People/prospector

Benjamin Hollinger

Benjamin Hollinger (1885–1919), prospector, from Canada. Linked to gold, silver.

The lucky break

Staked the Porcupine ground that became the Hollinger mine, which gave about 19 million ounces of gold worth nearly 600 million dollars in 57 years.1

The downfall

He did not enjoy his modest fortune for long and died at 34 in 1919.1

Legacy

The Hollinger gold mine and the Porcupine camp became a pillar of Ontario's economy.1

Story cards

Where next

People

Partner ofNoah TimminsA young prospector's claims became the gold mine a financier backed.1,2

Sources

  1. HOLLINGER, BENJAMIN Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  2. TIMMINS, NOAH ANTHONY Dictionary of Canadian Biography

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Gold prospectors constructing a long box with a filter for panning gold. Process print after H.M. Paget, 1899., Henry Marriott Paget (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Kimberley, South Africa: miners and washing gear at the Bultfontein diamond mine. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Falu gruva, Lundberg, Bengt A / Europeana (CC0 1.0).