After WWII and into the 1950's, much of the tailings were re-processed not only for silver but also now for cobalt...So how much of the tailings piles have not been re-processed who knows..
World War II and the period following saw a revitalization of mining in Cobalt. Until then, there had been little use for the cobalt contained in the ores, and most of it ended up in the tailings, but during and after the war new medical uses were developed for cobalt for the treatment of cancer, and the metal also saw increasing use in metal alloys. In addition, the discovery of new high grade veins led to renewed exploration and mining for silver.
Late in the war, Harry Miller�s Silver Miller Mines found high grade silver at Brady Lake, southeast of Kerr Lake. By the early 1950s, Silver Miller Mines had three operations at Brady Lake, the Lawson Mine, and the Larose Mine. Other mines reopened too, including the Right-of-Way, Crown Reserve, Kerr Lake, O�Brien and Nipissing. Other properties that reopened included the Savage Mine (Silver Summit, Silverfields), and the Bailey property (Glen Lake Silver). For a while the glory days of Cobalt returned. Some operations also scoured old waste rock piles, looking for cobalt that has been discarded by the early mines. And some operations also re-processed tailings for their silver and cobalt content. Tailings from the south end of Cobalt Lake, for example, were re-processed and then re-deposited in the north end of the lake
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