Don McLeod

My uncle Don McLeod smiling with a dore bar. Echo Memoirs photo

25 years have passed since the Eskay Creek discovery, claim staking rush and Vancouver Stock Exchange bubble. Murray Pezim was correct; it became one of the richest mines of all time! I was a dishwasher at my dad's hotel in Stewart, B.C. when this five-part BCTV news series with Deborra Hope about the Golden Triangle was filmed. I was so proud of my uncle and promoter Don McLeod, and his kids Catherine and Bruce, both featured prominently. All of us were on the cusp of future mining successes and failures in various mining ventures over the next two and a half decades.

After the rush died down, Eskay, Snip and Premier mines were developed, mined, and closed. But the Golden Triangle is still revealing highly prospective future mines: in the BCTV series, Sulphurettes Gold is now Seabridge's KSM project; Newhawk eventually became Pretium and the Valley of the Kings deposit. Our Red Mountain project with IDM Mining was discovered in 1989, shortly after filming. All three are potentially the next gold mines in the 100+ year history of the Golden Triangle.

After watching this for the first time in decades, recently digitized from my late father's VHS tape, it was amazing to me how much has changed in the junior mining business; it was also amazing how much has remained exactly the same.

I hope you enjoy this little piece of history, especially the oldtimers that remember the Eskay Creek rush, the colourful promoters, and the roaring Vancouver Stock Exchange!

Rob McLeod, President and CEO, IDM Mining Ltd.