.

The massive sulphide ore was a mixture of pyrite and chalcopyrite. Pyrrhotite was common, especially in the stratigraphically lower parts while sphalerite, sometimes in thin, delicate but extensive bands, was common near the stratigraphic top of the ore lens. When, as a Rutgers Univ. graduate student, the author toured this mine in September 1972 a rather dense network of pyrrhotite-rich veinlets could be seen in the footwall rock, just below the massive ore. This “stockwork” mineralization is common beneath VMS ores.

The ore was processed by a standard froth flotation sulphide mill initially designed with a capacity of 1500 tons/day. It was soon expanded to handle an additional 700 tons/day from the Joutel Copper deposit a couple miles away. Joutel ore was processed from 1967-72.

There was a marked social stratification among the workforce. All the miners and laborers were French and all he bosses were English speakers. The only French speakers that I recall seeing in an elevated position were two mine surveyors.

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