Mining and Mineral Exploration

Lambair was instrumental in providing the transportation of people and equipment for mineral exploration and prospecting throughout northern Canada in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They would transport drilling equipment, food, surveyors, prospectors, cooks and sometimes reluctant seasonal help to drill sites in the Arctic. They would bring out broken equipment, ore and drill cores and provide ambulance services to injured geologists and camp staff.

Flights across the northern reaches of Canada, along the McKenzie river and the Coppermine, and to the nearby Burntwood River where Thompson (and the second largest nickel mine in the world) now stands, were the standard for Lambair pilots. In the early years, these flights were done by his six sons - who would be gone from their families for nearly 3 months during the brief Arctic summer season. During the fall, the same pilots would fly the same routes, placing fuel and equipment in caches along the coastline, in anticipation of the next year’s exploration season.