The City Of Riverbank, Circa 2070 - Ring Of Fire Mining Area

History (totally fictional)

The City of Riverbank was established as a planned community for the mining industry in 2015 after the discovery of nickel and copper in the area some years earlier. This property is part of the Ring Of Fire mining camp in northern Ontario's James Bay lowlands area, a camp discovered around 2008, and famous for its Chromite and other base metals finds. After bringing together the mining companies, First Nations (sharing the same lands), and the provincial and federal partners, an agreement was reached on a strategy on infrastructure, electricity prices and resource sharing/employment opportunities in relation to the First Nations and other people sharing that area. 

Since the Ring Of Fire area is a very boggy and swampy terrain it took some years to build a transportation infrastructure consisting of a railway and road connecting the Riverbank Mine, other mining properties and small town scattered through the area. The new road and railway system proved to be a great economic stimulus for the First Nations towns in that area and spurred on further mineral exploration activities. Modern exploration and development practices such as social responsibility to the people living and working in that area, environmental stewardship and a healthy and safe environment contributed to the success of the Riverbank Mine (e3 – PDAC 2013).

By the late 2020s, the town of Riverbank population had grown to about 1200. The population has varied with several boom-and-bust cycles from the 2020s to the 2060s. Riverbank was incorporated as a city in 2055. In the years since, the city looked elsewhere for its economic survival, promoting itself as retirement town and tourist destination (not unlike the story of Elliott Lake). Since the 2060s mineral exploration activities have taken off again. Health issues ,because of past mining activities, have been of some concern but because of past successfully completed comprehensive mine closures major issues have been avoided. The City of Riverbank appears to have a bright future.

This digital painting should in no way be used to guide your real estate or retirement planning.

Riverbank Property - Ring Of Fire Mining Area

The Riverbank property is located in northern Ontario, approximately 350 km north of Geraldton, Ontario. This exploration-stage property is believed to be underlain in part by rocks that potentially could host nickel-copper mineralization. ( National Instrument 43-101Technical Report prepared for Zara Resources Inc. Jan 14, 2013, public document, available on the internet)

This digital painting is a collage, loosely based on the gravity anomaly map for the Riverbank property, a magnificent rock outcrop from the Sudbury area, interwoven with two turtles (symbolizing the earth in aboriginal culture), and diamond drill bits sampling the various potential ore mineral zones. No mineral grades available at this time.

This digital painting should in no way be used to guide future exploration and development programs for this property. Other hard copy variations (9x12 and 18x24 inches, acrylics on canvas) carry the same disclaimer.