| City of Matagami Ville de Matagami |
|
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| View of Matagami | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Nord-du-Québec |
| Established | 1963 |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Mayor | René Dubé |
| • Governing Body | Matagami City Council |
| • MP | |
| • MPP | |
| Area | |
| • Total | 66.85 km2 (25.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,555 |
| • Density | 23.3/km2 (60.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code | J0Y |
| Area code(s) | 819 |
| Website | www.matagami.com |
Matagami (muh-TAW-guh-mee) is a small town in Quebec, Canada. It is located north of Amos, on Matagami Lake, at the northern terminus of Route 109 and the start of the James Bay Road (French: Route de la Baie James). The town had a population of 1,555 in the Canada 2006 Census.
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Matagami was founded in 1963 with the development of mining in the area. Previously, it existed only as a very small prospecting camp accessible only by float plane, but after a viable mineral deposit was found in the late 1950s a permanent settlement began to be established. In 1962, the Quebec Toponomy Commission attempted to name the new community Mazenod after Charles-Joseph-Eugène de Mazenod, the founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, but after a public outcry by local residents the community was named after Matagami Lake.
The name Matagami means "the confluence of waters" in the Cree language.[1]
The first church service in Matagami was held on 17 April 1962.
Population:[2]
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 656 (total: 797)
Mother tongue:
The two primary employers in the city are Xstrata and Domtar. Domtar has been in Matagami since 1988 when the company bought out Bisson & Bisson.[3]
Xstrata entered Matagami in 2006 when it acquired Falconbridge Ltd. In 2008, Xstrata put Perseverance, a zinc-copper volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit, into production. Perseverance has a mine life of 5.5 years.[4] Since 1957 ten deposits, including the world class Matagami Lake deposit (25.6 million tonnes grading 8.2% Zn, 0.56% Cu, 20.91 g/t Ag, 0.41 g/t Au), have been discovered and mined out for a total of "44.4 million tonnes with a similar average grade."[5]
Further exploration is continuing in the camp through a 50-50 joint venture agreement between Xstrata and Donner Metals.[6] In late 2008, Donner Metals Ltd. announced that Xstrata Zinc Canada was in the process of completing a scoping study at their jointly owned Bracemac-McLeod property.[7] It is the nearest city to the Lac Doré Vanadium Deposit.[8]
The community is also one of the distribution points for goods and services to the James Bay Hydroelectric Project. As well, Matagami has a small tourism industry due to the popularity of fishing and hunting in northern Quebec. Hotel Bell and Hotel Matagami include full service bars.
| Climate data for Matagami | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.1 (43.0) |
9.1 (48.4) |
15.5 (59.9) |
28.7 (83.7) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.8 (91.0) |
39.4 (102.9) |
36.7 (98.1) |
28.8 (83.8) |
23 (73) |
17.8 (64.0) |
13.5 (56.3) |
39.4 (102.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −13.4 (7.9) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
5.5 (41.9) |
14.7 (58.5) |
19.7 (67.5) |
23.1 (73.6) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14 (57) |
6.8 (44.2) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
5.5 (41.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −20 (−4) |
−17.3 (0.9) |
−10.7 (12.7) |
−1 (30) |
7.7 (45.9) |
12.8 (55.0) |
16.1 (61.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
8.8 (47.8) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −26.6 (−15.9) |
−24.3 (−11.7) |
−18.3 (−0.9) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
0.6 (33.1) |
5.8 (42.4) |
9 (48) |
7.8 (46.0) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−21.8 (−7.2) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.2 (−45.8) |
−43.2 (−45.8) |
−44.1 (−47.4) |
−28.9 (−20.0) |
−18.3 (−0.9) |
−6 (21) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−15.6 (3.9) |
−31.3 (−24.3) |
−42 (−44) |
−44.1 (−47.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 55 (2.17) |
34.1 (1.343) |
48.1 (1.894) |
55.4 (2.181) |
77.4 (3.047) |
101.1 (3.98) |
109.3 (4.303) |
110.2 (4.339) |
108.9 (4.287) |
86 (3.39) |
65.6 (2.583) |
54.5 (2.146) |
905.5 (35.65) |
| Source: Environment Canada[9] | |||||||||||||
Matagami is served by a community radio station, CHEF-FM, as well as by a rebroadcaster of Première Chaîne's CHLM-FM.
Matagami is the birthplace of Canadian swimmer Marianne Limpert, who won the silver medal in the 200m Individual Medley at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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