The mining operation in the town was comparatively large, starting with mining the raw ore and finishing with an end product of pure copper anode. In the 1970s, the mining operation in Murdochville was large enough to support a population of 5,000 inhabitants. A number of large union battles in Murdochville also helped lay the groundwork for ideas that still exist today. The 1957 Murdochville strike led to the adoption of several new laws protecting the rights of unionized workers in Quebec.