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D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8
Nestled just east of the Alaskan Panhandle
and encompassing some 17,000 km
2
, the
Golden Triangle region of northwest
British Columbia has seen a huge run-up in
exploration activity this past summer.
The Golden Triangle region, home of
the Tahltan First Nations, is not a new play
– it's an old play with new life. Valuable
metals were first discovered back in 1861
before Canada was a country. It was not
until 1918 when the first big discovery
gave rise to the first mine to achieve com-
mercial production – the Premier Mine,
which produced 2 million ounces of gold
and 45 million ounces of silver.
It's easy to detail the accomplishments
of the early explorers and miners in writ-
ing but it just doesn't do justice to the
hardships and suffering they had to
endure in this vast, rugged and remote
region. Before helicopters became common
in the 1960s, horses were used to access
the Golden Triangle. Sometimes even the
horses had to wear snowshoes!
One of the more notable miners in the
Golden Triangle region was the recently
deceased Donald McLeod. Born in Stewart
in 1928, growing up he had a grizzly bear
for a pet. In 1961 he was in charge of the
Premier gold mine. Now a third genera-
tion, geologist Robert McLeod is President
and CEO of IDM Mining Ltd. The com-
pany is named for Rob's father Ian McLeod
and Uncle Don McLeod.
As the years went by, other mineral
discoveries were made, including Snip (1
million ounces gold), Eskay Creek (3 mil-
lion ounces of gold/160 million ounces
of silver). In more recent times Imperial
Metals Corp. [III-TSX; IPMLF-OTC] owns
the producing Red Chris copper-gold
mine. Another recent development is the
BRITISH COLUMBIA'S
Golden Triangle
by Ellsworth Dickson
With new mines and new discoveries, the Golden Triangle offers both explorers and
mining stock investors some exciting opportunities in this world-class mineral play.
The geological team of Colorado Resources discusses exploration plans for the North ROK
property in the Golden Triangle region of northwestern British Columbia where a 2,529-metre
drilling program was recently completed. Photo courtesy Colorado Resources Ltd.
