Martin Frobisher's Northwest Venture, 1576-1581: Mines, Minerals and Metallurgy

Barry M. Gough is a professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier University
and author of The Northwest Coast: British Navigation, Trade, and
Discoveries to 1812.

Martin Frobisher’s three voyages in search of a sea lane to Asia have
long interested students of history. However, until the publication of
this important book very little was known, and much was speculated,
about the metallurgical findings of Frobisher’s pioneering foray into
northern mining. It was during the explorer’s second voyage, in 1577,
that a mine was opened in southeast Baffin Island and 158 tons of ore
were shipped to Bristol and London. On Frobisher’s last voyage, in
1578, 1136 tons of ore were sent to Dartford, where investors and
associates of the sponsoring Cathay Company had set up a mill to produce
precious metals obtained from the rock.

The rock has usually been described as “fool’s gold.” But the
authors, through careful study, conclude that Frobisher’s ore
contained an extremely low percentage of gold. They attribute reports of
high-grade assays in 1577–78 to incompetent assayers, or perhaps the
deliberate addition of gold and silver to the furnace charge. That there
may have been fraud in high places adds to the interest of this
fascinating account of early Canadian history—an account made even
more vibrant by portraits of the various individuals who tried, and
ultimately failed, to open a colony on Baffin Island.

This well-illustrated book contains numerous valuable appendixes, a
Who’s Who, detailed footnotes and references, an extensive
biblio-graphy, and a workable index. It is a great credit to its authors
as well as to the Meta Incognita Project Steering Committee and to the
Canadian Museum of Civilization.