The region of Val-D'Or, Quebec - directly translated as "the valley of gold" - was appropriately named. Between 1935 and 1985, over 24 million tons of ore and 4.5 million ounces of gold were extracted from the lucrative Lamaque mine located in this region. Unfortunately, faced with labor unrest and a declining gold standard, the company that owned Lamaque chose to cut its losses and shut it down in 1985.
The Integra Gold Corporation - a Canadian mining and exploration company - purchased the original land, permits, and infrastructure to the Lamaque and adjacent Sigma mine in 2014. Hoping to locate the untapped deposits of gold that are still there, the company has launched the Integra Gold Rush Challenge.
With a prize of $1 million CAD, the Gold Rush Challenge is one of the largest incentive prize competitions in mining industry history. Through this contest, the company is seeking the public's help in locating the vast, untapped gold deposits that they believe are still there and waiting to be found -- and they're willing to pay handsomely for that help!
Located in Val-D'Or, Quebec, the Lamaque mine was once the most profitable in the entire region. Credit: intregragold.com
Already, sample drilling performed at the Sigma mine in 2013 revealed extensive veins of gold ore, indicating that there are larger deposits deeper underground. However, the conventional exploration process is expensive and time-consuming, and it could be many years before any of these deposits can be discovered.
Looking to shave a few years off the process, Integra has chosen to crowdsource a solution by making its information available to the public. This data consists of 75 years' worth - a total of 6 terabytes - of prospecting and mining data that they acquired with the purchase of the Lamaque mine. For those competing, this information is waiting to be "mined" for information that could lead to the discovery of the primary gold deposits.
Whoever can crunch this data, and thus help them to locate the main deposits in a speedy and cost-effective way, will be eligible for the prize of $1 million CAD. In the end, Integra is looking for innovative, creative solutions that will make the Lamaque mine productive again and the Val-D'Or region once again live up to its name!
The competition kicked off this past Tuesday (Sept 16th) and will remain open to submissions until Dec. 1st. The judging process will begin on the following day, and the winning submission will be formally announced on March. 9th, 2016. The competition is open to anyone, regardless of their background.
Are you a miner, geologist, analyst, or just someone who loves to crunch data? Then enter the Integra Gold Rush Challenge for a chance to win $1 million CAD!
Top Image Credit: integragold.com
