GUEST COLUMN — If and what if no stone is unturned

Many a parent read to the child, decades ago, Kipling’s inspirational poem “If.” It set out an almost overwhelming list of admirable characteristics — clear thinking, self-confidence, honesty, creativity, willingness to take risks, courage and diligence. If these high standards could be met, Kipling concludes, “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,. And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!”

Does this belong to another era, one of idealism and romanticism? We live today in a period of unprecedented technical achievement. Low-flying aircraft with highly sensitive instruments measure the characteristics of buried rocks to disclose their likely composition and structure. Computers allow us to enter facts into their memory banks, instruct them with programs and then engage in “what if” exercises. What if an assumed fact were to be different?

When the visual discoveries of the great gold mines of Timmins, Ont., were made about 80 years ago, the Timmins and McMartin brothers and David Dunlap acquired a parcel of well-drained land well-situated to provide housing and commerce for the new population. The mines lay to the east, a good water supply to the west, and there was virtually no exposed rock on the land that would make difficult the digging-in of water and sewer lines. There was likely no thought of ore beneath the sand and gravel on which streets could so easily be made and basements dug.

But what if, as indicated by the detailed geology map published by the Ontario Department of Mines almost 30 years ago, the rocks hosting most of the ore at the Hollinger, McIntyre and Coniaurum mines really do underlie the original town? And what if, as indicated by the aeromagnetic maps published by the same ministry in 1988, the rocks are twisted, broken and intruded by less magnetic rocks named porphyries? Might there then be gold ore in such unseen rocks, rocks not available to be sampled by Benny Hollinger, by Sandy McIntyre, by Harry Preston or by Jack Wilson? Might there be in those buried rocks a fraction of the 32 million oz. gold that were produced from the mines just a short walk to the east? Might there in fact be as much gold, some 22 million oz., as was discovered on ground past which cars sped for decades near Hemlo, Ont.?

We have today a window of opportunity to test these possibilities, using modern, accurate, powerful, quiet drills set up where locomotives recently travelled. And if sufficient ore should be found to warrant mining, modern research has developed rock breaking methods which lack the shock, noise and fumes of the explosives our mines have used for so long. Mill sites are silent within reasonable distances, but away from the city centre. Interested technical people are available who champion environmental responsibility and who abhor the desecration of our land, whether manmade parks or areas of natural beauty. We have seen what can happen if technology is applied without the tempering of a responsible conscience. This is just not acceptable. But equally, if we accept the lesson of the parable of the talents, would it be right to leave something of value buried, of no benefit to the owners and the community? We are taught that this is wrong, if no harm should result from the use of the asset.

A group of 12 risk-takers, a syndicate, believes that this exciting possibility should be tested. A commitment of $250,000 has been made to do so. Five of the 12 live, or have lived, in Timmins. The others also believe that the great potential of Timmins has not been exhausted. We hope to provide answers to the questions raised and also hope that the results of our initiative, of our adventure, of our gamble, will be of benefit to the investors, to the community, and to Canadian mining.

— This is the final essay in a trilogy about mining history at Timmins, Ont. Robert Ginn is a former president of The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.