“As I was examining the seams in the quartz, about twelve feet ahead of me I saw a piece of yellow glisten as the sun struck it. It proved to be a very spectacular piece of gold in a thin seam of schist... when the boys came back we got out the drills and hammers, and that night had about 132 pounds of very spectacular specimens.”

- Prospector Jack Wilson

The Porcupine Camp is dotted with head frames and open pit mines; some old, some newer, evidence of our mining heritage. Historically, the district has been a major producer of both gold and base metals.

Along the Porcupine-Destor Fault, which runs 200km from Timmins to Destor in Quebec, over 65 million ounces of gold have been mined. Head frames towering majestically in our city’s skyline conjure up images of adventure and heroism. As picturesque as they are, their presence served a necessary, practical function for past miners.

The McIntyre Gold Mine
Is the 3rd largest producer of gold in Canada with a production of 10.8 million oz. Prospectors Alexander Olifant (alias Sandy McIntyre) and Hans Buttner staked their claims on the shores of Pearl Lake in 1909. The mine operated between 1912 and 1988. It consisted of an underground mining operation with several access shafts and vent raises as well as a mill, shops, and office buildings. The McIntyre arena was built in 1938 for the workers’ and their families’ recreational activities. At one point, copper was found in the area, and by 1963, copper ore recovered exceeded gold production. The only remaining building, following the demolition of the mine site in 2001, was the Shaft No. 11 head frame and a shed containing electrical switchgear for the head frame. The headframe was completed in 1927.

The McIntyre was the first mine in Canadian history to use rubber liners in milling and the first in the Porcupine Camp to apply square-set and cut and fill stoping mining methods underground.
Gunitting was developed at the McIntyre and it adapted and introduced flotation to gold milling and the mine was the first in Ontario to sink a shaft to below 4,000 ft.

Also, then McIntyre Mine Manager Ennis took the lead in mine safety establishing early procedures which gave a daily report on safety conditions underground, a standard that is common today.
There has been an extensive degree of rehabilitation and exploration work performed in and around the old McIntyre Mine property in recent years.

The City of Timmins has redeveloped the head frame and its immediate surroundings as a heritage monument to gold mining in the Porcupine Camp.

The Hollinger Gold Mine
Operated from 1910 to 1968 and closed due to depleting ore reserves. It is Canada’s largest gold producer ever with 19.6 million ounces produced while in operation. In October 1909, Benny Hollinger and Alex Gillies made the discovery that led to the foundation of one of the world’s largest gold mines and the beginning of the great Porcupine Gold Rush.

The rectangular head frame is a concrete building as opposed to most other head frames seen in the Timmins skyline, which are built with either wood or metal. The large black dome shaped building adjacent to the main head frame was a storage bin for the ore hoisted from underground. Although the mine is now closed, other companies are still using some of the buildings,RONA (formerly Feldman Timber Co.) has taken over one of the larger buildings to use as a retail store, and the old Hollinger office building houses many offices. Luzenac Inc .uses the old mill to process its talc. The old Pump house was used to pump fresh air down into the mine workings, but is now vacant. Shoppers Drug Mart and A&W have taken up residence in the surrounding area.

During the summer months, an underground gold mine tour is offered on a daily basis. This very exciting and informative journey is a must for the whole family.

The Paymaster Gold Mine
Was developed by Standard Mines Ltd. It operated from 1915 to 1966 and produced 1.2 million ounces of gold. The main shaft is somewhat run-down but still intact. The head frame is made of blue and silver sheet metal on the outside and the interior is constructed with wood. You can get an excellent view of it from the back road (across from Simpson Lake on Gold Mine Road). In 1945, tragedy struck at the Paymaster Mine when the cable supporting a cage broke, sending 16 men plummeting more than 1,500 feet to their deaths.

The Dome Gold Mine
Was the first producing gold mine in Timmins. In the spring of 1909, a prospecting team led by Harry Preston and Jack Wilson uncovered a mound or dome of golden crusted quartz. They staked their claims and called it “The Big Dome”.

The mine started as an underground operation and expanded to include the super pit. It consists of many buildings including the head frame (building with the red top), mill, shops, and office building. To date, it has produced over 15 million ounces of gold. Not only was it one of the first mines to be discovered, but it is Canada’s longest running gold mine.

Pamour Mine/Porcupine Joint Venture
Its ore body was first staked in 1909 by a prospector named A.C. Brown, but for a variety of reasons, such as the Great Fire of July 11, 1911, World War I, and the stock market crash of 1929, along with a general lack of funds, the mine had a difficult start-up.

In 1935, a deal was made between Noranda Mines Ltd. and Pamour Porcupine Mines Ltd. to bring the mine into production with Quebec Gold as the manager. The name Pamour comes from a combination of the names of two prospectors, Firman La Palme, and Wilfrid D’Amour who were connected to the property at various times.

The Porcupine Joint Venture, a joint development project by Placer Dome Ltd. and Kinross Gold Corp saw the Pamour pit back in operation in 2005. The relocation of Highway 101 allowed for the expansion of the super pit and rerouted traffic to the south side of Three Nations Lake.

Reserves are estimated at 1.8 million ounces of gold.

The Kidd Creek Mine /Metallurgical Site
A division of Xstrata Copper, the mine is located approximately 22 km north of Timmins. This major ore body was discovered in 1963 and production began in 1966.

Copper, zinc and silver are mined at the Kidd Creek Mine. They are then carried by the Kidd Creek railway to the metallurgical site 10 km away, where it is crushed, concentrated, and refined. Production of these base metals is accomplished using modern mining techniques and equipment.

Mining began as an open pit at the top of the ore deposit for the first 6 years but gradually turned into an underground operation in 1973. This remarkable operation is the largest employer in the area and is one of the world’s premier mining companies. Together with the Kidd Metallurgical complex, it employs close to 2,200 employees and contractors.

The Mine D expansion project was completed in 2006 at a capital cost of C$664 million. The project included the development of the Mine D shaft which extends to 9,889 feet below surface and established production areas at 8,800 feet. Developed ore reserves now reach to a depth of 9,100 feet.

The Kidd mine produces annually around 45,000 tonnes of copper and 130,000 tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates.

Much of this information has been provided by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on the Porcupine Camp’s mining history, visit the Underground Gold Mine Tour or the Timmins Museum.