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 S A M P L E    R E S E A R C H    A R T I C L E

Tiny town said to hold Canada’s largest gold deposits – and the rush is on to get a share

BY GEOFF KIRBYSON

It’s not often that you can be sitting on a gold mine both figuratively and literally but that’s the case with Garry Zamzow.

The mayor of Snow Lake, Manitoba, is “optimistic and excited” that the flurry of mining activity in the northern Manitoba town is set to at least double its population to more than 2,000. The town hasn’t had that many people calling it home since the late 1970s.

“I would say this is the strongest potential I’ve ever seen in the community of Snow Lake,” said Zamzow, a resident of 44 years.

“Originally when we discovered it, it was thought to be just a zinc mine, but last January we discovered significant gold zones and in September we discovered separate and distinct copper-gold zones,” said John Vincic, HudBay’s vice-president of investor relations and corporate communications.

“It has the potential to be the second-largest mine we’ve ever discovered in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt in our more than 80-year history.”

Vincic said about $500 million will be required to get the mine up and running. Last year, the HudBay board approved Phase 1 of its development, an $85 million investment, much of which will be spent on building an underground ramp from Lalor to its Chisel North mine.