Canada’s coldest mines

Canada’s coldest mine is not a diamond mine, although three came close.

Agnico Eagle Mines’ Meadowbank, located 70 km north of Baker Lake, was the Canada’s coldest mine. The open-pit silver and gold mine sees an average temperature of -35.4C during its coldest month of the year.

Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake were ranked number two, three and four respectively. A ranked list of the top twelve are below the map. Ranking is based upon 50 years of average January/February daily temperatures over one month.

Click on the icons to view the mine. Data is provided by Company & PropertyMine, a division of InfoMine.

#1 Meadowbank

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -35.4
Majority Owner: Agnico Eagle Mines
Silver, Gold
70 km north of Baker Lake

#2 Ekati

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -32
Majority Owner: Dominion Diamdon Copration
Diamond
20 km east-northeast of Lac De Gras

#3 Diavik

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -31.9
Majority Owner: Rio Tinto
Diamond
300 km northeast of Yellowknife

#4 Snap Lake

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -30.8
Majority Owner: De Beers Canada Exploration
Diamond
220 km northeast of Yellowknife

#5 Raglan Mine

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -26.6
Majority Owner: Glencore Xstrata
Cobalt, Copper, Nickel, Palladium, Platinum
65 km south of Deception Bay

#6 Minto Mine

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -26.1
Majority Owner: Capstone Mining
Silver, Gold, Copper
120 km north of Whitehorse

#7 Thompson Operations-Vale

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.9
Majority Owner: Vale
Cobalt, Copper, Nickel
5 km south of Thompson

#8 Birchtree

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.8
Majority Owner: Vale
Nickel
6 km southwest of Thompson

#9 Rabbit Lake

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.5
Majority Owner: Cameco
Uranium
800 km north of Saskatoon

#10 McArthur River (Saskatchewan)

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.3
Majority Owner: Cameco
Uranium
80 km northeast of Key Lake

#11 Wolverine

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.1
Majority Owner: Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Mining
Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc
135 km southeast of Ross River

#12 Elross Lake (Dso Properties)

Average Temperature During the Mine’s Coldest Month: -24.1
Majority Owner: Tata Steel
Iron Ore, Manganese, Silica
Schefferville