Queries Canadian Pandora defunct

In 1934, I bought 700 shares in Canadian Pandora Gold Mines. I also own certificates for 1,000 shares in Clearwater Mines and Earlcrest Resources, purchased in 1969. Can you tell me anything about these companies and if the stocks are of any current value? R.C., Toronto, Ont.

Unfortunately, two of the certificates you hold are for defunct companies and, therefore, they are of no value.

According to our records, Earlcrest Resources was incorporated in British Columbia in 1959 and later amalgamated with a company called General Resources in 1979. The charters for both of those two companies were cancelled in September, 1983.

The certificate for Canadian Pandora Gold Mines isn’t of any financial value since that company is also defunct. Its charter was cancelled in November, 1961. The certificate is historically significant, however, and the engraving depicting a mine headframe in the upper half is quite interesting.

During the 1930s, Canada’s gold output soared to record highs as hundreds of new mines came into production following the setting of the gold price at US$35 in the U.S. The depression years were important for the growth of Canada’s gold mining industry, and your certificate is part of that history.

It doesn’t look like the shares of Clearwater Mines are worth much, although we have not received notice of its charter being cancelled. Clearwater is an inactive company and its shares have not traded on the Montreal Stock Exchange since a permanent cease-trade order was issued by the Quebec Securities Commission on March 3, 1975.

Our files show the company held a base metals prospect in the Bathurst area of New Brunswick in 1983. Drilling in 1966 on the property indicated six million tons of material grading 1.5% zinc, 0.5% copper, 0.04 oz. gold per ton to a depth of 1,000 ft. The 24-claim group was known as the Canoe Landing Lake prospect.