Odds ‘n’ sods: Three important lesser-knowns

Among the movers and shakers of Elliot Lake were three men who have generally been underacknowledged. The roles they played were important, but their overall involvement was limited in comparison with such renowned pioneers as Franc Joubin and Joseph Hirshhorn.

One of these lesser-known pioneers, Ralph Benner (b. 1914) passed away earlier this year. Prior to the Pronto-Peach discovery, Benner had consulted for Stephen Roman from time to time. He was also an acquaintance of Franc Joubin. From what I have been told, Benner carried out an independent calculation of the Pronto reserves, though, to my knowledge, he was not a member of the production staff.

Benner gained prominence after being hired by Roman to manage the original deep drilling program on the Denison property. The first two holes were drilled west of the orebody because of the unknown eastern plunge of the zone. After a brief discussion with Joubin, it was decided that a third hole would be collared farther to the east, over the water of Quirke Lake. At considerable depth, the hole intersected the western edge of the uraniferous conglomerates that turned out to be part of the ore zone.

Benner was also closely involved in the re-staking of the Stollery claims, which were something like four times the legal size. The claims were not accepted for recording by the Ontario Department of Mines and so had to be re-staked. To further muddy this situation, the Denison orebody had already been drilled. That was quite a day!

To me, Manfred Johnston was among the last of the classic breed of Swedish prospectors in Canada. Keen, energetic, independent and, perhaps most of all, very much at home in the bush with rocks to prospect.

Johnston was anxious about the original prospecting team. A year or so later, after being transferred to the Toronto office, I discovered why: Johnston was prospecting for Preston East Dome — under contract no less. Effectively, Johnston wanted some ownership in land he had staked. I later learned that Johnston had sought legal action and that the court settlement was for the relatively small sum of $25,000, which left him embittered. (Incidentally, I remember being told Johnston had made the original Quirke Lake discovery by himself one evening.)

I knew Roy Poutney during the pioneer days. He was a fine man and a member of the Preston East Dome team. He was also Bob Hart’s right-hand man during the development stages of the original Rio Algom mines. Unfortunately, the archives have overlooked this man’s role: he was appointed chief geologist at the Quirke Lake mine.

Unfortunately, he suffered heart trouble in middle age and eventually was forced into early retirement. Poutney continued to live in Elliot Lake before moving to the southern U.S. a few years ago.

Next week: Eric Holt.

The author, a professional engineer, resides in Barrie, Ont.