The many-sided coin

Years ago, Ron Thorton and I found several good-looking, gold-quartz belts in the eastern end of Nova Scotia, near an old mine. We tried, for some time, to raise money to bulk-sample the belts, but to no avail.

Thorton decided to travel to an old gold mine in western Nova Scotia to meet a British chap named Tony, who was managing a U.S. firm that had just acquired an old gold mine in the area.

Like us, the firm wanted to test some high-grade zones and put an open pit into production.

Thorton knew the ilk of every gold mine in Nova Scotia, and, being an aggressive lad, soon convinced Tony that all of the surface veins on the property had been picked clean prior to 1890. But he suggested that his firm get involved in a new gold discovery on the opposite end of the province, which, of course, was our property. Thorton told Tony of the potential of the project, and the next day the excited Brit arrived in Truro to examine the veins. In the evening he came to see me about a deal.

The meeting went well and a deal was struck. The U.S. firm and our small group entered into a joint venture to mine the prospect if the bulk samples returned significant amounts of gold. The firm agreed to pay all costs for the blasting, extraction and milling of the small open-pit operation. Tony informed me that I would have talk to “Mr. X,” the firm’s chief executive officer, to confirm the deal. The following morning I called him, and after some haggling, we reached a deal that was signed 10 days later.

While waiting for the firm to send the first truckload of mining equipment, Tony started to bother me by constantly talking about his experience with mining and milling. There was something about him that didn’t sit right with me. When I mentioned this to Thorton, he said: “He bothers me too, but it’s too late now, it’s obvious that he knows more about mining and milling than we do. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”

Well, things sure as hell happened! A few days later, the equipment arrived at the property. Even to our untrained eyes, it was a worthless, rusted pile of junk fit only for a scrap mill. We cornered Tony and leaned on him for some information.

Tony said he was a mechanic’s helper in the United Kingdom but had illegally moved to the southwestern U.S. two years earlier. He spent this time moving from one project to another, helping transients dismantle old milling equipment for a “Mr. Y,” a well-off building contractor and junk-dealer in the U.S.

With further prodding, Tony told us that a Boston-based “Mr. Z” had acquired the old gold mine in western Nova Scotia by paying $32 for a licence to the Nova Scotia Department of Mines. He then sold the property to Mr. X for big bucks, and Mr. X, in turn, sold shares to investors to finance a gold mining enterprise.

Mr. X also contacted Mr. Y, who was a dealer in mining and milling equipment. A deal was struck whereby Mr. Y would sell Mr. X enough equipment for a small, open-pit mine in return for a pile of shares. As part of the deal, Mr. Y was supposed to supply an experienced man who would bring the equipment to the old gold mine and hire local help to bring the mine into operation.

Thorton went ballistic upon hearing the news. “This still doesn’t tell us how you fit into the picture!” he screamed.

Tony said he was unhappy in the U.S. and had been looking for a chance to move to Canada. When heard that Mr. Y needed someone to help with some equipment being sent to Nova Scotia, he called Mr. Y and convinced the contractor that he was the right man for the job. (If you hadn’t already guessed, Tony had never worked in a gold mine, either.)

Not long afterwards, Tony was deported and Mr. X was sent to jail.

Several years later, we decided to build our own small test mill at the same site. We needed a barrel amalgamator to put in the circuit, and Thorton found one in Mr. Y’s junk. After some cleaning, it was put it into use.

But the circuit did not work, so we hired a mill expert to check it out. The guy took one look at the amalgamator and scratched his head.

“Why are you using this old paint mixer?” he asked.

That was the end of my dream of having a small gold mining operation in Nova Scotia. It was at that point that I decided to stick to exploration and prospecting.

— The author is president of Nova Scotia-based Ecum Secum Enterprises.