Canadian gold. Canadian gold

21.10.2021

In significant volumes, gold mining in Canada began later than in the United States and Australia, but in 1931, Canada took the second place among the capitalist countries. True, in 1936 and 1937 Canada caught up with the United States in terms of gold production, but already in 1938 Canada again took the lead and to this day retains its second place.
There is information that gold was mined in Canada as early as 1824, but we do not know the volume of production.
At the beginning of the second half of the century before last, when the depletion of the California placers was outlined, gold prospectors undertook a thorough search for gold in the northern regions of America. Moving north, they eventually made it to Canada. In 1858, placer deposits were discovered in British Columbia on the Fraser River, and somewhat later in the Caribou regions. In 1865, almost 6 tons of gold were mined from these placers. As they were depleted, gold production in British Columbia began to decline and only in the 30s of the next century did it rise again, but this time due to the development of ore deposits. In 1938, gold production here reached 18.5 tons, while more than half of this amount was mined along the way - from copper ores.
The rapid development of gold mining in Canada began in 1896-1897 with the discovery and development of placer deposits in the Klondike region, a tributary of the Yukon River. The Yukon Territory, as well as neighboring US-owned Alaska, experienced a violent gold rush. In a relatively short time, 150 tons of gold were mined from the placers of the Klondike region, and the city of Dawson, so often mentioned in Jack London's northern stories, arose in a once wild place. Gold mining in the Klondike area by 1900 accounted for 80% of all mining in Canada. But having reached 33 tons per year, production immediately began to decline - the general rule of rapid depletion of placers affected. In the 30s of the last century, 3-4 tons were mined on the Yukon, and later even less. For all the time, a little more than 300 tons of gold have been mined here. Further development of the gold mining industry in Canada is associated with the state of Ontario. Here, in 1912, in the Porcupine area, the richest ore deposits were discovered, which are still the main suppliers of gold in Canada. On the basis of these deposits, such mines as "Hollinger" and "McIntyre" were built, which at one time produced 15-20 tons of gold per year. The largest mine in the area and in the country was the Kerr-Addison mine, which produced 70-80 tonnes per year.
The ores of these deposits were very rich - the gold content in them was 10-12 grams per ton of ore. Ontario and the neighboring state of Quebec are the main gold-mining states in the country. According to 1972 data, 46.7% of the total amount of gold received was mined in Ontario, 25% in Quebec and 13% in the northwest of the country.
In the 70s of the last century, there were practically no large mines left in Canada, and the main production was carried out at enterprises that extract 150-300 thousand tons of ore per year. The performance of such mines has always been worse in comparison. With large ones, so here they took a very serious approach to solving all technological and technical issues and small mines had very high labor productivity. According to this indicator, the mines of Canada are second only to the mines of the USA. At the same time, labor productivity grew at a high rate here. If in 1940 there were 4576 grams of gold per worker, then in 1970 it was 8125 grams.
Gold production in Canada peaked in 1941 at 166 tons. After the war, although there was a certain rise, this level was never reached. With the price of gold frozen for a long time, its production was unprofitable or even unprofitable.
In order to somewhat stimulate the interest of the gold miners in maintaining production at a sufficient high level, the government of Canada introduced the "Gold Industry Subsidies Act" in 1948. This law established a subsidy to those enterprises where production costs did not make it possible to obtain sufficient profit. The procedure for subsidizing has changed several times, but only in the direction of increasing subsidies. From 1948 to 1960, such subsidies were paid about $ 140 million, but this was not enough to stop the decline in production. In 1973, it was possible to ensure that not a single gold mining enterprise was closed. Canadian economists considered this circumstance very important and expected stabilization and then growth in the extraction of the precious metal. It must be said that this forecast came true and at the present time in the 21st century, gold production in Canada is growing (since 1982). This rise is also the result of the rising gold price.
The increase in the volume of production became possible primarily due to the discovery of new fields and the construction of enterprises, for example, since 1982 the Diptus Lake field (Ontario) has been in operation. In the area of Lake Verkhnee, a new large deposit "Khemlo" has been discovered, where the size of gold reserves is close to 400 tons, of which 300 tons are supposed to be mined by the open-cut method. The average metal content in the ore is from 3 to 8 grams per ton.
In general, the mines in Canada are currently not large. In 1982, only at 20 enterprises the annual production exceeded 1 ton. The ten largest mines (Campbell Red Lake, La Mine Doyne, Paymour Porcupine and others) account for 25% of the total production in the country.
In recent years, gold has not played a major role in the country's economy.

The other day I was talking with a man. He has in Canada how many sites, or as they call it - a brand. British Columbia is where the Klondike Gold Rush originated. It began on the Fraser River, and in two decades, prospectors made their way to the Yukon. We all know about this river from the immortal works of Jack London. All the amateurs who got sick with the gold rush have read the stories and novels of Jack London. Everything is easy and why not try it. Tray in hand and on the nearest stream-river. And also at the end of the 19th century, thousands of gold seekers rushed. The most famous route was the Chilcut Pass in the Alaskan Mountains on the British Columbia border.
Map of gold deposits for 1897.

Our compatriot began to work in British Columbia. As he explained, there is nothing difficult about this. You look at the map. If you like the free site, you take it and register it. If there is a desire to wander in the area and do the washing with a tray, no one will interfere, provided that the territory is not private there only with the permission of the owner. True, you can wander with the Free miner Certificate, or with someone who has one. Any person, regardless of profession, can get FMC, it costs $ 50, the term of issue is the same day or in a couple of days. After the site has been selected, a project application for geological exploration is submitted. I draw your attention to the fact that the application is submitted to the provincial ministry of mining, and in our region or region. At the lowest level, within a couple of weeks, documents for the rights to use the site are drawn up. Costs at this stage are calculated in the first hundred dollars. Then you can dispose of the site as you wish. You can donate or sell it. But if no work is carried out on the site, then the license will have to be returned or paid. To confirm your activity, it is necessary to submit annual reports on the work done.
The exploration work itself is already a serious investment. If the location is well chosen and the search is crowned with success, you can make good money by reselling the rights to the site or start mining yourself. I have already written about how things are in Russia. If the state has selected the site, then first you need to purchase a license for exploration, and this is hundreds of thousands of rubles. Coordination and approval of the exploration plan is more than half a year and again you pay a lot of money. If you have chosen a site yourself, you still need to ensure that it includes a list of licensed objects and then, on a general basis, participate in the auction. You are looking for a promising place, you run through the authorities and it is not a fact that you will get it. In Canada and in many other countries, this is much easier. Earlier I wrote about Bulgaria. Meetings are constantly held there. Those interested can go and work. You just have to get to Bulgaria and my gold. If someone wants to help with contacts, and you can buy or rent equipment on the spot.
But back to Canada. British Columbia from south to north is 1,300 kilometers.

Literate people will immediately sit down for geological maps, explanatory notes and, of course, for topographic maps, because it is necessary to plot a route. During breaks, you can read Jack London.

John Bellew snorted indignantly. - I am happy that your father is in the grave and does not see you in all your shamelessness. Your father was a man from head to toe, you know? A real man! He would beat all your musical and drawing nonsense out of you!

This is the very beginning when the uncle scolds his future nephew Smoke Bellew.

Uncle almost lost his temper, but restrained his anger and calmly asked: - How old are you? - Yes, as if I ... - I know, twenty-seven. You graduated from college at twenty-two. Smeared, strummed, scribbled and dangled around for five years. So tell me, for heaven's sake, where are you good for? In your years, I had one single change of underwear. I graze the herds in Colusa. I was as strong as a stone and could sleep on a bare stone. I ate beef jerky and bear meat. You weigh about one hundred and fifty pounds, and even now I can put you on both shoulder blades and crush your sides.

Further, we already read about how Smok is moving with his luggage to the Chilkut pass.

“Whether it will still be when we reach Chilkut,” his companions told him during the stops. - There you have to climb on all fours. "I can't get to Chilkut," Keith answered. - This is not for me. Long before Chilkut I will rest in a cozy pit, under a cover of moss.

These stories are over a hundred years old. Thousands of people trampled all streams and rivers with their feet. After them, thousands sat down at geological maps and only then stomped along streams and rivers. Let's go back to Russia for a second. The blog reader traveled 600 km through the taiga and did not see a single grain. None. Even in those places where, according to geological maps, it should be. Time is running forward and search technologies are changing. Over and over again gold calls to itself. People keep looking for him. Someone finds it. Some don't. This work is very hard. They need to be dealt with a lot and seriously. In the suburbs, there are two ravines side by side. They walk parallel to each other. In one, the samples show a gram per cube, and in the other, not a sign from several dozen samples.
And again we look at the map of British Columbia. 1300 kilometers from south to north. Approximately so much from Moscow to Sochi. Personally, I will cover this distance by car in less than fifteen hours. So-so distance for civilization. And in Canada it is a little different. The only acceptable road is the Alaska Highway. So try to get to the desired river to check if there is gold there or not. It is not difficult to stake out a brand, but you still need to do some reconnaissance. The most difficult and expensive stage. Extraction is already easier on what has been explored. There you can calculate a debit with a credit in advance and understand whether there will be a profit or not. And at the stage of geological exploration, absolutely nothing is clear. In fact, for good luck. It's one thing to get through with an exploration lock and tray. It is quite another to delineate the deposit. Understand content and stocks. It is the geological exploration business that my interlocutor is engaged in. Its task is to find a deposit, arrange it accordingly and put it up for sale. The costs are colossal, but whether they will bring income is unknown until you complete the entire volume of work. This is already how His Majesty Chance will dispose. The result is one with the chute, but the drilling work will show a completely different result.
In the 90s, there was an idea to break into those distant lands. But then he thought like an electrical engineer. Canada is a country that gladly accepts qualified specialists. The second largest country after Russia, and the population is only 36 million people. So those who wish to engage in gold mining will be received with great pleasure. Buy a proven deposit and go.
And again, a short digression. Discovery is broadcasting The Devil's Canyon about how a prospector went alone into the wilds of British Columbia. Good comment. During the gold rush, 30,000 miners came. A year later, there were 3,000 left. So the stage of exploration is the most difficult and unpredictable. It is quite another to enter a delineated understandable deposit with equipment for gold mining.
And so in Canada, deposits are being put up for sale. No auctions. Well, this is how we on Avito sell the skis of an older child.

So, if anyone is interested in gold mining in Canada, contact. There are found registered or in the portfolio plots. Not very big funds are needed to start production. Or test it and sell it for less. But on the other hand, the costs will be minimal. And then grow and expand.
If there is interest in other countries, you can talk.

Golden dream

In October 2010, our correspondent met an unusual announcement in the newspaper - the author was looking for partners for a future business of mining alluvial gold in Canada. Specifically, in the areas of the famous Klondike and Yukon rivers. We were then very surprised - who would want to go from one of the richest regions in gold in the country to faraway Canada, to the border with harsh Alaska. And talked to the author of the ad. Four years later, Andrei Derov unexpectedly came to our editorial office again and told about how he and his associates managed to arrange gold mining near the famous capital of the "gold rush" town of Dawson, about Canadians, about grizzly bears, about Yukon laws and traditions.
The drop in the price of gold, which has been taking place in recent years, does not bother Andrey Derov. This has happened in history. Gold is always gold. And it, according to the businessman, will always be in price, undergoing ups and downs.
In 2013, according to Andrey Derov, he and a Russian partner registered a company in Canada, in Toronto. Then they re-registered it in the Yukon, because there are completely different taxes. We bought plots on the Indian River. The general situation for goldsmiths: the conditions and procedure for registering plots, requirements for miners have practically not changed since the "gold rush". Received a license to use water resources, nothing else is required for gold mining. We set up a camp 65 kilometers from Dawson (this is if on the road, but in a straight line by helicopter - 35 kilometers). Dawson, once the capital of the Yukon, is now a small, early twentieth-century-style town with a population of just over 1,300. However, it receives about 60 thousand guests a year - gold prospectors, tourists and just travelers. For their pastime in Dawson, everything is equipped - bars, hotels, restaurants, billiard rooms and even baseball and football fields, a white paddle steamer is sailing along the Yukon River, an excursion one. For gold prospectors, technical service services have been established, and fuel and lubricants are delivered by call.
Andrey Derov, his business partner and workers settled in: four Russians from Toronto, citizens of Canada, in trailers with conveniences.

Yukon laws

We bought additional equipment in Toronto - they found it cheaper. We drove across the country, crossed 5 provinces and one territory (Yukon). A total of about 5600 kilometers. The journey took five and a half days. The main equipment was ordered from another country. Everything can also be purchased in Canada.
“I was in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, at Niagara Falls, while the equipment was being transported,” says Andrei Derov. - We spent the night in hotels, campings. I filmed on the road bison, elk, really liked the beavers, such hard workers!
We tested the equipment, worked, and made sure that there was gold on the site. The Yukon season is short, from May to September, with a maximum of 150 days. We mothballed the equipment for the winter and left for Russia.
Now Andrey Derov and his partner have a Canadian business visa for 4 years. And first there were two visitor visas. The main thing here was not to violate the legislation of Canada the first two times - to arrive on time, to leave on time.
- It is very important. When I left 10 days earlier, the migration service officer even thanked me. The most important thing that I understood is that you cannot break the law in Canada, and then there will be no problems. Despite the strictness of the laws, it is a pleasure to communicate with officials and the police in Canada. No corruption, no bureaucracy - everything is for people.
Observance of the rules for gold mining is mandatory. The camp must be arranged correctly. For example, food should be hidden so that the smell does not attract the bear. If the camp is not properly equipped, then they can be seriously punished. The inspectorate regularly checks all camps - especially new ones. Among the basic rules is that there is no leakage of fuels and lubricants. If caught - there is a big fine, because nature is very much taken care of. Plus, it is very important to observe labor safety techniques - helmets, shoes with metal toes, so that the legs are protected. The insurance is inexpensive - $ 70 per person per year.
The bear came, on whose territory the camp of the gold miners was, quite often. I had to scare him off with a gas cylinder of mustard gas. Without it, it is generally dangerous to walk around the neighborhood. But if you kill a bear in self-defense, you still have to prove that he threatened life.
It is not accepted from people to keep guards in those parts. No one will encroach on gold or any other good. Take, for example, how concentrate is surrendered for beneficiation (separation of pure gold from impurities on a Diester vibrating table) in Dawson. All the gold miners are bringing the concentrate to the man, Mr. Don - the legend of the Yukon. They bring and leave, Don names the time when you can come and get a check for money. Nobody stands and does not control the process - they know that Don will not take a single gram of gold for himself. Proven for more than one dozen years. He and his wife are paid $ 60 an hour for their work.
Somehow, the workers took an ownerless, as it seemed, pipe from a neighboring site, already overgrown with grass. A few days later, the neighbors arrived and said reproachfully: "Well, how is it, why did you take it." I had to apologize for a long time, they even shared the technique, helped to resolve the conflict.
- The lesson was very interesting. You'd better ask, don't take it without asking. He asked - it means he showed respect. Tradition is important in the Yukon. This is a place where you cannot deceive, and any of your deeds and words are carried very far, - says Andrey Derov. - If you break the tradition, then no one wants to deal with you. Another example about the decency of local residents and tourists. I had such a case. I was sitting on the Yukon waterfront. And the weather was warm, the rain has recently passed - and freshness. The beauty! Thought, dreamed. And he forgot his hat with money and documents, and left. Half an hour later, recollecting myself, I come running. Around the hippies are sitting, lying on the lawn, resting. And the stripe is in place, where it left.

Lyubomir, according to the story of Andrey Derov, is an eighty-year-old man with warm, intelligent eyes and a good-natured smile, who has worked in the Yukon for 35 seasons. He began mining gold from the tray. Serbian by nationality, who visited us in Blagoveshchensk, in the Zeysky district in the early 80s. I was surprised at the appearance of Russians in the Yukon: "Do you have little gold?" But when he was told how our prospectors got this gold, the conditions they were put in by our laws, the surprise quickly passed. In his spare time, he came to the site in an old SUV. He generously distributed advice for free, ran along streams and hills, took soil samples, washed it with a tray and at the same time always said: gold is everywhere here, you just need to be able to take it. He spoke about gold with warmth. Lubomir, who speaks six languages, a writer, a member of the Writers' Union of Montenegro, he said: “I really want the Russians to stay, to gain a foothold here in the Yukon, I love Russia, I love this charming north. This is my last season "...
“I really hope to meet him in Moscow,” says Andrei Derov. - He will publish his book in Russian: "In Search of God-given Nature" - About the Yukon and the people living there.
By the way, as far as the neighbors are concerned, nearby, 2 kilometers away, there were areas of the famous Yukon American McGregor, the director of the Yukon Gold series. Andrei Derov wanted to get to know him, but failed to find him on the spot.
Also nearby was the German Stewart. But they did not communicate with him.
Honesty is highly valued among people. When buying equipment or land, it is not customary to bargain; the honesty of another person is respected. Better to give up the purchase altogether than to bargain. A very trusting relationship is established between gold miners, most of the cases between them end with a handshake. The Mayor of Dawson City is a freelance artist and painter. The great merit of the Dawson administration of all times is that there were no changes in the architecture of the city, everything remained as it was 100 years ago. There is no court, no lawyers, 2-3 policemen in the town, thefts and collisions do happen, but very rarely. In general, in the Yukon, it is customary to communicate mainly in public places - for example, in Dawson's bars and restaurants. People prefer to meet there rather than visit each other. By the way, going to Canada, Andrei did not know English very well.
- I was amazed when I talked with people in the Yukon: we understood each other perfectly. You say the key words, accompany them with gestures - and there are no problems. However, now I will study English.
Despite the difficult political relations between the countries, in Canada, Russians did not have to meet a prejudiced attitude or sidelong views. Canadians were interested in how things really are in the situation around Ukraine, is it true what they are shown on television.
I had a chance to meet with compatriots.
“At a translation agency in Vancouver, I met a Canadian citizen Natalya, a native of Kazakhstan, one of the participants in the“ rally of caring hearts ”in support of Donbass, held in the city at the end of May, this is the color of Russian emigration, a vigilant conscience,” says Andrei Derov. - 20 people came out. Their soul is in Russia, with brothers in Ukraine. We were not afraid to leave, despite the political situation. I think this is a civil feat of our compatriots abroad.
Andrei Derov plans to return to Canada in May. By the way, it is possible that the partners will reorient their business - they will switch from gold mining to geological exploration and the subsequent sale of plots, the sale of turnkey companies (with a "water" license, with staked out and explored plots, residential trailers, equipment and machinery). According to calculations, this business requires less investment and, although it does not yield a return so quickly (plots can be sold for a year or two), it is quite promising. However, as far as possible, we will talk about this on the pages of our newspaper.

Photo courtesy of Andrey Derov.