Viola R. MacMillan
Encyclopedia
Violet Rita "Viola" MacMillan (née Huggard) (23 April 1903 – 26 August 1993) was a Canadian authority on mining. She was one of the few women in the mining industry, and was the first woman president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. She was one of Canada's most successful prospector
s.
, Canada. MacMillan was the thirteenth of fifteen children born to an impoverished family.
. MacMillian was also responsible for the development of the Canadian Arrow open pit gold deposit. When prospecting in Quebec MacMillan had to have her husband file her mining claims, as women were legally prohibited. She found major gold deposits in the Kirkland Lake area, northern Quebec
, and British Columbia
, and staked major uranium claims in northern Saskatchewan
.
. Stock was issued on the Toronto market as Windfall Oils and Mines. In late winter 1964, Texas Gulf Sulphur geologists working near Timmins found a copper-silver-zinc ore body worth an estimated $2 billion. In July 1965, rumours circulated in Toronto that the Texas Gulf Sulphur ore body reached the MacMillan's claim. MacMillan was at the centre of the Windfall gold mining stock scam that effectively killed off, at least temporarily, the Toronto Stock Exchange
as a global mining financial centre. When assays showed the Windfall claims contained very little gold, the stocks collapsed, wiping out many investors and sparking a massive Ontario Securities Commission
(OSC) investigation of mine financing in Toronto.
. In 1968, MacMillan was convicted and jailed for eight months for manipulating the price of gold mining stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange
. After her release, MacMillan quietly returned to prospecting and mining ventures. In 1978, Viola MacMillan applied for and received a full pardon from the federal
government.
for the purchase of the "Pinch Collection". William Pinch
, over the course of fifty years, had accumulated one of the world's most important mineral collections. It was purchased by the museum for $5 million in 1989. MacMillan also donated several Group of Seven
art pieces to Rideau Hall
.
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
s.
Early life
Born Violet Rita Huggard in the small town of Dee Bank, Ontario three miles outside of Windermere, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada. MacMillan was the thirteenth of fifteen children born to an impoverished family.
Career
MacMillan started her working career as a stenographer. Eventually she split her time working as a stenographer in the winter and a part-time prospector the remainder of the year. MacMillian is noted for the discovery of the Hallnor deposit as part of the second wave of the Porcupine Gold RushPorcupine Gold Rush
The Porcupine Gold Rush was a gold rush that took place in Northern Ontario starting in 1909 and developing fully by 1911. A combination of the hard rock of the Canadian Shield and the rapid capitalization of mining meant that smaller companies and single-man operations could not effectively mine...
. MacMillian was also responsible for the development of the Canadian Arrow open pit gold deposit. When prospecting in Quebec MacMillan had to have her husband file her mining claims, as women were legally prohibited. She found major gold deposits in the Kirkland Lake area, northern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and staked major uranium claims in northern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
MacMillan was credited with the development of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) into a professional organisation. George MacMillan was elected president in 1941 with Viola elected as Secretary-Treasurer. In 1942, she organised a full day's convention complete with guest speakers, a dinner, and a dance for 150 people. She introduced a one dollar membership fee to fund the budget of the organisation. She was a lobbyist of the Canadian government getting beneficial legislation such as the Emergency Gold Mining Act, 1948 for the PDAC.Windfall Oils and Mines Scandal
In the summer of 1964, George and Viola MacMillan had staked the Windfall claim in north eastern Ontario near Timmins, OntarioTimmins, Ontario
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
. Stock was issued on the Toronto market as Windfall Oils and Mines. In late winter 1964, Texas Gulf Sulphur geologists working near Timmins found a copper-silver-zinc ore body worth an estimated $2 billion. In July 1965, rumours circulated in Toronto that the Texas Gulf Sulphur ore body reached the MacMillan's claim. MacMillan was at the centre of the Windfall gold mining stock scam that effectively killed off, at least temporarily, the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
as a global mining financial centre. When assays showed the Windfall claims contained very little gold, the stocks collapsed, wiping out many investors and sparking a massive Ontario Securities Commission
Ontario Securities Commission
The Ontario Securities Commission is a regulatory agency which administers and enforces securities legislation in the Canadian province of Ontario...
(OSC) investigation of mine financing in Toronto.
Conviction and Imprisonment
The MacMillans were not charged in the Windfall scandal. However, the OSC investigation uncovered instances of wash tradingWash trade
A wash trade is an illegal form of stock manipulation in which an investor simultaneously sells and buys shares in order to artificially increase trading volume and thus the stock price....
. In 1968, MacMillan was convicted and jailed for eight months for manipulating the price of gold mining stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
. After her release, MacMillan quietly returned to prospecting and mining ventures. In 1978, Viola MacMillan applied for and received a full pardon from the federal
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
government.
Philanthropy
MacMillan spent the last few years of her life engaged in philanthropy. She donated $1.25 million to the acquisition fund of the Canadian Museum of NatureCanadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature is a natural history museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its collections, which were started by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856, include all aspects of the intersection of human society and nature, from gardening to gene-splicing...
for the purchase of the "Pinch Collection". William Pinch
William Pinch
William Wallace Pinch is a mineralogist from Rochester, New York. The Mineralogical Association of Canada has an award named after him, the Pinch Medal, "to recognize major and sustained contributions to the advancement of mineralogy by members of the collector-dealer community." The Pinch Medal...
, over the course of fifty years, had accumulated one of the world's most important mineral collections. It was purchased by the museum for $5 million in 1989. MacMillan also donated several Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
art pieces to Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
.