Canada: Back to the Mines

Mining in Canada seems to follow a pattern of seven years of fat, seven years of lean. The great uranium boom pumped $10 billion into the Canadian economy between 1950 and 1957, then fizzled. Now, after seven fairly slender years, a new mining rush is on. Some 900 companies are drilling for metals and oil from New Brunswick to British Columbia.

The big dig has been prompted by half a dozen recent oil, gas and metal strikes, notably the spectacular copper, zinc and silver find by Texas Gulf Sulphur near Timmins. Ont. More than 1,000 prospectors have staked 8,000 claims,...

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