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Show GOLD RUSH ON IN NORTHERN CANADA covery wells, considerable attraction exists for exploration. The area is a large one over which districts are scattered scat-tered in which structure closures and petroliferous strata may reasonably be expected. Planes making frequent trips have taken in prospectors to stake ground, and the two commercial plane services have reported themselves able to handle han-dle only a small part of the traffic offered to them. Ground south and east of La Bine Point has already been staked for miles. The more recent staking has been principally in the hope of finding silver.. The silver occurs as leaves and films throughout the massive pitchblende, pitch-blende, also as a strong vein up to 30 Indies wide of carbonates and wire silver in contact with the pitchblende (silver constituting 40 to DO per cent of the vein matter) and as leaves and films on Joints and cracks in a 10 to 15-foot 15-foot sheared band on the footwall side of the vein. Surface ore In spots Is very rich almost pure metal. More than 1,000 claims have been staked, according ac-cording to latest advices. i meet the cost of shipment to rail, which Is $-100 a ton. Improved transportation trans-portation facilities, however, will have to be provided If serious production Is to be obtained. A small gasoline boat drawing a ten-ton scow Is the best available method of transportation across Great Bear lake (and via the Great Bear river) to Norman, on the Mackenzie river waterway, and ore has to be handled several times. Railhead Rail-head Is at Waterways, Alberta. An estimate of radium in prospect, which was based on calculations by Spence, takes It for granted that 2,000 tons of pitehhlend are obtainable, this running 50 per cent uranium oxide, which gives 130 milligrams of radium to a ton. In the vicinity of Fort Norman dis- Use Planes to Take Prospectors Prospec-tors Into Field. Calgary. A radium "rush" and by Airplane, too Is on In northern Canada. It la something new In mining adventure. adven-ture. The old-time gold "rush" has passed Into history for the time being, at least. Discovery of $10,000,000 worth of radium has produced a novelty nov-elty in mine prospecting. But there Is a gold "rush" also on on In Eritish Columbia, hundreds of men going out Into the gold districts. It has been predicted that 10,000 will ' go out from Vancouver alone. Two hundred grams of the precious radium quoted now at $50,000 a gram are already In prospect at Great Bear lake, Judging from calculations made during preliminary surveys, according ac-cording to Dr. A. E. Cameron, professor pro-fessor of mining at University of Alberta. Al-berta. This Is one-tlilrd of that already al-ready produced in the whole world. Syndicating operations have corraled all the territory in which the pitchblende pitch-blende is supposed to lie as they have the known goldflelds so that a "rush" of prospectors generally would not net them anything. However, there has been Just as much picturesque activity among a smaller number of persons in the Far North to obtain the precious ore. There is a possibility, In view of the extreme Importance of radium to the world, that the government may take over the deposits. But Just now the chief problem is how to get it out there being no railway and the trail being too long and hard for carriage otherwise than by airplane. And the capacity of airplanes to carry heavy ores is very limited. The deposits are at La Bine Point, Great Bear lake. Hugh A. Spence, mineral technologist of the Dominion department of mines at Ottawa, has examined the deposits and pronounced them very valuable. Discovery was made in the spring of 1930 by Gilbert La Bine and considerable work has been done in opening. At present values, ore could easilj |
