Franc Joubin, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Franc Joubin

mining geologist and technical mine consultant

Date of Birth: 15-Nov-1911

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, United States

Date of Death: 01-Jan-1997

Profession: geologist

Nationality: Canada

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio


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About Franc Joubin

  • Franc Renault Joubin, (November 15, 1911 – January 1, 1997) was a prospector and geologist best known for a huge uranium discovery in northeastern Ontario, Canada in 1953. Born in San Francisco, California to parents of French descent, his family emigrated to Canada when he was three years old. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, (Masters, Geology (1942)), Joubin worked independently as a consultant and prospector/geologist for various mining promoters and exploration companies. In 1953, as an employee and eventual partner of promoter Joseph Hirshhorn, he persuaded his partner to finance diamond drilling of a previously dismissed area of surface radioactivity near Blind River, Ontario.
  • Joubin's insight, with help from Dr.
  • Charles Davidson, a leading British geologist, was that the presence of iron sulphide had leached the uranium mineral to a location deeper in the ground.
  • Drilling results confirmed this and implied uranium deposits along a huge ninety mile Z-shaped geological formation extending north of the area.
  • Known as the "Big Z" deposit, it became the hub of a frenzy of uranium exploration and mining activity.
  • The town of Elliot Lake, (incorporated 1955) was built from scratch to house employees of the various mines that sprung up in the area.
  • By 1955, Joubin and Hirshhorn sold their interests to Rio Tinto of Great Britain and divided paper profits of $35 million.
  • By the 1980s it was estimated Joubin's discovery and the subsequent mineral production had added up to $30 billion to the Canadian economy.Joubin resumed his career as a consulting geologist.
  • He travelled much of the world for Rio Tinto, other companies, and eventually the United Nations. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1983.

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