Don McKinnon and partner John Larche played a key role in the discovery of the Hemlo gold mining camp in Ontario, one of Canada’s richest gold districts. Don McKinnon, one of Canada’s best known mineral prospectors, died Thursday in a Timmins, Ont., hospital. He was 83.
It was the staking activity of McKinnon and partner John Larche that contributed to the discovery of the Hemlo, Ont. gold camp in the early 1980s, home of the Williams, Golden Giant and David Bell gold mines.
His staking in that area resulted in McKinnon being a key witness in the epic court battle between Lac Minerals and Corona Corp. for control of the Williams gold mine. At the time, it was the largest underground gold mine in Canada. A 1986 Ontario Supreme Court judgement awarded the mine to Corona. That decision was later upheld in 1989 after Lac appealed.
The court battle centred on allegations that LAC had misused confidential information provided to it by Corona and committed a breach of confidence. Lac was swallowed by Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: T.ABX, Stock Forum) (NYSE: ABX, Stock Forum) in 1995.
While his Hemlo prospecting made McKinnon a wealthy man, he had already hit pay dirt in 1964 when he earned $900,000 in a staking rush that was sparked by the discovery of the Kidd Creek copper-zinc deposit near Timmins, Ont.
McKinnon was named prospector of the year in 1983. He also received the Order of Canada in 1996 as well as the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002.
Born in Cochrane, Ont., he worked as a short order cook before venturing into the lumber industry where he developed an interest in mineral prospecting.
Sources told Stockhouse that he died at around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday at Timmins District Hospital. He was surrounded by family, including his wife Stephanie McKinnon-Townsend. He is also survived by three sons and two daughters.
1982 PDAC Prospector of the Year Award Winners – David R. Bell, John P. Larche and Donald McKinnon: http://republicofmining.com/2008/09/09/1982-prospector-of-the-year-award-winners-david-r-bell-john-p-larche-and-donald-mckinnon/
Don McKinnon: quintessential prospector – Norm Tollinsky (September/2006): http://republicofmining.com/2011/02/22/don-mckinnon-quintessential-prospector-norm-tollinsky-september2006/
[Ontario Mining] Losing Ground – Karen Mazurkewich (Originally published in Financial Post Magazine, April 2010 issue): http://republicofmining.com/2010/12/12/ontario-mining-losing-ground-%e2%80%93-karen-mazurkewich-originally-published-in-financial-post-magazine-april-2010-issue/