Record prices for silver could see mines reopen in northern Ontario town of Cobalt

While the soaring price for gold has seen the opening of many new mines across northern Ontario the same could soon be true for another precious metal.

Silver is currently hitting record prices, hovering around $50 U.S. per ounce.

That is renewing interest in mining around the town of Cobalt, which was once known as the "Silver Capital of the World."

"They never really found the motherlode, we only scratched the surface,” said Frank Basa, the president of Nord Precious Metals, which now owns the former Castle Mine in Cobalt.

Silver was first discovered in the area in 1903 and within a few years, there were 34 silver mines operating in Cobalt and the population swelled to 10,000 people. These days, less than 1,000 people live there.

Basa said back then it’s reported that nine million ounces of silver came out of the Cobalt mining camp, although exact numbers are fuzzy because the grade of the ore was so high.

The last silver mine closed in the early 1980s, which is when Basa worked in the Cobalt area for Agnico Eagle and met his geologist wife.

He said that 12 years ago, his company bought the old Castle Mine property for $25,000

"Basically bought it with a credit card," Basa said, laughing now that neighouring silver properties are valued for millions of dollars. 

Basa said from what was left behind in decades past— including broken rocks they found underground, as well as what was leftover in mine waste piles known as tailings— his company poured a 1,000 ounce silver bar eight years ago.

"We found stuff like 5,000 grams a tonne in a vein and they left it behind. So I guess in the old days, 5,000 grams a tonne was considered low grade,” he said.

Basa said he found the permitting process “challenging” back then and shelved the project, but he said the record prices, plus a new attitude toward mining at Queen’s Park has changed everything.

"We want to develop a mine and now, the provincial government actually is really doing great things for the resource industry,” he said.

“You can get a permit in 10 weeks. You can't get a permit anywhere in the world in 10 weeks, but you can in Ontario."