The Diamond Drill

The Diamond Drill was donated by Morissette Diamond Drilling, a division Longyear Canada Inc. In March of 1938, Julian G. Cross searched for iron ore deposits, 200 feet below, at the bottom of Steep Rock Lake using a diamond drill operation. A painting by Harold Nelson in the Atikokan Museum depicts that cold winter operation. In 1897, a map issued by the Geological Survey of Canada displayed the findings of two field Geologists, W.H. Smith and W. McInnes, who had mapped the area around Steep Rock Lake the previous summer. Their report claimed that "an iron-bearing horizon with hematite of good quality appears to be generally covered by the waters of the lake." They only way to prove the existence of the ore body was to drill into the lake bed with a diamond drill. Julian G. Cross talked to many developers before he met Joseph Errington who could read the maps and plans and was familiar with the concepts that Cross was trying to sell.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Continue walking on Main Street, cross over O'Brien. The Dimond Drill is situated on the edge of the green space on Main Street.