Page 78 Cont’d on pg. 78 By Gregory Reynolds Don McKinnon, one of the most suc - cessful prospectors in the history of Canadian mining, died Aug. 09, 2012. He either found or played a key role in the development of fve mines. Most prospectors spend their whole lives hoping to fnd one mineral deposit that turns into a producing mine but McKinnon at one time was receiving fve royalties (an annual share of the profts of an operation). He was alread y famous in Ontario when he was named the Prospector of the Y ear for 1982 for being the co-discoverer of gold at Hemlo, near Marathon, Ont. That put him on the national stage as three big gold mines went into production. He and his partner , T immins pros - pector John Larche, with whom he shared the prospector ’ s award, be - came millionaires but neither of the men changed their characters. McKinnon was more than a mine- fnder , he was an innovator who changed how prospectors operated in the feld and in board rooms. He became a part-time prospector after he moved in 1956 to T immins. Born in the T own of Cochrane on Aug.18, 1929, he quit high school at 16. The principal told him without an education he would end up digging ditches. That turned out to be true as a few months lat er he was working for the Abitibi Paper Company and told to dig a ditch. Criticized the frst morning by a boss for the speed of his ef forts, McKin - non said “if you know so much, come down here and dig it yourself.” He was fred but the boss of fered him a ride to the offce as McKin - non walked away . The boss then re - hired the mouthy young man when he proved his intelligence in the ensuing conversation. That began a 19 year caree r in the forestry industry . He became a woods superintendent but as he said “since I was in the bush all the time, I started to look for mineral outcroppin gs. I ed - ucated myself about prospecting and rocks at night.” During the fall and winter of 1963 there were rumours of a big base metal fnd north of T immins. McK - innon was staking on his own in the area. T wo T immins prospectors who were partners, John Larche and Alfred (Fred) Rousseau, were also staking. It turned out that an Americ an com - pany , T exas Gulf Sulphur (TGS), had found the fabulous Kidd Creek cop - per -zinc deposit in November of 1963 and was doing its best to keep the dis - covery secret. By the time TGS made a public an - nouncement on April 16, 1964, the trio had staked several hundred claims in Kidd T ownship (site of the discovery) and surrounding townships just 16 miles north of T own Hall. McKinnon, Rousseau and Larche joined forces. Dozens of mining companies, both lar ge and small, sent staking crews to T immins or tried to buy claim s close to TGS. It became the great est stak - ing rush in Canadian history and trad - ing on the stock market set new high nearly every day for months. The trio redoubled their ef forts to tie up as much land as possible. Not only were they way ahead of every other prospector in knowledge of the dis - covery area, they understood the psy - chology of a mining rush. They knew that an announcement by a junior mining company would drive up the stock price, even if the claims were miles from the discovery . Min - ing companies paid ridiculous price for claims because they could get their money back from stock action. The three partners rented a suite in the Empire Hotel and wheeled and dealt for 18 months. They had the biggest Don McKinnon found mines, and changed pr ospecting ways Prospector Don McKinnon discusses a claim map with V iola McMillan, long time president of the PDAC. “The Porcupine Camp” 100 Y ears of Mining Page 76 Cont’d on pg. 78