Dryden bullish about what lies beneath the surface: city invites prospective juniors to re-work old mining camp.

The City of Dryden thinks it's sitting on the next big gold camp and wants junior miners to come and explore.

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A private geologist's report has the city bullish about what lies beneath the surface of 12 municipally-owned properties on the southern outskirts of town.

The northwestern Ontario forestry community of 8,200 wants to diversify its economy and explore the region's mineral potential.

The city is touting a concession in Van Horne Township as a largely untapped gold resource that was last mined more than 80 years ago.

All of the 16 past producing shafts were dug before 1930 and none extended beyond 300 feet.

City officials believes the area has considerable potential and is inviting some enterprising junior mining companies eager to do a more in-depth stage of exploration.

They've gathered together some of the old geological maps and logs from the early 1900s, 1940s and early 80s identifying gold trends and targets for possible follow-up exploration drilling.

Though mostly bush lots, city manager Arie Hoogenboom says the patented properties are accessible by road and there's industrial suppliers in town that can support mineral development.

City councillor Mike Wood, who wrote a thesis for his master's in business on Dryden's mineral potential, is encouraged by what he sees in the report.

The research shows Dryden sits at the geological cross-roads of two major fault structures running from Kenora to Ignace, and Fort Frances to Sioux Lookout.

While not comparing it the prolific Red Lake gold camp to the northwest, Wood says with Goldcorp mining at 5,000 to 6,000 feet, there could be a major local deposit at depth, if high gold concentrations near the surface are any indication.

Many of the original gold strikes were discovered only a few hundred feet down based on exploration technology of the early 20th century. But the concentrations found decades ago exceed every other operating mine in Ontario, except Red Lake.

Dryden was one of the early proving grounds for underground mining in Canada. Many of the techniques tested there were used to develop other gold camps in Red Lake, Timmins and Kirkland Lake.

Some follow-up exploration work was done by a junior in the early 1980s, but nothing significant ever materialized. However, three non-compliant 'historic' resources were identified, one of which remains completely open.

The Ontario government last conducted geological work in the 1940s, but there's been no full-scale geological mapping program since.

"It is entirely unexplored with modern techniques," says Wood. "It's time to do something."

Last summer, the Ontario government gave the city $15,000 to do the initial study.

Now they want the Ontario Geological Survey and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to invest more for a full-scale geological mapping program, the first updated work in 65 years.

"This area, because there are no active mines, has largely been left out of the loop," says Wood. "If the province's mapping is current, it encourages the private sector to come in."

But there's been all kinds of prospecting in the area.

Companies like Champion Bear Resources and Western Warrior Resources are searching for gold, copper and nickel within a half-hour's drive of town.

The city is working with some private landowners to offer up an entire block of property to a prospective junior. So far, it's attracted interest from multiple suitors and the municipality is in process of optioning the property to one undisclosed miner.

"We've put this information out to a number of mining companies and we're currently in negotiations with a company," says Hoogenboom.

The geoscience mapping exercise is high on the agenda of the new Dryden Development Corp.

Armed with a $360,000 budget, the organization has some investment-readiness projects underway in tourism and marketing, waterfront development and value-added forestry.

www.dryden.ca/websit.nsf/economic_development

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business