A Place Called Cobalt - Toronto Star ArticleFrom the article;
"A place called Cobalt.
There is a powerful synchronicity in this renewed interest in Cobalt, Ont. This is not just some old mining town looking for one more chance to flourish. The events that took place at Cobalt more than a century ago set Canada on its path to becoming the world’s pre-eminent resource extraction superpower.
The implications of the Cobalt mining boom (1903 to 1921) were enormous. The sudden flush of silver money from the mines of Cobalt hit sleepy Edwardian Canada like a high-octane jolt — strong enough to change the trajectory of development in both Ontario and Canada. The wealth of these mines was so unprecedented that in 1916 the British government pleaded with Canadian authorities to avoid a miners’ strike at Cobalt because of the impact it would have had on the war effort.
Cobalt elevated a new financial elite, who quickly learned that the real riches of the northern mines were not to be found by digging with a pick and shovel but by mastering the financial alchemy of hustling mining plays and manipulating the stock market."
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/01/30/the-dark-side-of-cobalt-the-digital-ages-miracle-metal.html