Silver-Lead-Zinc Mining & Cominco (3 of 5) In 1909 the Kimberley
mining company was reorganized as the Fort Steele Mining and
Smelting Company controlled by the Federal Mining and Smelting
Company. In December of that year the Consolidated Mining and
Smelting Company leased the operations and soon after acquired
control of the holdings. By 1914, the Sullivan Mine at Kimberley
had become the most important producer of lead in Canada. At the
same time, zinc had become a critical material during the First
World War. The problems of dealing with the mixed lead-zinc ores
were not easily solved. At first only ores rich in one or the
other metal could be handled but by 1920 a successful process
had been developed to fully utilize the ores. At that time ore
prices were very low and the company was in serious financial
trouble. However, prices recovered and the facilities at Trail
were expanded to handle more ore with a resulting increase in
traffic on the Crowsnest Pass Route. The Sullivan Mine continued
to be develo