A traditional style of prospecting where people physically go out into the bush and stake claims ends today.
In an attempt to modernize the practice, the province is moving to an online system, but not everyone is happy with the change.
David Gibson lives in Calgary, but grew up in Timmins and has been staking claims since 1982.
He has returned to stake his final claim by hand with another local prospector, Ken Pye, with whom he started his first adventure many years ago. They felt it was important to do the last one together.
“I’m a little bit old-school when it comes to doing things, and for me, old-school was going in the bush, cracking rocks, looking what’s under the moss, getting assays done. I’m not sure if there’s going to be any true prospectors left after today.” said Gibson.
Moving forward, anyone who wants to stake a claim will have to do it online.
"Well, the new era that's going to come is going to be a virtual era, so it'll be based on data, based on things you can do on a computer. I’m really not sure how that's going to happen. Not sure how people are going to discover new mines." said Gibson.
Ken Pye says this way of life has been everything for him over the past twenty years.
Although these prospectors say they won't give up buying claims, they also say the sense of adventure is over.
"Well, obviously we're not going to be staking in the bush any more. If we want to pick up some ground and option it off, we're going to have to do it online.” said Pye.
The two say that their final claim is located in gold country and they hope to hit a mother lode, which would be the sweetest outcome to end a passion that’s fueled them for decades.
