Twenty-Five Years Ago / September 1979

Kirkland witnesses rush

It looked like the opening of M*A*S*H as 14 helicopters took off into the bush following the release of geoscientific survey maps of 28 adjoining townships northeast of the fabled Kirkland Lake gold mining camp.

Preliminary activity was hectic as prospectors scurried to pick up their maps. A complete set ran around $110.

A virtual who’s who of Canadian mining was in on the act including: Noranda Mines, Teck, Falconbridge Nickel, Esso Minerals, UMEX, Hudson Bay Exploration, Selco Mining, Newmont Exploration of Canada, Amax, Rosario Resources, Northgate Explorations, and Lacana Mining.

Three companies with a major presence in the area were already in the process of picking up more ground. These include Inco, Lac Minerals and Queenston Gold Mines.

Brascan lands Noranda block

Noranda Mines Management is doing a little whistling in the dark following last week’s shift from the Black empire to the Bronfman dynasty.

The Bronfmans’ Brascan paid Black’s Labrador Mining & Exploration Co. $21.40 per share, or $169 million, for a block of 7,850,490 shares of Noranda. That’s equivalent to 9% of all outstanding shares. Reports suggest the deal was sprung suddenly.

Noranda noted that the purchase was for “investment purposes only” and that Brascan’s interest still didn’t make it Noranda’s largest shareholder.

Brascan President Trevor Eyton said Brascan might buy as much as 15-20% of Noranda, adding that the company has “good management and assets.”

Labrador Mining is owned by Hollinger Argus, which is largely controlled by the Black brothers, Conrad and Montagu.