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Aldermac

Art picture of a rust-coloured ground with violet rocks and little puddles of water.

Picture by Arnold Zageris (2005)
MA, musée d’art Collection

The Aldermac mine was exploited from 1932 to 1943, then it was abandoned. The site was the Ministry’s responsibility as the companies operating it were dissolved or could not be traced. The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region has many abandoned mining sites, and some of them are significant environmental threats.

This picture is a testimony which reminds us of the mining operations, an industry with many harmful consequences for the flora and fauna as well as human beings, and of the hard and long process that began in the 20th century for a better understanding and awareness of its environmental and social impacts.

A thought process that has never been more important in the region and elsewhere.

Abandoned mining site in Duparquet, photographed by François Ruph in 1974. BAnQ Rouyn-Noranda, François Ruph Fonds (P227, S46, P311).