| Abstract | Occurrences of minerals, rocks, and fossils are described for localities in the Temagami, Cobalt, Gowganda, Matachewan, Matheson, and Timmins regions in Ontario, and in the Ville-Marie and Belleterre
areas in Quebec. The collecting area includes two of the greatest precious metal mining camps in the world: the Cobalt silver camp, which ranks third in the total cumulative production of silver in the world, and the Porcupine gold field whose
all-time production is exceeded only by the Witwatersrand gold mines in South Africa. In addition, there are numerous collecting localities in the less celebrated mining camps of Elk Lake, Gowganda, Matachewan, and Belleterre.
The spectacular
discoveries of the Cobalt silver deposits in 1903 and 1904, following within a decade of the world-captivating Klondike Gold Rush, shifted the attention of prospectors and miners to this part of eastern Canada where the initial discoverers engaged in
building the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway were joined by experienced prospectors from the West and elsewhere. Stimulated by successful developments at Cobalt and guided by geological reports issued by the Ontario Bureau of Mines and by
the Geological Survey of Canada, the same band of prospectors extended their search to the then-remote north country and were rapidly rewarded with further discoveries of silver ore at Elk Lake and Gowganda, culminating in the sensational discoveries
of native gold in the Porcupine district in 1909. Thus, within a few years, the area was the scene of the greatest silver rush and the greatest gold rush ever experienced in Ontario. With the establishment of these two mining camps, the attention of
gold seekers was focused on Kirkland Lake, which became the second greatest gold-producing camp in Canada and the third-ranking gold producer in the world. About half a century later, northeastern Ontario was the scene of a modern-day prospecting
rush generated by the discovery of a colossal base metal orebody in the Timmins area; that discovery became the largest silver-zinc-cadmium producer in the world.
Other deposits in the area include those of copper, copper-zinc, nickel, iron,
and asbestos. There are also occurrences of molybdenite, barite, magnesite, and antimony minerals. Fossils occur in the only Paleozoic rocks in the area, which extend north from Lake Timiskaming. Rocks suitable for ornamental purposes include
porphyry, jaspery iron formation, conglomerate, granite, soapstone, and chrome-mica rock.
Most collecting localities are dumps of inactive mines and prospects. Roadcuts provide a number of collecting sites. In general, operating mines are not
collecting areas, but visits to surface plants can sometimes be arranged. Some famous old mines, no longer accessible, are described for historical interest. |