T. L. Taunton, of the
Geological Survey of Canada, noted gold in
quartz fragments around Little Long Lac in 1917. Similarly, Tony Oklend found
ore in a boulder during
World War I. However, it wouldn't be until 1931 that Bill "Hard Rock" Smith and Stan Watson would stake 18 claims along 3
veins. Tom Johnson and Robert Wells filed claims based on gold appearing in Magnet Lake quartz
outcrop and the presence of
bismuthinite. The Bankfield Gold Mine developed from these claims. In 1932, Johnson and Oklend staked 12 claims at Little Long Lac. Fred MacLeod and Arthur Cockshutt filed 15 claims near Smith's. Nakina was established in 1923 as a station and railway yard on the
National Transcontinental Railway, between the
divisional points of
Grant and Armstrong. Nakina was at Mile 15.9 of the NTR's Grant Sub-Division. Following the completion in 1924 of the Longlac-Nakina Cut-Off by the
Canadian National Railway, connecting the rails of the
Canadian Northern Railway at Longlac and the NTR, Nakina became the new divisional point, and the buildings from the town of Grant ( to the east) were moved to the new Nakina town site. In the 1930s the
Beardmore Relics,
Viking Age artifacts were found near Beardmore, which were proposed to be evidence of
Vikings in Ontario. Later, the relics were proven to have been a hoax. Through a series of witnesses as well as the son of the person who had found them, the relics were found to have been planted in Beardmore and not, as was suggested, found there. By 1934, a gold rush absorbed the area from Long Lac to
Nipigon, a belt long and wide. The village of Hard Rock was established in 1934, and Longlac, Bankfield, and Geraldton soon followed. Though a 1936 fire threatened the mines, development was able to continue. The Geraldton-Beardmore Gold Camp, in the heart of the Canadian Shield, hosts numerous mineralized zones which continue to be explored for potential development. Eight gold mines operated here between 1936 and 1970. Tom Powers and Phil Silams staked what became the Northern Empire Mine (1925–1988) near Beardmore, which produced a total of 149,493 ounces of gold. The Little Long Lac Mine (1934–1953) produced 605,449 ounces of gold, besides producing
scheelite. J.M. Wood and W.T. Brown developed the Sturgeon River Gold Mine (1936–1942), which produced 73,438 ounces of gold. James and Russell Cryderman found and Karl Springer incorporated what became known as the Leitch Gold Mine (1936–1968), which produced 861,982 ounces of gold from 0.92 grade ore. The Bankfield Gold Mines produced 66,416 ounces by 1942. Tomball Mines (1938–1942), started by Tom and Bill Johnson, produced 69,416 ounces. The Magnet Mine (1938–1942) produced 152,089 ounces. The Hard Rock Mine (1938–1951) produced 269,081 ounces, while the MacLeod-Cockshutt (1938–1970) produced 1,516,980 ounces. The town remains focused on tourism, diminished
pulp and paper operations and support of other more northern communities (food, fuel and transportation). Mining and minerals industries are seen as a potential source of further growth. , a proposed ore transport point around Nakina, as part of the
Ring of Fire development, may shift the emphasis of local industry from logging back to mining. In 2010 the Ring of Fire development, proposed James Bay rail link and placement of processing plants remains of great economic interest for the region. Development was expected to cost more than $1.5 billion. In 2019, negotiations with communities were continuing. On 19 February 2011, Beardmore was temporarily evacuated after a major explosion ruptured the
TransCanada pipeline in the community. In May 2016, the municipality was placed under a state of emergency due to the approach of
forest fires. Flames reached within 500m of the municipal buildings in Geraldton and crossed the runway of the town's airport, but no structures were lost. On August 29, 2024, the
Greenstone gold mine was officially opened, bringing gold mining back to Greenstone for the first time since the 1970s. == Demographics ==