Canadian Geographic, Nov. 1942, page 1

Many mines in this country have been brought into being under romantic and extraordinary circumstances. One can think of the early Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold discoveries; the famous accident which resulted in the birth of the Cobalt group; the discovery of radium at Great Bear Lake, and legions of other finds. But probably nothing more striking in the way of the discovery and exploration of a mineral deposit has occurred in Canadian mining history than that of the Steep Rock Iron Mine.

Nature was particularly jealous of this deposit, only a few faint hints being offered to the prospector in the form of "float" hematite, found here and there on the south side of the lake. It is true that prospectors of an earlier day found this evidence; it is true that enterprising capital attempted to drill the lake bottom and the shores about, suspecting that the iron riches lay beneath the waters. But these early efforts were not rewarded with success.

Yet the existence of this high-grade "float' tantalized Canadian prospectors for over three decades. Many went and looked at the evidence but either did not have the courage or the capital to carry the action through to a successful conclusion.

This is the "float" ore strewn in boulders around the lade in many places. These stray pieces have interested prospectors and geologist for over thirty years.

In 1937, Julian C. Cross of Port Arthur, resuming the search for iron, revisited Steep Rock Lake and formulated his theories. He and the late Joseph Errington, joined by General Hogarth and associates, then decided to tackle this difficult problem. While Cross gets credit for the discoveries and for his enterprise in securing the ground and bringing the whole situation to the attention of his influential friends, Joseph Errington was truly the father of the project.

Preliminary Work

Although nearly all the drilling had to be done from the ice, in winter time, it is probable that no mine in Canada ever had a more complete investigation prior to planning production. Geology, geophysics, the diamond drill, underground work, and finally churn drilling, were carried on in the order named. Moreover, the evidence of the drilling was so exciting that the diamond drill and later the churn drill were employed to an unusually extensive degree. For several winters in succession scores of holes, finally to run into the hundreds, were poked into the deposit to extend its lateral and horizontal dimensions. This work was highly successful.

The next step was to submit the data to recognized American experts who had for a long period been successfully employed on the Mesabi and other Lake Superior region iron mines on the American side of the line. These experts were unanimous in accepting the data as indicating an exceptional series of iron deposits, both as to tonnage and grade, with very low impurities.

Handicaps Overcome

Having courageously decided to go ahead and develop for Canada this valuable national asset, the company was faced with unusual difficulties. The deposits lay beneath the lake bottom; the lake was 15 miles long and frequently over 150 feet deep; it was quite wide in places and contained over a hundred billion gallons of water. Steep Rock Lake, moreover, is just a deep widening in a flowing river, and at one end there is a privately-owned power plant developing some 10,500 H.P. It became obvious rather early in the development work that this lake would have to be pumped out, a huge job in itself. But it was also apparent that the Seine River, of which the lake is only an enlargement, would have to be dammed off at its inlet and diverted to by-pass the iron deposits and a hydro-electric power supply procured, not only for the iron mining operations, but also as replacement for the commercial power firm which has rights on the stream.