Between 1953 and 1956, one hundred area prospects were opened, including one by Bancroft prospector Arthur H. Shore, whose discovery of uranium was first confirmed in 1949.

Shore sold control of the company to Augustus Exploration Limited, who started full development of the site in 1952.

[2] In January 1956, a contract was agreed with Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited to buy the uranium, triggering an economic boom in the area, with houses for company executives being built at nearby Bow Lake and 40 houses for workers being built on the company's land in Bancroft.

Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, relying on an old agreement with the United Kingdom to buy uranium from Canada, was able to prolong the life of the mine by eighteen months, giving the community enough time to plan for the closure.

[1] Ownership was 51% by Salt Lake City based[7] Federal Resources Corporation and 49% Consolidated Canadian Faraday Limited.

[4] In 1981, 2,958 local residents signed a petition that was delivered to the Ontario Legislature demanding that withdraw permission given to the Atomic Energy Control Board to dump 4,000 tons[8] of radioactive contaminated soil from Scarborough on the mine's tailings.

[19] Since inspections found improper surface protection of tailing in 2015, the mine has been undergoing rehabilitation by EWL, who contracted Golder Associates as the main contractor.

Risk assessments note that the uranium would "not result in adverse effects on any species of aquatic life from exposure to those concentrations in surface water, sediment and groundwater associated with the Madawaska decommissioned site.

With the improvements to water flow and the new cover system that is almost completed for the site, future results should demonstrate that migration of contaminants into the surrounding environment has been limited.

Ovintiv absorbed EWL Management Limited on February 22, 2022 and assumed responsibilities for the mine, but not updated any of the licensing documentation to reflect the change.

[24][25][note 1] Over the two periods of production, the mine produced 9 million pounds (4,082 tonnes) of U3O8 concentrate, at an average ore grade of 0.1074%.