Kirkland Lake Miners' Memorial

Kirkland Lake owes its existence to the hard work of the many miners who have worked in the community since the discovery of gold here in 1911. In honour of those miners, both living and those who have lost their lives, the Miners’ Memorial was erected on the former property of Sir Harry Oakes in 1994.

The project was completed largely thanks to the grassroots fundraising of the Miners’ Memorial Foundation, chaired at the time by Steven Yee. Steven, after reviewing the long list of casualties related to mining in the area, came up with the idea for a monument to recognize their hard work. Two Northern artists, Bob Moir and Sally Lawrence, were hired to create the monument. Their task was not only to honour the dead, but capture the work lives of all miners. Creating the monument involved moving and etching tons of black granite, and sculpting five life-size miners. Every physical component of the monument is local. The rock for the monument was taken from the nearby French River, and the machinery and equipment were all donated from local mines. The project took five years to complete, and the total cost of the project was roughly $170,000, $40,000 of which was supplied by the Steelworkers. The people of Kirkland Lake further backed the project with fundraisers like bingos and raffles.

Also displayed at the memorial are the names of those who lost their lives in mining accidents in local mines. The memorial inspired the book Lamps Forever Lit - A Memorial to Kirkland Lake Area Miners written by local resident Bernie Jaworsky.