The Eldorado Refinery
Text from the plaque
A pioneering operation in the development on nuclear energy, the Eldorado refinery was established in 1933 by Gilbert LaBine, a veteran prospector, and his brother Charles. It extracted radium, used in the early treatment of cancer, from ore mined in the Northwest Territories. In 1942, soon after the uranium atom was split for the first time, the Canadian government acquired Eldorado to refine uranium oxide, a waste product in the radium extraction process. The only operation of its kind in North America, it supplied uranium for American nuclear research during the Second World War. In 1944 this important industry was made a crown corporation. Since 1965 it has concentrated on energy markets, processing uranium to fuel reactors throughout the world in the production of electricity.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Northumberland
The Municipality of Port Hope
On the east side of Eldorado Place, near the lake shore
south of the railway tracks, west of the Ganaraska River
N 43 56.579 W 78 17.689
Recorded October 2004. Check current access before visiting.
More information
Visitors' notes
December 18, 2015
Hi there. Recently is was brought to my attention some outpouring of the general public being upset that the mine was not accessible. My uncle Clifford Ardron purchased the property in the early 70's and built a home in '75. My cousins and older brothers use to explore the property. Me being the youngest, I was prevented from going due to the dangers of the rotted old mill and the caves would fall in. This was a private home and its was hard enough to keep people off of the property who chose to trespass. If it became public knowledge of the mines location more people would come and would pose a legal issue if one was hurt on the property. With word spreading fast thanks to the age of the net, more and more people would venture in stealing old items from the mine and mill. As much as my uncle loved his place and the community, he had to sell and shortly passed away a couple years later. Most of the elderly neighbours expressed the same concerns. Perhaps now the new owners of the property can afford the insurance that will cover them in case one gets hurt. Im not aware if the mines are stable for tours. They sure were not when I was a kid. I have seen a current video on youtube. The owners claim she was unaware of the mine etc on the property but it was fully disclosed in the ad for 8.5 months until the property sold at a price that had I knew I would have bought it. Cheers. Tim.