The Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited company was originally organized in 1927 as Eldorado Gold Mines Limited to develop a gold mine in Manitoba. Its president Gilbert LaBine later found radioactive deposits at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories in 1930, which led to the development of the Eldorado Mine at Port Radium. They built a state-of-the-art refinery in Port Hope, Ontario in 1933. Radium production took place between 1933 and 1940 when World War II closed European markets for radium material. The other byproduct of the company was silver, copper, and uranium salts. Uranium was useless until scientists realized the enormous energy potential of the uranium atom. The company reopened the mine at Port Radium in 1942 to supply the United States military with uranium products. The