Malartic, Quebec (Canada) (original) (raw)

The municipality of Malartic (3,297 inhabitants in 2014; 14,587 ha) is located 70 km east of Rouyn-Noranda.

Malartic was established during the Gold Rush that followed the discovery of gold deposits in 1923 in the Fourni�re canton. Underground mines were established in 1935 by Canadian Malartic Gold Mines Ltd. At the same time, workers expelled by the mining company established the colony of Roc-d'Or in the Malartic canton, some 5 km northwards. New mines were exploited in the next years: East Malartic Mine Ltd (1937), Sladen Malartic (Barnat Mines Ltd 1938), and Malartic Gold Fields Ltd (1939).
The two rival settlements developed in parallel, with the duplication of education and health services and of shops. The churches, the post office and the railway station, however, were erected closer to the original mining site, which caused the emigration of several workers from Roc-d'Or.

The municipality of Malartic was incorporated in 1939, counting them 2,200 inhabitants, 400 landlords included. A provincial Decree adopted in 1943 prescribed the transfer of Roc-d'Or to Malartic; the buildings that could not be transported were demolished. The four main mines together processed 1,000 tons ore per day. Timberwood was supplied by two sawmills, Chartr� and Dub�. In April 1947, an underground blaze claimed the lives of 12 miners in the East Malartic mine. At the end of the 1950s, Malartic counted nearly 7,000 inhabitants. Canadian Malartic Gold Mines Ltd and Malartic Gold Fields Ltd closed their mines in 1965, while the exploitation of the Camflo deposit was initiated. Alarie Industries, acquired in 1975 by Forex, boosted the wood-cutting industry. In the 1980s, Barnat Mines Ltd and Malartic Gold Fields Ltd closed their mines because of the exhaustion of the gold stock. Population decreased to 4,600. The closure of the Camflo mine caused another demographic bust, the population of Malartic decreasing at the end of the 20th century to 3,700.

The increase in the price of gold initiated a second Gold Rush in Malartic. Osisko Mining Co. surveyed in 2005 the plots once exploited by Canadian Malartic Gold Mines; the establishment of an opencast mine was decided in 2008, which required the transfer of some 200 houses. The mine was started in August 2009; its potential yield was evaluated as 11.2 million ounces / 348 t gold.
http://ville.malartic.qc.ca/ - Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 29 March 2017

A new logo flag has been adopted depicted an M in a blue disk and the name in black.
Dave Fowler, 11 February 2022