Page 72 Cont’d on pg. 72 History of T immins changed after 1963 huge copper -zinc discovery Pilot W ayne Kidd and his TGS helicopter sit next to the drilling rig at the discovery hole By Gregory Reynolds A single diamond drill hole in Kidd T ownship in November of 1963 for - ever changed the history of T immins. The discovery of a huge copper -zinc ore body just 16 miles north of the T immins T own Hall meant base met - als were just as important as gold in the local economy . Several nickel mines in and around T immins opened and a nearby talc mine has its processing plant on the site of the former Hollinger Gold Mine. Exploration companies now hunt base metals as well as gold. Discovered by an American frm, T ex - as Sulphur Company (TGS), the Kidd Creek ore body was in production by Nov . 16, 1966. Besides its lar ge copper and zinc out - put, the Kidd Creek Mine became the lar gest silver producer in Canada and also produced lead, tin, cadmium and indium, with sulphuric acid as a by- product. For a time, gold was also produced near the main ore body . That ore body is unique and it is visit - ed almost annually by mining people from all over the world. They hope to learn enough to fnd a similar ore body when they return home. None has been successful to date. There were numerous benefts to the local work force, the town and the surrounding area. Not to be for gotten were the taxes paid to the province and to the federal government. TGS had a policy of paying the high - est wages in any area in which it op - erated. This benefted the company in two dif ferent ways, it attracted the best and most qualifed workers and it kept out unions. Once the ore body was being mined and processed nearby , the local gold mines had to improve their wage and beneft structures in order to keep their workers. TGS quickly became the town’ s lar g - est employer and lar gest buyer of sup - plies and services. The fact that the mine in Kidd T own - ship and the metallur gical site in Hoyle T ownship were outside the boundaries of the four existing municipal govern - ments, the town and the T ownships of Whitney , T isdale and Mountjoy , was a factor in the decision of the Ontario Government to force the amalgama - tion of the area as of Jan.1, 1973. The new City of T immins at 1,240 sq. miles was the lar gest city in Canada and the second lar gest in North Amer - ica. It now could realize the benefts of taxing TGS but also all the other mines inside its borders. The days were over of providing housing, libraries, schools and other services to mines and their workers without having access to the huge tax base they represented. TGS became the lar gest taxpayer in T immins. It also became a model corporate citi - zen, putting all its employees on sal - ary , allowing key management people to be active in the T immins Chamber of Commerce, boards of various char - ities and community or ganizations, donating money annually to several causes and becoming embedded in every aspect of life. At its height, the mine employed 3,300 workers but computers and oth - er modern equipment led to the total being reduced. The operation passed through several hands until its present owner , Xstrata plc, acquired it on Nov . 2, 2006. In 201 1, Xstrata completed a C$120 “The Porcupine Camp” 100 Y ears of Mining Page 70 Cont’d on pg. 72