Books A rags to riches saga

Rags to riches stories are not uncommon in the mining business, but few will match the feeling related in Silver Threads Among the Gold. Graphically told by author Mike Macbeth, it’s the Agnico story and that of Paul Penna, the humble and humane man who almost single-handedly built that company from miniature to major status over a 25-year period of ups and downs.

His first brush with mining was in the heady post-war days when a penny stock boom swept this country in which he made and lost a fortune in jig-time. But he soon soured of the bucket shop ethics of that era, although becoming imbued with mining’s challenge which drew him to the famed old Cobalt silver camp in 1962.

That’s where and when he became acquainted with Agnico Mines. Taking strong exception to the manner in which that little company was being operated, he formed a shareholders protective committee which ousted its management in a bitter struggle. That, as it turned out, was a happy event for the Cobalt camp which the mining industry was all too ready to write off. For Agnico’s silver division was soon to become the town’s mainstay, thanks to a new found excellent management with unusual perseverence — a trait it holds to this day.

Then there is the parallel saga of its gold division, another battle of ups and downs. And again a happy ending. For the Telbel ground which it bought from Noranda for a song has subsequently been developed into one of the prize gold orebodies in all Quebec — certainly the jewel in Agnico’s crown.

And, it would appear, that same stubborn stick-to-it type of management is on the verge of paying off again at Agnico’s Dumagami operation in Quebec’s bustling Bousquet area where, after 25 years, another good gold producer is rising.

While Silver Threads Among the Gold will surely make fascinating reading for the shareholders of Agnico and its satellite companies, we believe it goes much further. Indeed novices and others who seek an insight into the intricacies of the mining game and the rewards it offers should likewise find this book good reading. Too, it carries a ring of history, replete with authentic pictures from the earliest Cobalt days up to the modern plants and equipment in use today, many of which are in colour. We certainly enjoyed reading it.

This book will be available shortly through Trans-Canada Press, 70 The Esplanade, Second Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1R2. Price:$29.95.