OBITUARY (September 23, 1991)

Karl Springer, renowned prospector and aviator, died recently in Toronto. He was 92.

As a founding member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in 1932 and later as one of the group’s first presidents, Springer launched what was to be a highly successful mine-finding career. Today, his name is closely associated with such notable mining ventures as Mattagami Lake Mines, Granduc Mines, Bary-min, Canada Tungsten Mining and Newfoundland Zinc.

In 1934, he formed Karl Springer Exploration which became Barymin Ltd. after the discovery of one of the world’s largest barite mines. Several years later, he combined his prospecting and airborne survey expertise to participate in the discovery of both the Mattagami orebody in northwestern Quebec and Canada Tungsten Mining’s tungsten deposit in the Northwest Territories.

Before retiring from the mining industry in 1970, Springer was responsible for the formation of Newfoundland Zinc, a private company. The Newfoundland Zinc orebody was put into production by Teck Corp. in 1975.

Springer was one of the inaugural inductees into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 1989.