Northern Manitoba & Mining 4
The Exploration for ore bodies was certainly not an easy job. A prospector would find a showing, take some samples, and get some assays from small pieces of rock which he was able to obtain from the site, then stake the property and register it as a claim. After he had accomplished this, usually it was a search for investors to put up money for a drilling program. Back in the early days this certainly was not the type of work that people would be willing to do today. Without the use of airplanes, I doubt if many of the ore bodies would of been found and developed without the use of bush pilots, aircrafts, and diamond drillers. This image was provided to me by Ron Dodds. The individual lying on the cot on the far left in the tent, I believe is George Delgatty.
The airplane was a very vital link in developing the north. The movement of diamond drills, fuel and supplies, in the summer months would of been totally impossible in some areas where exploration was going on. Winter months was always prime time for exploration.
This image was retrieved from the Golden Jubilee edition of the Northern Lights 1977. Drilling in the North West Territories. Head nets helped against the black flies - 1939 (T. Creighton). I do recall small diamond drills of this nature were still being used in remote areas in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Being small, you were able to transport them in a Norsman or Otter planes. There was even a small diamond drill that was designed to put in a backpack and could be packed into a location, and run in a similar manner as a gas powered ice auger is today.
The methods of locating ore bodies in 1957 was still fairly primitive and not easy work. The picture above is a geophysical crew with portable loop frame electromagnetic apparatus - 1957 HBM&S. In 1958-1959, I had the privilege of travelling with a geologist by the name of Jimmy Simes. Jim was well known to many people in the mining community. I travelled with him to drill sites, visiting with line cutters, stopping in and seeing old trappers who were his long time friends. Jim was a man who I respected, and feel privileged that I got to know him and travelled with him.
This is another good example of a small drill, drilling alongside the open pit, prior to the sinking of North Main. When you look at this drill, things were fairly primitive. It drove the rods and core tube down into the rock which they were able to retrieve, and get their core samples. Without core samples it would of been impossible to chart and develop ore bodies.
Pictured here is Lou Parres, who is one of Flin Flon's long time geologists, who was always looking for the mother load, entertaining you with his loon calls or telling you stories. He is another man who was responsible for mining in northern Manitoba.
This shows core in the core box which the geologists have split. This is done to help them to get a closer look of the content of the core. Around minesites, you will find 100's and maybe 1,000's of core boxes from holes drilled in the search for ore bodies.
This is a diamond drill in the 1960's, which was drilling on the Callinan property and is now part of 777 mine. This was part of a drilling program that went on for a number of years regarding the Flin Flon Callinan property, which eventually was developed as what is known as 777 today. The diamond drill owned and operated my Midwest Diamond Drilling, was property of the McIsaac family who were long time residents of Flin Flon. Midwest today is owned by Major brothers, a company that operates out of eastern Canada.
Today you are looking at a modern diamond drill working in almost the same location as the image above. When you look at the first diamond drills, and then the high tech drills of today, technology has helped us make the job much easier, more cost efficient, and user friendly.
Helicopters have played a very vital roll in moving drills, supplies, and workers. Many remote areas are still being operated today with helicopters.
In the early days, airborne survey helicopters with what they referred to as the bird, was extended out, and allowed to follow the helicopter in flight. The bird was equipped with instrumentation designed to show the possibility of an ore body. In the early days, a great deal of this equipment was assembled right within our community, but as time progressed, airborne surveys have become the order of the day.
The old DC3 that has operated for over 50 years, is still a very valued aircraft today for moving freight, and being converted in numerous ways to meet the needs of modern technology. This plane was one of the first versions of a high tech sniffer for ore bodies. It proved to be a valuable asset to the mining industry.
This plane is a new version of a high tech plane used in the search of ore bodies. You can see that the old piston engines have been removed, and replaced with modern turbines. This aircraft is probably one of a kind in the world today. When you look back at the image of the hoop gang, treking through the bush in 1957, and you look at this plane of today, we have come along way.
The above image is showing the ore train operated by CNR bringing approximately 40 cars of ore from the Snow Lake mining operation. This operation has been suspended for a number of years now as the concentrate from the Snow Lake mill and the ore from the Reed and Lalor mines are moved today by truck.
This shows the trucks and trailers that are used in todays ore hall. There are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 25 trucks that are hauling ore from the Reed and Lalor mines in Snow Lake.
Years ago the ore was moved within the plant with HBM&S's internal railroad which operated out of the open pit shops. Very little ore or materials are moved today with the internal railroad.
This image shows centre dump trucks that were involved in the ore haul from our Trout Lake mine which began in the 1980's. This is when we slowly began to move away from moving ore and concentrate by rail and going to truck. Today we ship out zinc and copper concentrate by a company known as Hudson Bay Rail which has taken over from CNR.