COBALT-GOWGANDA CAMP

600 Million Ounces: North America's Silver Capital

From 1903 to 1989, over 100 mines extracted high-grade silver from narrow veins. Modern technology now enables recovery of silver left in tailings and deeper zones that historical miners couldn't access.

Peak production: 31 million oz in 1911

Average grades: 26 oz/ton (890 g/t)

Individual veins graded up to 4,000 oz/ton

1903-1920

Railway Sparks Silver Rush

Workers building the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway struck silver at what became Cobalt. Within three years, 16 mines operated. The rush expanded to Gowganda (1907), Elk Lake (1908), and sparked gold discoveries at Timmins (1909) and Kirkland Lake (1911).

Hand cobbing and sortingMiners picked visible silver from waste rock. Material grading under 200 oz/ton was discarded.

Stamp mills for lower gradesSimple gravity separation recovered coarse silver. Fine silver in tailings was lost.

Cobalt as wasteCobalt arsenides were discarded. Some waste piles contained 10%+ cobalt.

1920-1970

Consolidation and Depth

Low silver prices ($0.50/oz) forced consolidation. Surviving operations went deeper, following veins to 800+ feet. New milling technology improved recoveries but still lost fine silver.

Nipissing Mining dominatesConsolidated multiple properties. Developed systematic underground mining. Produced 100M+ oz silver.

Cobalt gains valueWWII created demand for cobalt in armor. Mines began recovering cobalt from waste.

Deeper discoveriesVeins continued below 1,000 feet. Grades remained high but access was challenging.

1970-1989

Modern Mining, Then Closure

Agnico Eagle and others applied modern methods. Underground development reached 1,600 feet at some mines. But $6/oz silver in 1989 forced closure of the last operations.

3 million oz/year from Cobalt

TTL processes custom ore

Environmental regulations increase

2011-PRESENT

Technology Enables New Era

Modern drilling, processing, and environmental technology make previously uneconomic resources viable. Nord's Castle East discovery proves significant mineralization remains. Tailings contain recoverable silver. Deeper drilling finds continuous high grades.

First new discovery in 50 years (Castle East)

Gravity processing recovers fine silver from tailings

Re-2Ox technology handles penalty elements