Diamond–Ontario, Northern. Exploration for new mineral resources began with the first use of metal (copper and gold) about 7000 years ago. Using the electromagnetic method, conductive metallic mineral concentration can be detected through thick earth and rock cover. Areas of anomalously high metal contents (measured, in the case of stream sediments, in parts per million) may indicate the presence of metal deposits nearby or upstream. Canada has been extensively glaciated, with flowing glacial ice having abraded the surface of mineral deposits and carried away grains of gold, diamonds and other minerals. Placer gold had been found in the area earlier in the Chaudière River, but had yielded only limited production. Welcome to the Ontario Prospectors Association web site.

No commercial deposits of any mineral were found, however, and both Gilbert and Daniel were lost on the return voyage. Gypsum was mined in Nova Scotia as early as 1779 and coal discovered in New Brunswick near Grand Lake, where coal was first mined in 1782.

Many discoveries, especially in northern Saskatchewan, have resulted from tracing trains of radioactive boulders, plucked from their source by glaciers in the Pleistocene Ice Age and distributed in a rough line in the direction of the ice movement.

Explorationists may explore rock formations by extracting core samples with a diamond drill, stripping (removing soil and vegetation) or trenching (removal of rock using jack hammers and explosives).

Biogeochemical surveys can be carried out by taking samples and chemically analyzing various plant species, eg, the tips of spruce tree branches. These varieties of ilmenite, pyroxene and garnet occur only in kimberlite, the rock-type in which diamonds may be found, but not in other types of igneous rocks. In 1903 silver was discovered at Cobalt, Ontario, and in the following 2 decades the area became the world's chief silver producer. Up to this time, discrete metallic mineral particles within rock that were not electrically connected could not be detected using conventional electrical methods. In early French Canada, iron and silver were reported at St Mary's Bay, Nova Scotia, by Master Simon, a mining engineer accompanying Samuel de Champlain. The induced polarization measurement, as this method is called, can also be made by energizing the ground and then turning the current off very quickly and measuring the decay time of the voltage. Detecting in Ontario … The landscape of Ontario is ideal for this hobby. North West Company fur trader and explorer Alexander Mackenzie discovered coal on the Great Bear River, NWT, in 1789, and David Thompson discovered coal on the Saskatchewan River in 1800. Some of the best places to explore in Ontario include: The first organized mineral exploration by Europeans in what is now Canada was led by Martin Frobisher in his 3 expeditions to Baffin Island (1576, 1577 and 1578).

More recently, this method has been instrumental in assisting in the discovery of gold deposits. This trend has coincided with an increased proportion of mining exploration conducted by individual companies and company joint ventures, as contrasted with that by individuals or small groups of prospectors.

In the meantime, prospecting had progressed from the West Coast into the valleys and mountains of BC.

In northern Québec, copper was first noted in the Chibougamau area in 1870, but it was 25 years before this discovery resulted in widespread prospecting.

Also, geochemical anomalies may only indicate the presence of extensive areas of rock types that have unusually high background levels of the metals being tested for, but without the presence of any mineral deposits of interest. Ontario Exploration Corporation - Prospectors Assistance Copyright © 2020 Ontario Prospectors Association. This important mineral discovery was made by methods little more sophisticated than those used in the chance discovery of a rusty outcrop in 1883 that resulted in the unearthing of nickel-copper ore bodies of the Sudbury District.

Gold was discovered in Ontario back in 1866. See The Mineral Exploration Roadmap infographic. The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada has developed e3 Plus: A Framework for Responsible Exploration, while the CIM's Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Committee (MRMR) publishes Mineral Exploration Best Practice Guidelines.These guidelines, along with those issued by the province, represent the working standards for the industry. Ontario's Mining Act mandates that staking claims cannot infringe on individual propery rights or disrupt another land use, such as gardens or recreation areas. Geophysical and geochemical tests on the ground detect the possible presence of valuable minerals through measurements of electrical conductivity, magnetic fields, or sampling of rock, soil or water.

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

By measuring the voltage of the ground at 2 different very low electrical frequencies, this capacitive effect could be calculated. Sampling of glacial gravels deposited by the Pleistocene continental ice sheet, taken using small test pits, shovels or overburden drilling, and the preparation of heavy mineral concentrates from such samples, is a useful prospecting method. In 1770, Jesuit fathers experimented with native copper found at Port Mamainse, on the north shore of Lake Superior. Read the Exploration and Mining Guide for Aboriginal Communities. The Mining Act also protects heritage values and focuses heavily on the rights of Aboriginal communities.

The first organized mineral exploration by Europeans in what is now Canada was led by Martin FROBISHER in his 3 expeditions to Baffin Island (1576, 1577 and 1578).

These electric currents are stronger in the vicinity of metallic sulphide bodies and produce a measurable voltage or self-potential.