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St. Lawrence is a community on the Southeast Coast of the Burin Peninsula. Until the early 1930s, the people of the area survived through a combination of inshore fishing, small-scale farming, and other traditional activities. In 1929, a tidal wave devastated the area. 27 people lost their lives, and many along the coast lost their homes, boats, stages, and supplies. This added greatly to the hardship already inflicted by the Great Depression and the collapse of the saltfish trade. In 1931, entrepreneur Walter Seibert from New York USA offered the people some hope when he visited the town to inspect fluorspar deposits he had purchased from a St. John’s businessman in 1929.
At the time of its discovery, the St. Lawrence mineral deposits were described as the largest known fluorspar deposit in North America. In 1933, the men of St. Lawrence began the task of extracting and shipping the ore for Seibert’s company, and the first fluorspar vein mined was at Black Duck. The St. Lawrence Corporation of Newfoundland was commonly known as ‘The Corporation’.
This Community Stories Exhibit describes the early days of mining in St. Lawrence, the history of this Pre-Confederation Fluorspar Mine from 1933 through 1978. These Fluorspar Mines are steeped in a history of success and failure, hope and despair, resilience and courage.
Through this outstanding medium offered through Community Stories we will showcase the print history and harsh realities of a miners life in the St. Lawrence Mines, You will get an opportunity to listen to the opinions of hard rock miners and tradesmen who ventured the underground mines. These stories appeared on the front pages of National News. We continue to celebrate our unique history and remember those who risked their lives to support their families, and to talk about their historical past and perpetuate the memory of those who lost their lives from, “The Miner’s Disease.”
