To test the migratory u theory by drilling the Blind River ground, Joubin secured money from mining promoter Joe Hirshhorn, for whom he acted as technical consultant. Sure enough, better grades turned up at depth. Thus did Joubin spark the mine-building frenzy in Elliot Lake. Twelve uranium mines (not 25 as I once erroneously reported) promptly came into production in the mid-1950s on the strength of his theory and the money-raising capabilities of Hirshhorn.
The uranium discovery made Joubin wealthy. But after working a few years as a consultant to private industry, he changed horses in mid-stream by signing on with the United Nations. Under several different un programs, related in the main to finding worthy mineral exploration targets in poorer countries, Joubin acted as a technical volunteer. This, as I only recently learned from his memoirs, was the second stage of his professional life.
On the whole, the book is an unpretentious account of one person’s remarkable journey through life, meant to appeal to an audience of the technical and the non-technical alike.
If you get a chance, buy the book, which is entitled Not For Gold Alone. In the meantime, you can sample the memoirs from excerpts in this issue’s Profile column.
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