In 1868 Canada as a nation was one year old and for the most part a relatively untouched land dominated by a harsh and lonely wilderness, The North Shore of Lake Superior was one such area and in that year the government decided to levy a tax upon all mineral lands.

As such the Montreal mining companies sent a small surveying party to prospect it’s holdings in the Thunder Bay district, this resulted in the finding of a rich vein of pure silver on a small island which later became known as Silver Islet.