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Green with jade
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Golden opportunities
The ongoing history of Canada's mineral rushes reveals
that there are always fortunes to be made ... and lost.
Story by Jackie Wallace
The story of mineral rushes in Canada evokes images of prospectors chasing
rumours to remote areas of the country, lured by the promise of fortune
and adventure. The "rush" referred to the frenzied flocking that took
place after an area was discovered to be rich in a profitable mineral.
Prospectors went to stake their claims, and claim their fortunes.
As a mineral-rich country, Canada has a long and varied history of mineral
rushes. But the excitement of discovery continues today; there are still
fortunes to be made. Corners of the country are optimistically scoured
and explored in the hope that one sample will yield more. Here is a brief
look at rushes past.
1858 - Oil
The oil industry in North America can be traced back to the successful
extraction of oil from "gum beds" near Petrolia
(map), in southwestern Ontario, in 1858. This led to the founding
of the first integrated oil company, which oversaw exploration, drilling
and refining oil, making Petrolia the home of oil development and refining
technologies in the world. The fields of Petrolia supplied 90 percent
of Canada's oil for the next 50 years.
1859 - Copper
Copper was discovered in the Eastern Townships of Quebec in 1859, placing
the region at the centre of a copper rush. The proximity of the Townships
to the United States, and a rail line running across the border, opened
up a huge market for copper exports. The first mine opened in Ascot,
Quebec (map), in 1863 and a number of operations followed in the
area. Eventually, the proliferation of mines here and south of the border
caused the industry to collapse, and mines in the Eastern Townships had
begun to close by 1907.
1866 - Salt
Drills looking for oil along Lake
Huron (map), at Goderich Harbour in Ontario, uncovered the first
salt bed discovered in North America, in 1866. There were 12 mines in
the area by the end of 1867.The discovery of salt in Goderich led to
the creation of the Sifto company, which is still one of the world's
largest salt suppliers and whose familiar packaging is found on grocery
store and pantry shelves across the country.
1897 - Gold
Gold fever brought 25,000 potential prospectors, mostly from the
United States, to the creeks feeding the Klondike River in the Yukon
in 1897
and 1898. All were scrambling for treasure in what would be the largest
rush in Canadian history at the time. During the boom, nearby Dawson
City (map) experienced a growth of businesses and population,
but this declined rapidly as miners were lured farther north to Alaska
with
the promise of new goldfields.
1903 - Silver
Legend has it that a fox set off the silver rush in Cobalt,
Ontario (map), of 1903. According to the story, a railway blacksmith
threw his hammer at a fox but missed, and when he retrieved his hammer
he found shiny fragments in the rock. The discovery led to what is said
to be the world's largest silver rush.
The largest single mass of solid silver, called the Silver Sidewalk,
was discovered in Cobalt in 1904. Mines moved in and at the peak of the
rush there were as many as 50. Due to the mass influx, the area was completely
mined by 1915.
1991 - Diamonds
The largest staking rush in Canadian history began after the discovery
of diamonds at Point Lake in the Northwest Territories in 1991. The Ekati
Mine opened in 1998, followed by the Diavik Mine in 2002; the Jericho
Mine is expected to begin production in 2005. Canada is now the world's
third-largest producer of diamonds, with more mine openings planned and
frenzied exploration happening across the Arctic.
1993 - Nickel
One of the world's richest deposits of nickel was discovered at Voisey's
Bay in Labrador in 1993. An estimate that approximately 100-million tonnes
of nickel ore lay beneath the surface touched off a rush of staking claims
by mining companies. The Voisey's Bay site continues to be mined and
Labrador is being vigorously explored in hopes of discovering rich deposits
of other minerals.
PHOTO: Prospectors seeking their fortunes in the Klondike Gold Rush
had to contend with the challenges of steep, slick, narrow, snowy inclines,
only to make it to the perilous rapids of the Yukon River, which had
to be navigated to make it to Dawson City.
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