LAB Chrysotile Inc., owner of the Lac D’Amiante mine near Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada and one of only two survivors of the Canadian asbestos industry, has declared bankruptcy, citing severely declining revenues and high fixed costs.

According to an article in the Montreal Gazette, the mine has been producing asbestos fiber for export for more than 50 years but halted erations last October, resulting in the loss of about 350 jobs for local miners. At the time of closure, a spokesperson for the company noted issues with labor and mine development. Originally, the mine was backed by U.S. copper and molybdenum miner and refiner Asarco Inc., but that is no longer the case.

LAB Chrysotile CEO Simon Dupéré insists, however, that the bankruptcy is just a minor stumbling block on the way to rebuilding the mine’s business. “This is a straight bankruptcy and the company is no longer financially viable in its present form,” Dupéré told the media. “I can’t discuss the financial details, but our ultimate goal is to restart operations under a new structure at the former production rate of 125,000 tonnes a year.”

Dupéré did admit, however, that many of the former employees at D’Amiante Mines have retired and others have already moved on to different jobs since they were let go last October. Changes will also have to be made, he says, to improve efficiency at the mine.

No one knows, however, from where the money to rebuild the operations will come. Unlike Quebec’s other large asbestos mine, the Jeffrey Mines,

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