The excitement of a mineral discovery is a “Eureka!” moment, and this is the story of my three Eureka moments. I’m 77 years old now, so some of the details may be misted by time, but the big picture is correct.
For the first six years of my life I lived in Copper Cliff in Ontario where my dad worked for Inco in the smelter. In 1946 we moved to Joeburke, Ont., which was a whistle stop along the CNR main line between Gogama and Foleyet.
The developing Joeburke Gold Mines gold mine was a mile or so into the bush from the rail line, and my family moved to the area to be part of the developing gold mining community. It didn’t work out that way, but that’s another story.
My dad and mom ran a grocery store and post office near the railroad and had a few tents stretched over two-by-fours and plywood frames which they rented to miners and their families. Our horse Nellie was a feisty black mare that pulled us around winter and summer to deliver groceries and light freight.
My first two trips down a mine was when I was 7 years old, where I learned what gold looked like. I really enjoyed those trips, liked the feel of the underground and made a career decision that I wanted to be in this business — and have now been in it for more than 50 years.
For the rest of this article: http://www.northernminer.com/people-in-mining/odds-n-sods-my-three-eureka-moments-as-a-canadian-explorer/1003799965/