The story begins in 1933 when GOLD was discovered by 2 prospectors, Murdoch Mosher and Fred Grozelle, on the Southeast shore of Straw Lake. During the winter and spring of 1934, surface trenching and test pitting (Contract work done by Moneta Porcupine Mines) proved that underground work was warranted and the "Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines Syndicate Limited" was created. Early surface work outlined an ore shoot 600' long, 13" wide with an average grade of 0.8 oz’s / ton.

In August 1934, the company changed their name to the "Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines Limited." Shaft sinking and underground work started and by 1938, a 60 ton per day mill was erected.

The first discovery in this area was made in 1927 on the northeast end of Straw Lake by trapper, Ed. Konigson. This was a narrow vein on the surface but found free gold encouraging him to do some work. Konigson alone single-jacked a shaft 9' by 9' to a depth of about 40'. At a depth of about 20' the vein is the full width of the shaft. (From "The Evening News-Chronicle" - Saturday, October 27^th, 1934) This property is owned today by Lawrence Eustace of Fort Frances. The shaft is found just above Straw landing with only 10 - 12 feet not under water.

In his report for 1940, Capt. JD Toleman (Mine Manager) is quoted as saying "The 700 foot level showed as good, or better, and more continuous ore than any other level of the mine."

The mine had 6 levels at 100', 200', 300', 425', 575' and 700'. The bottom was estimated at 723'. The mine became the 2^nd largest past-producing mine in the Kenora District.

A 2007 interview with Bert Oliver who was over 80 years old told me the story of how, as a boy, he and his father visited the mine during it’s full operation. He told of a large Saint Bernard (gaurd dog) that was very nice and how he saw a gold bar cooling on a step with nobody around.

Mr. James Graham from Emo gained quite a reputation for transporting people and equipment to the Straw Lake Property.

In November, 2009 I had the oportunity to talk with Jim Chambers, age 94 of Atikokan, Ont. Jim worked on the 500 level of the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine in 1940 to 1941 (Approx. 8 Months). Jim worked along side his younger brother Bruce. Jim recalled many stories from the time with an excellent memory of the details.  Jim detailed the drilling procedure and how after blasting there would be "wire" gold hanging from the ceiling (as the rock cracked around the gold vein). Jim and Bruce worked side by side as they could make better bonus working better together. Jim left the mine on or around July 1st, 1941 to go make hay on his farm. 3 days later, the worker who replaced Jim was fatally killed in an accident. (Story Below) ( MORE OF THE INTERVIEW FROM JIM CHAMBERS TO FOLLOW - Mid-January, 2010)

Only one man (On Official Records) is known to have died at the Straw Lake Property. The full details of the accident is at the end. An inquest was held before Police Magistrate H.L. Cruso, Coroner ex officio, at the Court House in Fort Frances, on July 10^th, 1941, at 7:30 pm. The coroner gave his verdict as follows:

"That Sydney Arthur Frewan, at the village of Emo, in the district of Rainy River, died on the 5^th day of July, 1941, and that the said Sydney Arthur Frewan came to his death through injuries sustained at the Straw Lake Beach Mines, Limited, at Straw Lake, in the district of Kenora, in the Province of Ontario. And that the said Sydney Arthur Frewan came to his death from hemorrhage of the brain caused from injuries sustained when the said Sydney Arthur Frewan fell down ore chute No.4 in the Straw Lake Beach Mines on the evening of July the 4^th, 1941, at about 10 pm. That the said Sydney Arthur Frewan thus came to his death by accident or misadventure, and no blame is attachable to anyone."          ( FULL STORY AT BOTTOM OF PAGE )

 Another story from Straw Lake is the visit by a caretaker in the early 50's. "The office and cook house all looked as if everybody just got up and walked out." "Even the plates and silverware were set at the tables."

The President of the company gave the reason for the mine closing in the Company report ending May 1941 as "Shortage of Power." "There was insufficient power to run the mill at full capacity, which was needed if the mine was to operate at a profit, and, at the same time to work in the deeper levels."

From the MNDM files : "Operations were suspended while financing was arranged which would have enabled more adequate power facilities to be installed and underground development to be extended below the 700 foot level. However there is no further record of work done, and the company was struck off record in 1956."

The total amount of material put through the mill was approximately 50,000 tons with the value of the gold recovered at $452,618. It was also stated in records that approximately 32,662 tons were milled grading 0.34 oz’s/ton with a recovery of 11,568 oz’s of Gold and 1,049 oz’s of Silver.

A new generator was on the way (to power the elevators), which would have allowed the mine to use the AIR to work in the deep levels. The Canada War Board sealed the fate of the mine and September 4^th, 1941 was the last known day anybody worked at Straw Lake. Another notable mill closure at the same time was GoldCorp’s Red Lake Mine. While most of the other mines started operations again after the war, the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine sat empty.

Vigor Property - 180 acres, located approximately 1 KM southeast of the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine. From 1934 to 1935, records of assayed samples and channel samples are apparently available in the Kenora office of the MNDM ("Ministry of Northern Development and Mines"). The property today is 2 separate parcels of land, 100 acres owned by an American and 80 acres owned by (American) Larry Oveson et al. The Oveson property is today known as "Ghost Ridge Camp" and used as recreation land (Hunting, Fishing, Drinking...). The lake has since been altered to Visor Lake, which was undoubtably mis-read from the original map.

In 1981, the Ontario Geological Survey estimated The Straw Lake Gold Mine :

Probable / Possible and Speculative 22,400 oz’s of Gold from 700' to 1,500'

Plus Possible 4,500 oz’s in the surface dump

Plus Possible 3,000 oz’s in the tailings dump

For a TOTAL of approximately 30,000 oz’s of GOLD (Worth $30 Million)

There is an old report stating there was approximately 10,000 tons of mineable grade material remaining above the 700 foot level.

Since new information has been discovered in Geology regarding VMS deposits as well as major fault line information regarding large deposits, applying this information to the Straw Lake Property is vital.

Past Work By Other Companies :

 1933    Discovery of a Gold occurrence in a quartz vein, hosted in a felsic metavolcanic (Rhyolite) by Murdoch Mosher and Fred Grozelle on the SE shore of the north arm of Straw Lake. The quartz vein was located in a shear and varied from 2 to 25 inches, in places branching into several smaller parallel veins oriented 80* to 100* and dipping vertically to -85*N. Metallic minerals associated with the vein included native silver, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tetradymite, galena, magnetite and sphalerite. Gold mineralization increased where the concentration of tetradymite (Bismuth Telluride) increased

1934   Formation of the Straw Lake Beach Mines Syndicate to develop the Mosher Vein.

 1935      The Ontario Department of Mines published a report entitled Geology of the Straw Lake-Manitou Lakes Area.   

From a 1936 Government Publication : Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines, Limited, was incorporated in August, 1934, with an authorized capitalization of 2,500,000 shares of no par value. The officers and directors are :

W.E. Segsworth, President and Secretary

L.L. Steindler, Vice-President and Treasurer

R.J. Jowsey / J.D. Conover and J.A. Gairdner - Directors

The head office is at 67 Young Street, Toronto.

 The property consists of a group of 9 claims at Straw Lake, district of Kenora, which were taken over from the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines Syndicate, Limited. It is about 35 miles north of Fort Frances, and is reached by a 70-mile route from Emo. During 1935, operations were carried on until the end of October, when they were suspended for the winter. The 2-compartment vertical shaft was deepened to 320' and a 2^nd level established at 300'. A total of 1,560 feet of diamond drilling was done from surface in 1935. The plant used a 310 cubic foot Ingersoll-Rand gasoline compressor and a 6- by 8-inch Ingersoll-Rand air hoist. An average of 19 men were employed during 1935. Frank Carnegie was in charge, with A.J. MacDonnell as contractor. The mine address is Emo.

  1936     The Ontario Department of Mines published a report entitled Geology of the Rowan-Straw Lake Area.   

1940      Mining was suspended on September 16th, 1939, and the mill was shut down; but on January 7th, 1940, sinking was resumed, and by June 1st, 1940, the shaft had been deepened to 587 feet and a new level established at that horizon. Commencing in July, sinking was again resumed and the 700 foot level was opened. Milling resumed on September 17th, 1940 at about 60 tons daily. 

 1941 

 From a 1941 Government Publication : Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines, Limited, was incorporated in August, 1934, with an authorized capitalization of 2,500,000 shares of no par value. In June, 1937, the number of shares was increased to 3,000,000, and in September, 1939, it was again increased to 4,500,000, of which 3,585,645 have been issued. The officers and directors are :

 W.M. Sixt, President and Manager

 M.C. Mosher, Vice-President (One of origonal Prospectors to make Discovery)

 W.R. Salter, Secretary - Treasurer

 W.G. Chipp, Assisstant Secretary - Treasurer ***Chipp would eventually gain a 50% title to the Property, his estate selling the property in 1974 for $6,000.

J.S. Booth, Director

The head office was at 36 Toronto Street, Toronto. The mine address is Emo.

  J.D. Tolman was manager, employing an average of 64 men, of whom 33 were underground and 9 in the mill.

 1956  Straw Lake Beach Gold Mines Limited is De-Listed from the NYSE.

1969 The CANADIAN NICKEL COMPANY completed 2 diamond drill holes west of the current property that intersected 11 feet of Graphitic Mafic Volcanics and 26 feet of Meta-dacite.

1970 FREEPORT CANADIAN EXPLORATION completed an airborne questor input geophysical survey with follow up ground EM and magnetic surveys and drilling. Of six diamond drill holes completed, only 2, numbers 6 and 8 are located on the current Straw Lake Property. The holes were drilled to test the regional Manitou Stretch-Pipestone Lake Fault Line and intersected graphitic sediments. Neither hole was assayed for gold.

1976 MINEDEL MINES LTD. Geologically surveyed and sampled the surface showings then drilled 3 deep holes totaling 2,917 feet around and below the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine. The drill holes intersected only weak structures and low gold values.

1977 The Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) completed regional mapping of the area at 1:15640. During the survey a sample of weathered trondjemite of the Lawrence Lake Batholith assayed 0.54 oz’s per ton Gold.

1978 H.G. Harper staked the OGS discovery area for OPAWICA Explorations but claims lapsed.

1979 Robert Fairservice staked the discovery area and over the next decade expanded the property to 79 claim units (3,120 acres). AMAX dug several pits on the property and 11 samples averaged 0.169 oz’s per ton.

1980  SELCO optioned the Fairservice claims, cut a grid with 400 foot spaced lines oriented at 330*, completed geological, magnetics, VLF-EM surveys and drilled 11 Winkie diamond drill holes over a 2 year period. 2 holes, 130-1-1 and 130-1-2, were drilled into the discovery showing, called the pine lake showing, and returned 2 assays of 1.03 grams per ton gold over 1 foot intervals, apparently associated with 0.5 to 1 centimeter wide quartz veinlets containing up to 2% disseminated pyrite. The geological survey identifies at least 3 more mineralized zones within the Lawrence Lake Batholith, called the Pine Center, Pine Hill and Pine West showings. 12 Winkie diamond drill holes were drilled on the Pine Center showing. 3 holes were lost to caving, 3 holes intersected low gold values throughout, ex. Hole FS-8 intersected 0.048 oz/ton gold over 60.5 feet. Surface grab samples taken from the Pine Hill showing assayed 0.20, 0.27, 0.23, 0.14 and 0.40 oz/ton gold. 2 winkie holes drilled on the Pine Hill showing returned low gold values.  

1982   NORANDA optioned the Fairservice Claims and completed geochemical surveys over the property and induced potential (IP) geophysics over the areas surrounding the showings discovered by SELCO. The Pine Center, Pine Hill and Pine West showings were trenched, mapped in detail and channel sampled. Results from the Pine Hill showing indicated 0.49 oz’s per ton gold over 10 feet and 0.11 oz’s per ton over 10 feet from Pine Center. 2 Diamond drill holes, FS83-1 and FS84-2, were drilled at Pine Center but returned no significant assays.  

1983   SPARTON RESOURCES staked a large group of claims south of the Lawrence Lake Batholith, cut a grid with 100 meter spaced lines oriented 360*, completed VLF-EM and magnetic geophysics, soil and humus geochemistry, geological mapping and sampling, and 35.6 KM’s of IP/Resistivity surveys. 7 trenches and 5 diamond drill holes were completed. The diamond drilling concentrated around the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine and Hole SL83-2 returned an assay of 0.32 oz’s per ton gold over 5 feet (From 12' to 17').

1985   MINNOVA & CORPORATION FALCONBRIDGE optioned 77 of the Fairservice claims, and completed humus geochemistry over all but 33 claims. Many new zones were discovered. From 1985 to 1988, Minnova completed 23 drill holes, averaging 600' in length, concentrating on fault structures within the Lawrence Lake Batholith. The drilling program delineated a gold-bearing alteration system 800 feet long with an average width of 76.3 feet.

 1988   NORANDA completed regional airborne EM, magnetic and radiometric geophysics that covered the southern 2 thirds of the existing property.

DAYTON PORCUPINE GOLD MINES Ltd. Drilled 8 diamond drill holes totaling 3,970 feet on the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine Property. Several assays in the 0.03 oz/ton gold range were returned and hole SL88-6 intersected 0.14 oz/ton gold over 2 feet.

 1995     TRI-ORIGON Explorations Optioned the Straw Lake Property. (Info to Follow)

2003    OPAWICA Explorations optioned the Fairservice claims. (Info to Follow)

2005   Purchased by Shotgun Exploration (Info to Follow)

The remainder of this story is yet to be written. Since purchasing the property in 2005, Shotgun Exploration has done extensive testing regarding a small-scale gold operation from remaining material on surface. 

 From The Ministry of Mines - Fatalities in the Mining Sector (1945)

Sydney Arthur Frewan, aged 25, British, single, employed as a mucker, was fatally injured about 10 pm on July 4^th, when he was struck on the head by a falling object and fell into No.4 chute in the No.505 cut-and-fill stope on the 575' level of the Straw Lake Beach Mine. He died in the Emo Red Cross Hospital at about 11:15 am on July 5^th, 1941.

No.505 stope is worked by the cut-and-fill method. The fill level at No.1 chute and man way and No.2 chute and on the east side of No.3 chute is at a height of 82' above the No.575 drift, which is on the 575' level. The fill level on the west side of No.3 chute, No.4 chute and No.2 man way is at a height of 78 feet above No.575 drift. No.2 man way was raised from No.575 drift, adjoining No.5 chute on the east. To a height of 50 feet above No.575 drift. No.2 man way was then raised adjoining No.4 chute on the west, and the top bulk-headed at a height of 78 feet above No.575 drift. The back of the stop is 5 feet above this bulkhead. Directly above No.4 chute the "winze" raise had been driven to facilitate the passing or ore to the 575 foot level, which had been benched around the winze. The winze had been sunk to a depth of 40 feet before the 575 foot level was opened up. The "winze" raise is about 4' by 4' in cross-section. From the back of the stope to the bottom of the winze benching the distance is 13 feet. No.4 chute is almost vertical and is 4' by 2', 6 inches to 3' in cross-section.

At about 9 pm on the night shift of July 4^th, which is from 7 pm to 3:30 am, O. Carlson, shift boss, made his inspection of No.505 stope and warned Frewan and the 2 drillers, B. Chambers and R. Nicholson, who were all working in the No.505 stope, not to go near No.4 chute because some missed holes on the 425 foot level around the winze were going to be blasted and muck was coming down the "winze" raise into No.4 chute. Frewan had been working in No.505 stope on and off during the past 5 months. M. Brigham and J. Lastovic, who were tramming on the 575 foot level from No.4 chute of No.505 stope, had pulled the chute empty. Since this chute had a tendency to hang up at a point where it could be barred down the No.2 man way and also at the top of the chute, Brigham went up No.2 man way and found that muck was hung up in the chute. When he reached the bulkhead he was not able to ascertain with his carbide lamp whether the muck was hung up on top of the chute. Brigham waited until the drillers had stopped drilling and then called to Nicholson, whom he thought was drilling close by. Frewan answered, and Brigham asked him if he could see his light. Frewan replied that the chute was not hung up. Brigham started down the man way and, when about 15 feet down, heard a man grunt. He was facing the chute and could see between the cribbing a man falling down the chute with his carbide lamp still burning. Brigham called to Lastovic to pull the chute because a man had fallen down. By the time Brigham has reached the level, Lastovic has removed the chute boards and was taking Frewan out of the chute. Muck was still falling down the chute while Frewan was being removed. Brigham and Lastovic, instead of obtaining the stretcher which is kept on surface, carried Frewan to the shaft station, where he was hoisted to surface and taken to the mine office at about 10:30 pm.

F.Y. Uttley, mine accountant and first-aid man, examined Frewan, wrapped him in blankets and put him in a wire basket stretcher. Frewan was then taken to the Red Cross Hospital at Emo, a distance of 70 Miles, 48 of which was by boat. At 3 am, he arrived at the hospital and was attended by Dr. D.R. Young. His injuries were a bruised forehead, swollen eyebrows and bleeding at the back of the head. He did not regain consciousness and died at 11:15 am on July 5^th, 1941.

On examining the scene of the accident it was found that muck had piled up on the east side of No.4 chute almost to a stull, which was 5 feet 2 inches above the fill level and 2 feet 4 inches below the back, but it was possible to see into the No.2 man way without exposing oneself to the muck falling down the raise. The fact that Frewan did not cry out but gave a grunt as if hit by a falling object, and also that his hard hat was broken at the back of the crown, would indicate that he was struck before he fell into the chute. He must have had his head and shoulders well under the raise before being hit or he would have not fallen into the chute. From his position before he was removed from the chute and the size of the chute it was evident that he fell head first into it.