Community news

Thompson nickel discovery half century ago

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery that led to the development of the Thompson nickel deposit. On Feb. 5, 1956, Inco geologists, studying drill core from remote Cook Lake 700 km north of Winnipeg, realized that they had come upon a significant find.

It led to the creation of one of the world’s first fully integrated nickel mining and processing facilities, and the City of Thompson. The project and community were up and running in little more than five years. Inco Ltd.‘s Thompson operation has produced more than 4 billion lb of nickel, and Thompson has become Manitoba’s third largest city, with a population of about 15,000.

Thompson continues to produce more than 100 million lb of finished nickel annually and employs about 1,500 in its mines and processing plants. Inco last year announced plans to develop the 1-D deposit at Thompson, extending the productive life of the operation.

Community celebrations will be held throughout the year highlighted by a homecoming weekend Aug. 4-6. For further information call Dan McSweeney at 204-778-2326 or visit www.inco.com.