PROFILE Parres stockpiles his laurels

Whenever the subject of mining in Manitoba comes up, the Parres family is likely to be mentioned. Lew, for one, was dubbed prospector of the year for 1988 by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. As well, he is currently president of the Manitoba- Saskatchewan Prospectors and Developers Association. Parres started prospecting with his father and brother in the mineral-rich Flin Flon and Snow Lake areas in 1929. Lew was 0000,0503 then 14. Among the discoveries credited to Lew Parres are the Sherlynn deposit (1947) in Manitoba’s Lynn Lake area, the Western Nuclear mine (1957) at Han son Lake, Sask., and the Pinebay orebody (1967) in the Flin Flon area. He had served as president of Nor-Acme Gold Mines for 30 years, 1958-88.

The gold deposit at Snow Lake that eventually became the Nor-Acme mine was staked by Lew’s father in 1927 and developed by Lew and his brother. The property was optioned to Howe Sound Mining Co. in 1941 and put into production in 1948.

Lew Parres graduated from the University of Saskatchewn in 1938 with a B.Sc. in geology. He had worked as a miner, shift boss and geologist at the Coniaurum mine at Schumacher, Ont. In 1945, after his service in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, Parres moved to Flin Flon with his wife, Billie. Married to Parres for 51 years, she has kept claim and property records for him. They have three children.

Between 1946 and 1988, Parres was consulting geologist for mining companies such as Guggenheim Brothers in New York, N.Y., and Cyprus Corp. in Los Angeles, Calif. In 1957, he initiated the proposal for the Hanson Lake Highway to the Saskatchewan government. This highway connects Flin Flon, Prince Albert, Sask., and Lac La Ronge, Sask.

Now a self-employed prospector, Parres is interested in sports. “My hobbies will be golf and gardening when I become too old or physically unable to tramp the muskegs and fight the flies and mosquitoes.”

Parres thinks Canadians should be “encouraged” and “educated” to invest in the country’s natural resources. “If all the provincial governments had the same attitude as the Quebec government concerning the highly potential wealth in the rock, Canada would be a much more prosperous nation,” he says.