48°18′N 80°48′W / 48.30°N 80.80°W
The Abitibi gold belt is a region of Canada that extends from Wawa, Ontario to Val-d'Or, Quebec. Located within the mineral-rich Abitibi greenstone belt, the gold belt is an established gold mining district having produced over 100 mines, and 170 million ounces of gold since 1901.[1][2][3] Timmins, a town founded in 1912 following the Porcupine Gold Rush and subsequent creation of the Hollinger Mines, McIntyre Mines and Dome Mine, which was one area in the region that experienced a gold rush, beginning in 1909.[4][5] The Kerr Addison Mine in Virginiatown was at one time Canada's largest gold producing mine.[6][7] Many of the towns readily acknowledge gold mining as part of their history, some being named after gold (Val d'Or means 'valley of gold', Kirkland Lake's nickname is 'the mile of gold'). One of Canada's 'large roadside attractions' is a 12-foot replica of a 1908 gold sovereign (nominally, one pound sterling) built to commemorate Canada's first gold coin which was made using gold from the Kerr Addison owned Kerr-Addison mine.[7][8][9]
Mining in the region experienced a resurgence between 2000 and 2010 when two companies, Osisko Mining and Detour Gold began investing heavily in two areas, Malartic and Detour Lake; low production costs have helped bring more attention back to the area.[10] Malartic (which began commercial production in June 2011) will contribute about $3.25 billion to the region's economy over 20 years [11] and Detour Lake about $1.0 billion.[12] The four mines that historically comprised the Malartic property are Canadian Malartic, Barnat, Sladen and East Malartic.[13] Gold mines in the Kirkland Lake area are still active, having contributed to the formation of Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. The Detour Lake gold project near Cochrane, Ontario is North America's fourth biggest undeveloped gold deposit; when it opens in 2013 it will produce at an annual rate of approximately 649,000 ounces for 16 years.[12] Another $1.5 billion is being invested in Matachewan, Ontario where Northgate's 2.5 million ounce Young-Davidson gold mine is located.[14]
The abitibi greenstone belt in which the gold belt is situated has produced over 35 billion pounds of zinc, 15 billion pounds of copper, and 400 million ounces of silver, most of which was mined in and around Timmins, Ontario.[15][16] The Greenstone Belt is part of a larger granite-greenstone-gneiss terrain called the Abitibi subprovince, part of the Archean Superior Province.
- ^ "NioGold Progresses Towards 1 Million Ounces Gold". 2009-11-13. Archived from the original on 2009-11-16.
- ^ "Britannica Resource Corporation". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ "Record Earnings, Revenues, And Cash Flow In 2009 For Aurizon Mines". Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ "Timmins History". 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
- ^ "gold rush". 2010-04-06. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14.
- ^ "NioGold Armistice Resources to Acquire Former Kerr-Addison Mine Property". 2010-01-08.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Virginiatown". Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ "Canadian coins". Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ "gold coin". Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ "nsm corporate". Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ "Osisko begins building Canadian Malartic Mine". Canadian Mining Journal. September 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29.
- ^ a b "Métis sign agreement for Detour Gold mine". 2010-12-04. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12.
- ^ "titan resources plans exploration of Abitibi Gold Belt, Val d'Or, Quebec". 2010-02-10.
- ^ "Ground broken on $1.5B Young Davidson Mine". 2010-09-16. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02.
- ^ "Hughes Exploration" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ "Canada's Abitibi Greenstone Belt". Retrieved 2009-12-08.