Robert Longe worked in mineral exploration for many years as a geologist, consultant, and chief executive of a junior public company. His own experiences searching for mineral deposits in many parts of the world convinced him that the industry, much of it based in Vancouver, provides enough excitement, unique characters and engrossing situations for an entire genre of novels. His first novel, The Nisselinka Claims (2015), is his initial contribution. It's a 456-page, family saga that spans three generations. In the early years of the 20th century Edward Wickford, a settler in the Bulkley Valley of northern British Columbia, lays claim to a rich vein of copper and gold in the Nisselinka Mountains of central British Columbia. But events outside his control wreak havoc with his plans and dreams of wealth. Two world wars and two generations later, his grandson's ownership of the same mineral rights is threatened by a hard-driving promoter of a public company listed on the junior mining market. The resulting conflict in a high-stakes treasure hunt run by professionals, but spiced by rogues, propels the story to its climax.
978-1-4602-5294-9 Hardcover $27.49
978-1-4602-5295-6 Paperback $19.49
[BCBW 2015]
978-1-4602-5294-9 Hardcover $27.49
978-1-4602-5295-6 Paperback $19.49
[BCBW 2015]
Articles: 1 Article for this author
Robert Longe has compiled this personal list of titles pertaining to mining, while making clear there are precious few works of fiction about the subject.
This is a partial list assembled from lists by Robert Longe, Alan Twigg, & Tom Schroeter.
If you know of other non-technical books about mineral exploration, please send an email at info@nisselinka.com.
(Updated September 15 2015)
Fiction
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven 1956
Gem of a town by Jack Marr 2001
Golden Fleece BC? by Ken McTaggart 2001
The Tent Peg, by Aritha Van Herk 2005
*Rock Reject (Roseway, 2012) BC by Jim Williams 2012
*Blue Gold (Annick 2014) by Elizabeth Stewart 2014
The Nisselinka Claims BC by Robert Longe 2015
Factual: Historical & Biographical
*Coal Mine to Castle: The Story of the Dunsmuirs of Vancouver
Island New York: Pageant Press, by Lynn Bowen 1955
*Barkerville: a Guide in Word and Picture to the Fabulous Gold Camp of the Cariboo (Mitchell Press, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1974
by Bruce Ramsey 1961
*The Largest Ghost Town in B.C. (1966). by Ozzie Hutchings 1966
*Britannia: the Story of a Mine (Britannia Beach Community Club, 1967)
by Bruce Ramsey 1967
*Mining in Focus: An Illustrated History of Mining in British Columbia Self-published, Vancouver: Agency Press / Briden, Anfield & Co., 1968)
by Bruce Ramsey 1968
One Man's Gold Rush - A Klondike Album by Murray Morgan 1973
*The Town That Got Lost: A Story of Anyox (Gray's Publishing, 1973), a follow-up to local historian Ozzie Hutchings' Anyox (Hidden Creek) Mining District:
by Pete Loudon 1973
The Discoverers A 5-Year History of the Prospectors and Developers
Association, Some Famous Prospectors and Their Discoveries
by Monica Hanula 1982
*Boss Whistle The Coal Miners of Vancouver Island Remember
by Lynn Bowen 1982
Hard Rock Gold - The Story of the Great Mines That
Were The Heartbeatof Juneau, Alaska by David & Brenda Stone 1983
Old Silverton, BC (1891-1930) by John Norris 1985
Not For Gold Alone - Memoirs of a Prospector
by Frank Joubin 1986
Claims, Adventures in the Gold Trade by Ken Lefolii 1987
Spud's Dream: The Story of How a CanadianMountain-Man
Helped Create a World Class City by Sydney Cole 1987
WetCoast Ventures - Mine Finding on Vancouver Island
by Walter Guppy 1988
Pezim, Tales of a Promoter by Frank Keane 1989
Atlin - The Last Utopia by Allison Mitcham 1989
Our Trail Led Northwest - A True Tale of Romance
and Adventure by E. Maude Mandy 1989
*The Coal Coast (Orca, 1989) by Eric Newsome 1989
The New Gold Rush - Canadian Gold Companies:
The Mines - The Men - The Dreams by Frank Keane 1991
Mountains of Ore and Rivers of Gold - Stories of a
Contemporary Prospector by M.A. Kaufman 1992
Bre-X: Gold today gone tomorrow: anatomy of the Busang swindle by Vivian Danielson 1997
*100 Years of Coal Mining: The Elk River Valley (Ramsey Publications,
Sparwood, British Columbia, 1997) by Bruce Ramsey 1997
*Robert Dunsmuir: Laird of the Mines. Montreal: XYZ Publishing,
by Lynn Bowen 1999
One Lucky Canuck, An Autobiography by David Barr 2004
Prospectors Promoters and Hard Rock Miners - Tales of the Stewart,
BC and Hyder, Alaska Camps by Ian McLeod 2004
Gold Rush - Inspiring Stories of More Than 25 Companies in Search
of the World's Most Precious Metal by Michael Caldwell 2005
Following The Boulder Train - Travels with Prospectors and
Rock Doctors by Tom Henry 2006
*Hills of Silver: The Yukon's Mighty Keno Hill Mine
by Dr. Aaro E. Aho 2006
More Than Free Gold - Mineral Exploration in Canada
Since World War II by Michael Barnes 2008
Gold Dust on His Shirt: The True Story of a Pioneer Mining Family by Irene Howard 2008
Jewel of the Kootenays: The Emerald Mine by Larry Jacobsen 2008
The McLeod Luck by Donald McLeod 2009
A Century of Discovery (1912-2012) by The Association For
Mineral Exploration British Columbia 2012
Into The Mountains - Celebrating 100 Years of Mineral
Exploration Advocacy (1912-2012) by Chuck Davies 2012
*Belly of Blackness: Coal Dust is in My Genes (Granville Island Pub. 2014)
by Jim Elliot 2014
*A Rock Fell on the Moon: Dad and the Great Yukon Silver Ore Heist (Lost Moose / Harbour $32.95) by Alicia Priest 2014
Tales from the Underbrush by Ian Semple 2015
Wild Places, The Adventures of an
Exploration Geologist by Harold Linder 2015
. . . . . .
Not included in list of Non-Technical Books
Fowler, George Papers on the theory and practice of coal mining.