The assay lab has been housed in the same structure since 1928, when the business was established in the small community that is currently part of Kirkland Lake.
“We have been here for three-and-a-half years and have made a lot of changes,” said President Laur Newton. “We started off with eight people and now we have 42.”
He and Bailey McCrae, secretary treasurer, both came out of retirement to purchase and run the business.
The facility, where the original owner both lived and worked, was running out of space for the employees so a building down the street from the lab was purchased.
“Our services expanded but we still remain with the traditional line of gold assaying which is a good chunk of the business,” he said.
“We introduced some new technology and new instrumentation and now all our prep work is done in the other building and the rest is done here.”
The original building was in bad repair and the top floor was emptied to make room for new office space. The original fireplace was uncovered and is now a prominent feature in the reception area.
“It's amazing what you find,” he said.
The lab primarily serves the local area and one that stretches from Wawa to Rouyn, Que., and south to Cobalt.
“Most are from the local area so you get to know your customers which makes it easier to communicate,” he said. “We haven't done any advertising and most of our customers have been around for years. They know us and we don't have to introduce ourselves to them. Besides, we are busy enough right now.”
Swastika Laboratories works with both exploration companies and established mines and is well situated in a traditional gold area.
“There is still a lot to be found, which is good for us,” Newton said. “We are part of the whole process and as long as the price of gold stays up, we should be good. There is still a lot of promise here with mines opening up, such as in Matheson and Matachewan, but who can say what will happen in a few years. You ramp up or ramp down when required.”
It hasn't been easy for the company to find employees since new mine operations are always looking for people with experience to operate their own labs.
“We have become very multi-cultural here since we have drawn people from the south who come from the Philippines, Iran, Pakistan and China,” he said. “We have a good mix of local and those from elsewhere and we have done some training programs for the locals since we have professional scientists here and those with more formal training.”
Newton said the business will continue doing what it has done very well over the past 83 years. The techniques remain much the same as they did for hundreds of years and only the instrumentation has changed but the lab's tradition of doing quality work has remained.
“It is nice carrying on a business that has been around for such a long time and was one of the principal elements in opening up the mining industry here in Northern Ontario.”
