Last Update July, 30.2000

Introduction

The Cobalt Camp is an area of past mining production of Silver, Cobalt and base metals .It encompasses the Town of Cobalt
(The Silver Capital of Canada) and North Cobalt as well as portions of the surrounding townships of Bucke, Lorrain, Coleman and Gillies Limit North. Cobalt has often been called; "the Cradle of Canadian Mining, and rightfully so in many ways.

The Cobalt Camp is well serviced by direct highway access by Hwy 11 from North Bay, Ontario has excellent local access to rail and trucking services. Abundant hydro and water access is available.  Industry is supported by the Sabin Metals Corporation- McAlpine Mill and the former Cobatec Refinery which is currently gearing up to return to production under the ownership  of Canmine Resources Ltd.. There are currently no operating mines in the area but several development projects are underway by the various landholders in the camp.

The Cobalt and Tri-Town area can proudly boast of a skilled workforce and a broad range of qualified professionals to support many types of industrial ventures and mining in particular. The Haileybury School of Mines is just up the road and many of it's graduates still live and work here or work from here. A strong network of qualified industrial contractors and service companies is available as well. They can build it if you come.

The Cobalt Camp is also home to it's own Mining Museum  and  Heritage Silver Trail - walking tour and the  Miner's Festival among the many other local attractions.Come and check out the worlds largest claim post. We have one almost as big from a bad winter staking program a few years ago but Cobalt's is still bigger.Follow our Links to these various sites of interests.

The Cobalt Camp - Brief History to present exploration efforts

The Cobalt Camp and area have had a long history of periodic success and tradgedy throughout the past 80 years. Many a fortune was made with the early discoveries of 1903-1904. Thousands of dollars were exchanged and millions were made all over the rich silver ore that Cobalt would become famous for. The Cobalt Camp was, where fortunes were made that literally built Bay Street overnight and those fortunes went into developing other mining camps such as Kirkland Lake, Timmins and Sudbury.

No success is without it's hardships and the Cobalt Camp was no exception. The Great Fire   as well as other fires throughout the years burned down mills, headframes and power plants, not to mention a big piece of the area . Some companies didn't recover becuse they were uninsured or didn't have access to the capital to rebuild. One of our properties only ever made one shipment of ore by the time it burned out and was never rebuilt or mined since. Others continued on and Cobalt saw many stellar production years. The Auganico, Harrison Hibbert, Beaver, Temiskaming, The Big Agaunico, Coniagas, Red Ruby and many others contributed to the almost 500, 000, 000 ounces of Silver the Cobalt Camp produced in it's 80 year history. 6,000,000 pounds of cobalt and good percentages of base metals and some gold can be counted in.

Like any other one industry town,the Cobalt Camp's success depended upon an often fickle market. Several times through it's history to the present, Silver and Cobalt stopped flowing from the camp. Poor metal prices for silver and cobalt and the lure of even greater discoveries in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake/Metachewan Camps drew investment capital away, almost to the point of no return. By the mid 80's, any projects underway had ceased and no new ones were likely to begin soon. One company, in 1985 ,had built a mine and shut it down before ever mining any ore. Some mines that are shut down to this day, still have ore in their flooded stopes or sitting in ore cars submerged in the workings.

Land Caution Lifted - Renewed Hope for the Area

In 1996, a large restricted area of land to the south of the Cobalt Camp, known as the Temagami Land Caution, came open for staking amid much controvery.A mad rush ensued and thousands of acres were staked up as mining claims in a matter of hours. The resolution of the boundary disputes, that are inevitable in a staking rush took longer to sort out than the staking of it. Cudos to the Ministry people for sorting that mess out. Work is currently continuing on a number of properties and some claims have since lapsed.

During the same period of time, In the Cobalt Camp, a quiet little staking rush was being carried out by a local senior prospector ( Outcrop Explorations) who was soon joined in his efforts by a couple of junior prospectors (Prairie C). It wasn't much of a rush since everyone else and his brother and a few sisters were focusing on Temagami. With only minor interference the group was able to acquire the largest contiguous land package ever assembled under joint control in the Cobalt Camp. The project continues to this day and they are joined by a public junior exploration company, Cabo Mining Corp, in their efforts. Data from an Airborne Magnetic Survey, conducted in February of 1999 and a regional geochemical sampling program this summer are currently being compiled and analysed along with the historical information, to determine some ground magnetic survey and drill targets.

Renewed Exploration Efforts vs Closure of Resident Geologists Office In Cobalt

The bulk of the exploration efforts in the Camp since 1996, conducted by Prairie C  and Outcrop Explorations Limited, has been for base metals as well as the typical silver and cobalt targets. Falconbridge joined the effort in early 1997 when they struck a deal with Agnico Eagle Mines to search for base metals on some of Agnico's dormant properties in the camp. This agreement has since lapsed and reports I've heard are inconclusive in general terms. (Rumour Command being what it is, Who knows?). Maybe, we can find out?

In 1997, in true government fashion, our local Resident Geologist's Office was closed in spite of a noble campaign to prevent it. Many felt that the loss of Jim Ireland, Resident Geologist and his associates would only hurt efforts to promote mining potential here. Jim's experience and knowledge of the area were considered invaluable. I believe this to be true and it could have been worse, if it were not for the reponse of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines staff and their efforts toward limiting the impact of the closure. Many are grateful for their dedication. Congratulations!  on the promotion Jim. More will benefit from his experience.

Cabo Mining Corp. of Vancouver has now taken up the torch this past year and are searching for volcanogenic massive sulphides and base metal sulphides associated with the local volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Exploration is being conducted on properties held by Prairie C and Outcrop Explorations. Cabo has cited similarties between the geology and structure of other well known base metal camps and the Cobalt Camp, as important factors guideing their efforts. They are reportedly seeking silver and cobalt orebodies as well.

The completion of airborne geophysics in early 1999  and an early stage drill program for assessment work by Cabo Mining Corp on properties in Gillies Limit Twp. in December of 1999 will hopefully spell good news for their efforts. Data is being analysed and drill results are pending.

More to come in the new millenium.

The New Millenium

In a few short years, the Cobalt Camp will celebrate it's 100th birthday and as if the exploration industry had a will to start another boom, it has responded to that purpose. A number of projects were continued from their previous years efforts. Nova West Resources began early with a drill program on their Bucke Pipe Project and Cabo Mining continued their program this spring with 3 separate grids cut within their contiguous properties. Results from subsequent UTEM and magnetometer surveys provided direction for recent geophysical, stripping and sampling work conducted through to July, 2000. More work is on it's way from both companies. Early this summer, Prairie C conducted ground mag and VLF surveys on our Santa Maria Claims. Results are currently being analysed and work is continuing in the meantime with sampling and geological mapping in preparation for mechanical stripping closer to fall.

Renewed interest in precious metal, namely platinum and palladium, sparked by a government report on the previously missed potential for these metals on former producing base metal properties has many companies scrambling back to old diggings. The Cobalt Camp is no exception. Interest in the potential for diamonds in Cobalt was sparked by a reports of kimperlite bearing lamprophyre dikes to the west and the success of NovaWest as well as positive reports from Temex Resources who also hold claims in the area. There are other smaller, less publicized projects on the go but I'm sure we will hear about them soon enough.

Cobalt and the Cobalt Camp will have a lot to offer in the new millenium and it appears a good start has been made. It appears that exploration is escalating , not just for the famous silver and cobalt deposits but for much, much more. A broad range of precious, semi precious and industrial mineralization has presented itself over the past few years and it remains to be seen if it yet has economic potential. But then; that's the stuff that dreams are made of, isn't it?

If anything of economic value is found we can take comfort knowing that thanks to recent acquisitions of the former Cobatec Refinery by Canmine Resources and the former Penn Mill by Sabin Metals means that it is possible for mineral to be found, mined and processed locally once again. The prospects for the future of the camp are excellent considering all things.  All we need now is a mine.