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Prospecting

Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” Mineral Discovery Sets off Staking Rush – Gregory Reynolds

Gregory Reynolds - Timmins Columnist

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

The results of a single diamond drill hole announced in August of 2007 set off a massive staking rush into the muskeg swamps of Northern Ontario’s James Bay Lowlands.Someone, after looking at a satellite picture of the area, came up with a name for it – the Ring of Fire.

The name quickly became a part of Canadian mining lore and today over 100 companies have holdings inside the ring.

It will take several hundred million dollars to determine whether a new Sudbury Basin type base metal mining camp is being born but the promoters’ hype is that it is so.

That original hole was pulled by a junior company that, as did so many other small exploration ventures, survived ups and downs over the years.Still, Noront Resources Ltd. persevered and it appears Lady Luck has finally asked it to the dance.

What is interesting about the Noront discovery, known as the McFaulds Lake area Double Eagle Project, is that the Aug. 28, 2007 announcement merely hinted at a big find.

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Map Staking May Not Be The Answer – Gregory Reynolds

Gregory Reynolds - Timmins ColumnistThe Ontario government appears to be boxing itself in when it comes to the issue of map staking.

While large Canadian mining companies and some bureaucrats in the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) favour map staking over the traditional method of acquiring Crown land with the possibility of a mineral resource, prospectors and most small mining companies are opposed.

Actually going into the wilderness and physically walking the boundary of a mining claim, known as ground staking, generates a great deal of wealth for several sectors of the economy.

On the other hand, under map staking, a company or an individual can sit at a computer and pick out the land desired. Upon paying the ministry its fees, the company or the prospector has acquired temporary title to the land.

It must be noted under map staking, a company in Russia or a geologist in South Africa would be able to stake several hundred, or even several thousand, claims if the bill could be paid over the internet.

While the province is considering map staking for south of the French River and the debate over its value has raged over that point, there is another aspect to the situation.

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Early Problems for Sudbury Prospectors – Gary Peck

During the 1890s many Sudbury prospectors were upset with recent provincial legislation that proposed to levy a royalty on nickel production. In 1894, A. Hoffman Smith, a resident of Sudbury since 1888, forcefully expressed his criticism of the legislation. At the same time he discussed in some detail the life of a prospector. It is his views regarding prospecting that will be examined today.

 It was the contention of Smith that Algoma was the most difficult area in North America to prospect. Isolation was a problem, there being no trails or roads and pack horses couldn’t be used to the extent they were in British Columbia.

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The MacMillian Claim Table – Michael Barnes

The auctioneer’s gavel has had a great deal to do with the distribution of our northern history. People pass away, the relatives put the estate up to auction and sometimes priceless artifacts are lost to public view, often because those who bid on them are not aware of their significance.

All across our north country people are holding artifacts, curios and just plain keepsakes with the vague notion that the object in question is old and therefore should be kept for their own private posterity.

I come across paintings, photographs pieces of furniture and so on but often with no background material, the significance of the item is lost.

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