Resource room recognizes man
who discovered Buchans ore find.
Marie Sparkes, granddaughter of Mr. Matthew (Matty) Mitchell
received a plaque as a special momento of the opening of the Matthew
Mitchell Prospectors Resource Room from Mines and Energy Minister,
Roger Grimes.
by DAVE KEARSEY
Star Staff Writer
The official opening of the
Matthew (Matty) Mitchell
Prospectors Resource Room was a
proud moment for Marie Sparkes
of Corner Brook.
Sparkes a granddaughter of the late
Mr. Mitchell, and her husband
Willougby, were on hand for the official
opening of the room Nov. 5 in St.
John's. The room is located in the
Department of Energy and Mines
Building on Elizabeth Avenue in the
capital city.
The couple was invited to attend
the annual meeting of the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum (CIM) and the Association
of Professional Engineers and
Geoscientists of Newfoundland
(APEGN) at the DeIta Hotel where
the Mi'kmaq prospector well known
for discovering the Buchans ore fine
in 1905 was recognized for his
achievement.
Mines and Energy Minister Roger
Grimes presented Sparkes with a
plaque to commemorate the naming
of the Matty Mitchell Prospectors
Resource Room during a special banquet
held in conjunction with the gathering
of APEGN members and CIM
delegates from across Canada.
"I have to tell you I feel just great
because it's been a long time coming,"
Sparkes said of the recognition
betowed on her grandfather. "He hasn't
been given, in my opinion, the
recognition for discovering such a
mine. He was employed with the
Anglo Newfoundland Development
Company at the time and naturally
whatever he discovered reverted back
to thrm because the engineers from
the company were with him and he
was the guide and prospector with
them."
While it was a special occasion for
Sparkes, she believes it was also a
happy time for all the grandsons and
granddaughters of Mr. Mitchell living
in Corner Brook, mainland Canada,
and parts of the United States.
In 1905, Mr. Mitchell discovered
base metal mineralization on the
the banks of the Buchans River while
prospecting for AND. His find and
subsequent development of the
Buchans River ore body and nearby
deposits led to the creation of a thriving
community and thousands of person-years of employment
in a previously uninhabited wllderness.
Over a period of almost 60 years,
the Buchans ore bodies - one of the
world's richest and most productive
rnassive sulphide camps - yielded 16.2
million tonnes of high-grade zinc,
lead, copper; gold and silver ore. By
today's standards, the outut would be
worth an estimated $3.6 billion (US]
Mr. Mitchell's discovery continues
to have an important and lucrative
impact on the economy of
Newfoundland and Labrador. Most
recently, this impact has been in the
form of mineral exploration expenditures
in the Buchans geological belt.
Exploration and Mining companies
from this province and around the
world continue to search for ore like
that first uncovered by Mr. Mitchell
almost a century ago.
Mr. Mitchell, who once lived in a
home on the land where the J.R.
Smallwood federaI building sits today,
died in 1921 at the age of 77. Sadly, he
did not live to see the fruits of his
prospecting discovery - the Buchan
mine started production in 1928.
In the meantime, Sparkes and her
husband enjoyed a tour of the room
during their visit to St .John's, and
were very pleased with the manner in
which Mr. Mitchell was portayed.
"I was so impressed just to see his
name on the door to the room."
Sparkes noted.
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