When you hear the word prospector, you may envision an old bearded man in a tattered black hat leading a donkey loaded with supplies. Things have changed.

Today a prospector is more likely to have a computer and visit his claims in a helicopter, then whisk back to town for dinner.

But the modern prospector has some of the same chores as the prospector of 100 years ago. He still spends days breaking rocks to find the sparkle of the right minerals to make a profitable mine.

Only one in a thousand showings results in an operating mine, but the payoff is large enough to attract prospectors to our region. A prospector can earn millions of dollars if he or she can find another Equity Silver mine or Endako. Most prospectors have spent years studying and working in the industry, but some big finds have been made by amateur prospectors.

Mineral showings good enough to make a mine usually cover a small land area. The two open pit copper mines near Granisle each covered a surface area of less than 200 x 450 metres. That's only 9 hectares or about 22 acres each.