Mining in Canada

Below are a few articles from the Rockhound Canada and Rocks and Minerals of Canada magazines. The articles were all printed in the 70s or the 80s and are not up-to-date, however they are all interesting reads.

sketch of a mole historic gold honeycomb group of miners in sudbury

From The Canadian Rockhound magazine
Of Moles and Men (February 1975) Miners are a breed apart from other men, many preferring to work underground even when offered another job on the surface.
Dry Panning (August 1978) The lack of water in many parts of Australia, makes dry panning the only feasible way to check beds for the precious yellow metal.
World History of Gold (August 1979) Even before the dawn of recorded time gold has gripped mankind’s heart and soul in an enduring and passionate embrace.
History in the Making (August 1980) On the banks of the St. Lawrence, more than 400 years ago, the French explorer Jacques Cartier heard Indians tell of gold and precious stones that abounded in this new world.
Age-Old Techniques of the Goldsmith (February 1980) When Michael Ayrton, the painter, and the goldsmith, John Donald, succeeded in reproducing the legendary golden honey-comb of Dedalus, they were asserting a truth about the past which was new to many people.
The Mining History of the Sudbury Area (Spring 1983) August 1883, Thomas Flanagan, a blacksmith on the Canadian Pacific Railway, noticed a rust coloured patch of rock while working with a crew in a recently blasted rock cut north-west of present-day Sudbury.

From The Canadian Rockhound magazine

Of Moles and Men (February 1975)

Miners are a breed apart from other men, many preferring to work underground even when offered another job on the surface.

Dry Panning (August 1978)

The lack of water in many parts of Australia, makes dry panning the only feasible way to check beds for the precious yellow metal.

World History of Gold (August 1979)

Even before the dawn of recorded time gold has gripped mankind’s heart and soul in an enduring and passionate embrace.

History in the Making (August 1980)

On the banks of the St. Lawrence, more than 400 years ago, the French explorer Jacques Cartier heard Indians tell of gold and precious stones that abounded in this new world.

Age-Old Techniques of the Goldsmith (February 1980)

When Michael Ayrton, the painter, and the goldsmith, John Donald, succeeded in reproducing the legendary golden honey-comb of Dedalus, they were asserting a truth about the past which was new to many people.

The Mining History of the Sudbury Area (Spring 1983)

August 1883, Thomas Flanagan, a blacksmith on the Canadian Pacific Railway, noticed a rust coloured patch of rock while working with a crew in a recently blasted rock cut north-west of present-day Sudbury.

prospector wet panning bancroft cabin people in open cockpit

From Rocks and Minerals in Canada magazine
Notes from a Prospector's Diary (May/ June 1979) Prospector E.R. Kidd kept a most interesting diary which helps us visualize the day-to-day activities of a frontiersman of that era.
Elliot Lake (September/ October 1980) Known in the early 1950’s as the “Uranium Capital of the World” Elliot Lake was planned and built to serve the needs of the miners employed at the uranium mines in the immediate vicinity.
Three Men Who Unlocked the West (March/April 1980) The early western Canadian land surveys over the five decades, 1870 to 1920, were important in the orderly occupation of more than 200 million acres across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and parts of British Columbia.
Prospecting the Prospects (January/ February, 1981) “Compared with the thousands of acres of an oilfield, mineral deposits are smaller –only a few acres –though we might be looking in an area of millions of acres. And in minerals, you have to drill more holes.” Even then, only about one in a thousand prospects becomes a mine.
Bancroft History (circa 1900) Gold Fever (May/ June 1981) Bancroft is the world’s major source of blue sodalite, popular with builders and jewellery craftsmen.
Silver in Canada (March/ April 1981) Even though it may lack most of the romantic connotations associated with gold, silver has played a significant role in the drama of Canadian mining.

From Rocks and Minerals in Canada magazine

Notes from a Prospector's Diary (May/ June 1979)

Prospector E.R. Kidd kept a most interesting diary which helps us visualize the day-to-day activities of a frontiersman of that era.

Elliot Lake (September/ October 1980)

Known in the early 1950’s as the “Uranium Capital of the World” Elliot Lake was planned and built to serve the needs of the miners employed at the uranium mines in the immediate vicinity.

Three Men Who Unlocked the West (March/April 1980)

The early western Canadian land surveys over the five decades, 1870 to 1920, were important in the orderly occupation of more than 200 million acres across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and parts of British Columbia.

Prospecting the Prospects (January/ February, 1981)

“Compared with the thousands of acres of an oilfield, mineral deposits are smaller –only a few acres –though we might be looking in an area of millions of acres. And in minerals, you have to drill more holes.” Even then, only about one in a thousand prospects becomes a mine.

Bancroft History (circa 1900) Gold Fever (May/ June 1981)

Bancroft is the world’s major source of blue sodalite, popular with builders and jewellery craftsmen.

Silver in Canada (March/ April 1981)

Even though it may lack most of the romantic connotations associated with gold, silver has played a significant role in the drama of Canadian mining.