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Gold/Mining/Energy : Precious and Base Metal Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Canuck Dave who wrote (13250)	7/1/2003 3:11:37 AM
From: E. Charters	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39344

Where did I get it? I lived it. Man and Boy... in the Canuck mining business. Koffmann was the explo head for Hud Bay who is supposedly credited with the technique of saturation prospecting. Albert A. Koffman 1910 - 1983 During a 45-year career in mining, Albert Koffman's efforts led to the discovery of 13 base metal mines including the discovery and development of a new mining district in Manitoba. That is remarkable record was due to an exploration technique Koffman developed that became known as "saturation prospecting," now in use around the world as standard operating procedure. Essentially, the method involves conducting an airborne electromagnetic survey followed by surface geophysical surveys and saturation drilling of most of the anomalies detected. (ed note.. try that in Timmins.. there are 37,000 anomalies!) Koffman was born on a farm near Stony Mountain, Man., in 1910. Following graduation from high school, he attended the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1931 with a B.Sc., majoring in geology. The next three years were spent at university where he was a senior demonstrator in physics, did some postgraduate work and graduated from the school of education. Canada in 1934 was in the midst of the Great Depression, but Koffman managed to get a job as a sampler in the Flin Flon mine. He spent the next 30 years working for Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting in Flin Flon. During the period, he worked as an underground sampler, field geologist doing surface mapping, chief underground geologist and chief geologist. It was during his years as chief geologist for Hudson Bay during the 1950s and early 1960s that Koffman pioneered the system of saturation prospecting or saturation geophysics. The process enabled Hudson Bay to expand its mining operations beyond the Flin Flon mine, opening the Snow Lake base metal camp and a number of other mines along the Flon Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt. Thirteen of the base metal deposits discovered became producing mines and have made significant contributions to the economy of Manitoba. The Chisel Lake mine which began production in 1960 is still producing today while the Namew Lake nickel mine, which opened in 1988, is the latest example of a discovery made through the use of Koffman's exploration technique. In 1964, he left Hudson Bay to work as a consulting geologist spending half of his time as manager for a division of Noranda Mines. In 1971, he accepted a position with the Manitoba government as president of Manitoba Mineral Resources, at the time a new provincial Crown corporation involved in mining and exploration. The success enjoyed by Koffman can be attributed to the advocacy and use of modern scientific geophysical methods and the training and motivation of young geologists. The system of saturation geophysics which he pioneered is now in use around the world and many of the young geologists he trained are in responsible mining and exploration positions throughout Canada. *************** La Pez.. Mining promoters have been an integral part of the Canadian mining industry for more than a century, with some more dedicated to discovery - and more successful - than others. Murray Pezim ranks among the most successful of them all; his enthusiasm and perseverance led to the discovery of Ontario's Hemlo gold camp, one of the great Canadian mineral discoveries, and the Eskay Creek gold deposit in British Columbia. Murray Pezim epitomizes the junior mining sector, the bedrock on which so many mines in this country have been found. Born in Toronto on December 29, 1920, Pezim served his country during the Second World War before turning to a career in the brokerage industry. He later tried his hand at running junior companies, but success was elusive until he backed International Corona Resources, then exploring a gold prospects in Ontario in the early 1980s. Major companies did not view the property as promising, as drilling on several showings returned poor results. The lack of interest in the property was compounded by an atypical geological setting which did not conform to the conventional quartz-vein-type gold deposits exploited in the past. Pezim ignored the skeptics and continued to promote Corona and raise funds for a drill program outlined by geologist David Bell. The good results the industry finally took notice of were the fruit borne of 76 drill holes and an exploration expenditure of $2 million. Corona eventually secured Teck Corporation as a partner in developing the David Bell mine. Teck also backed Corona's legal battle with Lac Minerals for ownership of an adjacent property. It was generally thought that Corona had little chance of success, but, in August of 1989, Teck and Corona were awarded control of the rich Williams mine Lac had built in the Hemlo camp. Although Pezim eventually lost control of Corona, the Hemlo camp continues to provide economic benefits for the people of Canada; the three gold mines there account for the bulk of Canada's gold production. Pezim undertook another project in the late 1980s, raising funds for Calpine Resources, which was exploring the rugged and remote Eskay Creek property in northern British Columbia. Calpine and partner Stikine Resources encountered success soon after work began, but excitement waned when the 21A deposit was found to contain complex metallurgy. Pezim remained a believer, however, and supported the recommendation of his geological team, headed by Chet Idziszek, to continue drilling in the summer of 1989. Pezim's faith was rewarded when a stepout hole, the 109th drilled on the property, returned 682 feet grading 0.88 ounces of gold per ton. Subsequent work led to the discovery of the rich 21B deposit, which is currently being mined. Pezim also played a role in developing the Snip gold and Goldstream polymetallic mines in British Columbia and the Jolu gold mine in Saskatchewan. ************