EDITORIAL PAGE — Unsung heroes

Canada’s prospectors rarely get the respect they deserve for helping to make the mineral industry a cornerstone of the

national economy. The lot of the prospector is perhaps best

summed up in Winston Churchill’s famous wartime statement, “Never have so few done so much for so many for so little.” .TGranted, it is well known that prospectors were responsible for

establishing most of this country’s historic mining districts, such as the Cobalt and Kirkland Lake camps in Ontario. But a cursory look at Canada’s mining history may lead some to believe that these and other discoveries were easy to find, or that they were the result of Lady Luck smiling on some unsuspecting seeker of mineral wealth.

For reasons that have to do with human nature and the corporate culture of large mining companies, founding prospectors rarely rate more than a passing mention at mine openings. This only contributes to the false impression, held by many Canadians, that prospecting has been rendered obsolete by the passage of time and the advent of sophisticated exploration technology aimed at

finding the less obvious deposits.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, prospectors have played a key role in developing some of this country’s more recent mining camps. The Highland Valley copper district in

British Columbia, for example, owes much to Herman Hagerman

Huestis, a prospector who, for 35 years, kept alive the belief that this district held vast copper resources. Huestis faced his share of doubters among professional mining men, but in the 1960s he succeeded in proving that large, low-grade copper-molybdenum deposits could be profitably developed and mined.

Several decades later, another prospector, Donald McKinnon, found that major mining companies were not all interested in his claims in the Hemlo region of Ontario. Granted, three major companies did end up with interests in the subsequent gold mining

operations, but not until junior mining companies had removed most of the risk by showing that the claims had major potential.

An even more recent example is the Lac de Gras region of the Northwest Territories. Its potential for world-class diamond deposits might never have come to light had it not been for the 10-year prospecting effort by Charles Fipke, who doggedly tracked a train of indicator minerals for hundreds of kilometres across the Barren Lands to their source at Lac de Gras.

The latest success story is Voisey Bay, a nickel-copper-cobalt discovery made in Labrador by two keen-eyed prospectors, Albert Chislett and Chris Verbiski, both of St. John’s, Nfld. The

project already has mine-making potential, which is welcome news for a region known for its chronic unemployment. In addition to continuing work at Voisey Bay, the discoverers are involved in a program aimed at making prospecting courses available to

residents of Labrador, including both the Inuit and Innu

communities.

Prospecting is an ideal career choice for those who love

adventure, the outdoors and the freedom to chart their own

course. After all, it is clearly proven that Canada still has potential for major mineral discoveries, sometimes of the type not mentioned in textbooks. And who knows? The next generation of prospectors may well discover a new generation of mines.