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Prospectors Search Occurrence of Precious Ore Deposits on a Rock Outcrop

Black-and-white photograph of rock soils with two pickaxes and two wood box. There is a forest in the background.

Date: twentieth century

Credits : BAnQ Rouyn-Noranda, Joseph Hermann Bolduc funds, mine series. 08Y,P124,S32,D385-1-11.

When rocks are not outcropped, prospectors must dig in the overburden in order to find the part of the rock that could potentially contain precious ores. To run tests, they must then crush the rocks either with a mallet, a pickaxe, or explosives if the budget allows. In the picture, you can see a box of explosives and a mallet.