Cobalt, Ontario and Silver

Geologist Report, Mining Claims, Boomtown, and Decline

Sep 22, 2009 Kathleen Airdrie

Cobalt, Ontario was the site of a massive silver discovery in 1903 and a great exodus when the resource was depleted.

Typically, the quiet area located on the Temiskaming waterway quickly became Ontario’s first mining boomtown soon after the first claim was filed. Known as the hard-rock mining birthplace of Canada, it was the world’s fourth largest silver producer at its peak.

Silver Mined By First Nations People

First Nations people are known to have inhabited the area for at least 6,000 years. The silver that was mined by them was traded for goods. Some was traced through the eastern woodlands of North America, and as far as Florida. Silver artifacts that dated back 3,000 years were found in Temiskaming area burial mounds.

Geologist Confirmed Quality of Mineral

Ore samples found by Fred LaRose were sent to Professor Willet Green Miller, Ontario’s first Provincial Geologist. He determined that LaRose’s samples carried a high percentage of native silver (the purest form). During inspections of the area, Miller saw that some loose pieces were “as big as stove lids and cannon balls”. He posted a sign by the railway tracks which named the town Cobalt.

J. H. McKinley and Ernest Darragh worked for the Temiskaming, Northern Ontario Railway (now Ontario Northland Railway). Their job was to scout for timber to be used on the rail line being built from North Bay. On August 7, 1903, they found silvery flakes of metal on the shores of Long Lake (later named Cobalt Lake). The silver assayed out at 4,000 ounces to a ton of ore. Their rich claim, the McKinley-Darragh Mine, was the first.

Prospectors Found Massive Vein

In 1904, a group of four prospectors discovered a massive native silver vein. Named the ‘Lawson Vein’, it was located along an old portage trail. When ownership problems were solved, mining began on the site in 1908. The vein of almost pure native silver measured about 100m (328.08’) length by 0.5m (19.69’) width, and went to a depth of 60m (196.85’).

That unique silver vein that became known as the ‘Silver Sidewalk’ was completely mined out by 1915. As virtually all of it was smelted, only small surviving samples are stored in private collections and museums.

The initial miners used simple technology in their small-scale operations. Men with limited mining experience easily found and mined the ore that was close to the surface. By a ‘learning as they go’ method, they were able to continue as the mines went deeper.

Cobalt Mining Camp a Boomtown

Once the word was out, a large town seemed to develop almost overnight. At the peak of the activities, the population was approximately 10,000 people. More than 120 mines were in operation in the Cobalt Mining Camp during its heyday.

Throngs of prospectors, miners, wheeler-dealer businessmen, and promoters filled the town. Each was hoping to strike it rich one way or another. The Bank of Commerce set up a branch in a tent where the manager slept on the strong box at night. Cafes and stores were quickly established.

Very soon, major mining companies impinged upon all aspects of residents’ lives. There was very little consideration given to the inhabitants of the area. Town Council was constantly battling with the powerful mining concerns on behalf of the residents. The Government’s response to requests for assistance was not positive.

According to Anson A. Gard, author of The Real Cobalt (1908), the Provincial government “has taken out nearly $2,000,000 from sales of lots and mining rights in and around Cobalt, and has returned towards street improvement the munificent sum of $2,000.”

The glory days ended by the late 1920s and the town went into decline. The environmental impact, ethical issues and social effects of the silver mines in Cobalt were extensive.

Sources:

The Real Cobalt by Anson A Gard, PublishedbyThe Emerson Press, Toronto 1908

We Lived a Life and Then Some: The Life, Death, and Life of a Mining Town by Charlie Angus, Brit Griffin, Published by Between The Lines (Toronto) 1996

The copyright of the article Cobalt, Ontario and Silver in Canadian History is owned by Kathleen Airdrie. Permission to republish Cobalt, Ontario and Silver in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Cobalt, Ontario Central Silver Mine 1906