Sylvanite Mine

The claims for the Sylvanite mine are located immediately north of Kirkland lake in Eastern Teck Township. It first opened in 1913 with 3,300,000 shares – though it only started paying out on those shares in the 1930’s. Visible gold was found early on, showing promise, but initial ore bodies were not visible from the surface and it would take time before real development showed profit. It officially began production around 1927, producing nearly $4 million dollars worth of gold in its first five years. By 1931 the Mine’s mill was processing 275 tons of ore daily.

The mine closed operations in 1961, but ended up producing 5,049,536 tons of ore during its lifespan. From that ore, they produced 1,674,808 ounces of gold. The Sylvanite Mine dominated the township of Teck and outlying communities for years along with several other mines including the Kerr Addison Mine, Swastika Mine, Lucky Cross Mine, Macassa Mine, Beaver Mine, Teck Hughes Mine, Lake Shore Mine, Wright-Hargreaves Mine and Tough-Oakes Mine.

The Sylvanite Mine was the fourth largest producer in the Kirkland Lake Camp. It covered approximately 208 acres of land east of the Wright Hargreaves Mine. The mine had two main shafts. The No. 2 shaft, the main shaft, reached a depth of 3,642 feet by 1934, eventually reaching a depth of 5550 feet.