Cobalt Mining Museum

The Cobalt Mining Museum lives in a rather non-descript brick commercial building in downtown Cobalt, Ontario. Tucked between a government services office and an LCBO, one would be forgiven for not paying it the slightest attention. If you’ve seen one small, forgotten town’s museum, you’ve seen them all.

That would be a mistake, because Cobalt is not your average forgotten small town. The silver boom that ignited in 1903 and led to the birth of this northeastern Ontario town is one of the most important in Canadian history. It can be argued that the hard rock mining industry in this country began at Cobalt. Considering the mining the occurs across this land, that’s no insignificant claim to fame.

The Cobalt Mining Museum aims to preserve that history along with the culture and social life that permeated this region in the early days of the silver bonanza. Exhibits include an impressive collection of rocks and minerals from around the globe, along with a large display of silver ore from the various Cobalt mines that once operated both in and around town. The cherry on top is a guided mine tour of the Old Colonial Mine adit.

To further your Cobalt adventure, the Heritage Silver Trail is a collection of notable historical sites all related to silver and cobalt mining. This self-guided tour includes headframes, adits, and open pits all with signage and viewing areas or trails. The website below has further information as well as an interactive map of all the current locations.