Cantung Mine

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Cantung Mine was a tungsten producer in the Northwest Territories, Canada from 1962 to 1986, and during 2002 and 2003. The original company that developed the mine was Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation Limited, with Cantung being a short abbreviated form of the company name. The small community of Tungsten was established for workers and their families. It was an open pit operation until 1974 when the newly discovered underground deposit was brought to production. It closed due to low tungsten prices in 1986. With higher prices in the new millennium, the new owner North American Tungsten Corporation reopened the mine for production in 2002. The mine again closed in 2003 when the company's creditors recalled their loans, putting the company on the verge of bankruptcy. They have since re-financed and the mine was reopened September 1 2005 and claims to be the largest supplier of tungsten in the western world.