History
Lamaque's mine
The history of Lamaque’s mine begins with the discover of a gold vein in the district of Bourlamaque in 1923.
It's the American prospector Robert C. Clark, which was with Gabriel Commanda, an algonquin guide, to whom we owe the discovery. The property is known as «Claim A.T. Black». This very rich deposit will be exploited between the years 1935 and 1985.
In 2008, the site is declared part of the industrial mining heritage, in accordance with a decision issued by the Val d’Or’s Town Council. The Old Lamaque Mine historical site is officially classified on July 8, 2010 by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec. In 2012, Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognizes the Old Lamaque Mine and the Bourlamaque Mining Village as national historical sites and recommends the designation to Parks Canada, under the governance of the Ministère de l'Environnement.
Mining village of Bourlamaque
Prospecting will have lasted all through the 1920's.
The mine started operating only in 1933 with the creation of the Lamaque Gold Mines company. That's when the "little mining camp" of Read-Authier rapidly became an impressive industrial site, the Lamaque Mine, who, in turn, gave birth to a community, the Bourlamaque village. Created in the mid-30's, this village was set up to shelter the first gold settlers and is the last witness to Abitibi's mining history. The Bourlamaque became an official historical site in 1979.
Corporation of Bourlamaque's mining village
The Corporation of Bourlamaque’s mining village was established on June 13th, 1984.
In order to highlight the small houses, more specifically the one at 123 Perrault Street. Between 1980 and 1995, this home, which has become an historical house, was part of Val d’Or tourist attractions.