Quebec asbestos mine bankrupt

Cash-strapped LAB Chrysotile cites costs, low revenue

MONTREAL— One of Canada’s last two remaining asbestos mines has declared bankruptcy, describing it as a necessary move to get the cashstrapped company back on a solid financial footing. Owners of Quebec-based LAB Chrysotile cited costs and a lack of revenue for the move on Wednesday.

The company said in a statement that it plans to meet soon to discuss the future possibility of relaunching operations.

LAB Chrysotile, which operates Lac d’amiante du Canada in Thetford Mines, had shuttered its operations indefinitely last fall, affecting 350 workers.

Gordon Ringuette, a spokesman for the mine’s union, said he’s waiting to see if the company will use the situation to seek concessions from workers.

He said the employees were aware of the company’s state but were still surprised. Company president Simon Dupere said last summer the operation was plagued with internal problems, including labour, production and development issues.

The shutdown at Thetford Mines in November followed a production halt at the cash-strapped Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, about 90 kilometres away, bringing Canada’s once-mighty asbestos sector to a halt for the first time in 130 years.

Jeffrey Mine needs a bank-loan guarantee from the Quebec government before it can start digging a new underground mine.

The asbestos sector has had to fend off a growing group of international critics made up of health experts and activists.

The Canadian Cancer Society says more than 100,000 people die worldwide every year from occupational exposure to asbestos. A growing chorus of health experts have repeatedly called on Canada to stop exporting the mineral.

They want politicians to permanently close the Canadian industry, which ships the bulk of its asbestos to poorer countries where, they argue, safety standards are too weak.