Tungsten, Northwest Territories

Abandoned company town in the Northwest Territories, Canada

Tungsten, NWT

The townsite of Tungsten (shown as Cantung on some maps) is located at Cantung Mine in the Northwest Territories. It is accessible from Watson Lake, Yukon via the Nahanni Range Road.

## History

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Federal census population history of TungstenYear| Pop.| ±%

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1976| 229| —
1981| 320| +39.7%
1986| 238| −25.6%
Source: Statistics Canada
[1][2]

Tungsten was built in 1961 and the tungsten mine went into operation in 1962 as a large open-pit mine in the Mackenzie Mountains. It originally consisted of several small bungalow houses. Total population of Tungsten during the 1960s was approximately 120 persons, including about 27 families. In 1968 families were housed in 28 units (single and duplex housing).

Because of extremely good wages and benefits, turnover rates for the entire operation were quite low. Families benefited from the K-8 Grade school, and later a K-9 system. During the summer months, because of the open pit operation, manpower and townsite population grew to 160. In the mid-1970s, the townsite expanded to include a trailer court, three condominiums, bunkhouse trailers, and in 1982, a modern recreation complex. An 80-man bunkhouse was added in 1983. The town and mine were serviced by an all-weather road to Watson Lake and the, still open, Tungsten (Cantung) Airport, with a single runway measuring 4,127 ft × 100 ft (1,258 m × 30 m).[3]

In 1979 the estimated population had reached 506, of whom 200 were employees. By the fall of 1982, there were 450 residents and about 100 children were enrolled at Tungsten School. The community also had a public telephone exchange operated by Northwestel: area code 403, prefix 777. By 1986, it was estimated that only 280 people were living at Tungsten. The Cantung Mine closed in May 1986, and the townsite was closed. A year or two later, the telephone exchange, with only a handful of active lines on obsolescent electromechanical equipment, was shut down.

Although the mine reopened in 2002, the nature of the mine had changed so that there was no longer an operating townsite with families. The mine closed again in 2003. Following an investment by the Yukon based Kaska Dena Council in December 2004 the mine was reopened in 2005. The original bungalow houses remain to this day, along with the school, and stand as a monument to a time when town life was busy with local residents.

## Geography

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The community had the distinction of being the only place in the Northwest Territories that was on Pacific Time (used in Yukon) rather than Mountain Time.[4]

### Climate

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Tungsten has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with long, severely cold winters and short but mild and rainy summers.[5]

Climate data for Tungsten

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °C (°F)  | 3.5
(38.3)  | 7.8
(46.0)  | 8.0
(46.4)  | 14.4
(57.9)  | 24.0
(75.2)  | 28.3
(82.9)  | 26.7
(80.1)  | 27.8
(82.0)  | 24.4
(75.9)  | 11.0
(51.8)  | 4.4
(39.9)  | 5.0
(41.0)  | 28.3
(82.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)  | −17.2
(1.0)  | −12.7
(9.1)  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | −11.0
(12.2)  | —  | —
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | −19.8
(−3.6)  | −23.6
(−10.5)  | —
Record low °C (°F)  | −51.0
(−59.8)  | −48.3
(−54.9)  | −42.2
(−44.0)  | −38.0
(−36.4)  | −16.7
(1.9)  | −4.0
(24.8)  | −0.6
(30.9)  | −8.0
(17.6)  | −18.3
(−0.9)  | −32.0
(−25.6)  | −42.0
(−43.6)  | −50.0
(−58.0)  | −51.0
(−59.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 41.8
(1.65)  | 32.3
(1.27)  | 33.1
(1.30)  | —  | —  | 61.8
(2.43)  | 87.4
(3.44)  | 83.0
(3.27)  | 64.1
(2.52)  | —  | 50.0
(1.97)  | 32.9
(1.30)  | —
Source: 1961-1990 Environment Canada[6]

## See also

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* Mactung mine

## References

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1. ^ "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order" (PDF). Statistics Canada. May 1992. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
2. ^ "1986 Census: Population - Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions" (PDF). Statistics Canada. September 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
3. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
4. ^ "Inside Cantung, the mine that keeps on giving". Yukon News. March 8, 2013. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
5. ^ "Tungsten, Northwest Territories Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
6. ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1961–1990. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

## External links

[edit]

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Subdivisions of the Northwest Territories

Census divisions|

* Region 1 Unorganized
* Region 2 Unorganized
* Region 3 Unorganized
* Region 4 Unorganized
* Region 5 Unorganized
* Region 6 Unorganized

Former census divisions|

* Fort Smith
* Inuvik

Dehcho Region|

| Municipalities|

* Fort Liard
* Fort Simpson (regional office)

|

Other|

* Jean Marie River
* Nahanni Butte
* Sambaa K'e
* Wrigley

Inuvik Region|

| Municipalities|

* Aklavik
* Fort McPherson
* Inuvik (regional office)
* Paulatuk
* Sachs Harbour
* Tsiigehtchic
* Tuktoyaktuk
* Ulukhaktok

|

North Slave Region|

| Municipalities|

* Behchokǫ̀ (regional office)
* Gamèti
* Wekweètì
* Whatì
* Yellowknife (regional office and territorial capital) (N'Dilo)

|

Other|

* Dettah
* Lutselk'e

Sahtu Region|

| Municipalities|

* Deline
* Fort Good Hope
* Norman Wells (regional office)
* Tulita

|

Other|

* Colville Lake

South Slave Region|

| Municipalities|

* Enterprise
* Fort Providence
* Fort Resolution
* Fort Smith (regional office)
* Hay River (regional office)

|

Other|

* Hay River Reserve
* Kakisa

Weather stations
(outside of communities)|

* Cape Parry
* Mould Bay
* Sachs Harbour Climate
* Tuktoyaktuk
* Yellowknife Hydro

Mine sites|

| Proposed|

* Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project
* Thor Lake

|

Operating|

* Cantung Mine
* Diavik Diamond Mine
* Ekati Diamond Mine
* Snap Lake Diamond Mine

Defunct|

* Beaulieu Mine
* Burwash Mine
* Camlaren Mine
* Colomac Mine
* Con Mine
* Discovery Mine
* Echo Bay Mines
* Eldorado Mine
* Giant Mine
* Negus Mine
* Outpost Island Mine
* Pine Point Mine
* Ptarmigan and Tom Mine
* Rayrock Mine
* Ruth Mine
* Salmita Mine
* Thompson-Lundmark Mine
* Tundra Mine

DEW line and NWS sites|

* Atkinson Point (BAR-D)
* Cape Parry (PIN-MAIN)
* Clinton Point (PIN-1)
* Horton River (Malloch Hills) (BAR-E)
* Keats Point (PIN-1BD)
* Liverpool Bay (BAR-DA1)
* Nicholson Peninsula (BAR-4)
* Pearce Point (PIN-A)
* Storm Hills (BAR-BA3)
* Tuktoyaktuk (BAR-3)
* Tununuk Camp (BAR-C)

Hudson's Bay Company
trading posts|

* Aklavik
* Fort Good Hope
* Fort Collinson
* Fort Liard
* Fort Franklin
* Fort McPherson
* Fort Providence
* Old Fort Providence
* Fort Rae
* Fort Reliance
* Fort Resolution
* Fort Simpson
* Fort Smith
* Hay River
* Holman
* Letty Harbour
* Rymer Point (Fort Harmon)
* Trout Lake
* Tuktoyaktuk
* Fort Norman
* Walker Bay
* Fort Wrigley

Former districts|

* Alberta (1882-1905)
* Assiniboia (1882-1905)
* Athabasca (1882-1905)
* Franklin (1895-1999)
* Keewatin (1905-1999)
* Mackenzie (1895-1999)
* Saskatchewan (1882-1905)
* Ungava (1895-1920)
* Yukon (1895-1898)

* Category
* Canada portal

61°57′25″N 128°12′10″W﻿ / ﻿61.95694°N 128.20278°W﻿ / 61.95694; -128.20278﻿ (Tungsten)

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