Letter to the editor Kirkland Lake `an entity unto itself’

Since when is Matachewan near Timmins, Ont., in relation to mining concerns? It is within the Larder Lake mining division, and the Ministry of Northern Development & Mines Office overseeing the district is in Kirkland Lake. Geographically, the distance between Matachewan and Kirkland Lake is 33 miles, whereas the distance between Matachewan and Timmins is 53 miles. Although the text of your article “Royal Oak excited by Matachewan” (Aug. 13/90) correctly situates the Upper Beaver near Kirkland Lake, as it does in the article “Pamorex ponders reopening Timmins area gold mine” (Aug. 6/90), this headline certainly calls to attention the lack of prudence on the part of the writer.

Is the author minimizing the importance of the Kirkland Lake camp or is he just ignorant of the historical, cultural and political division between the two towns?

We are not knocking Timmins. We are simply protecting the reputation of a mining camp, Kirkland lake, which has every right to exist as an entity unto itself. Michael Leahy President Northern Prospectors’ Association Kirkland Lake, Ont.