Since the early 1900′s, the Timmins economy has been driven by resource based industries. This continues today, with approximately 25% of the workforce directly employed in mining and forestry. Another large segment of the workforce is in related areas, such as industrial suppliers.
As Timmins has evolved from a mining town into a full service, modern city, small business has played an important role in job creation. Eighty-one percent (81%) of all employees work for firms with ten or fewer employees. More than 94% of the workforce is employed by businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Mining
The community has grown steadily over the years since it?s inception in 1912. Timmins is known as “The City with the Heart of Gold” and for good reasons: there are many exploration companies working within the area.
We are leaders in the Canadian mining industry and have very successfully maintained a balance between industry and the ecology.
Since the discovery of the first mine in 1909, there have been 49 other mines that have opened in the Timmins area. To date these operations have produced over 60 million ounces of gold.
A variety of minerals are extracted in the Timmins area, they include: gold, silver, nickel, copper, cadmium, indium, talc, zinc, sulphur, stone, selenium, serpentine, silica, and the platinum group.
Non-metal mining consists of the following: granite/marble, hedmanite and magnetite.
In 1909 a team of prospectors worked throughout the Porcupine area. On June 6, 1909, the Preston party discovered a quartz vein showing flecks of gold. The vein led to a large quartz dome-like structure. After they trenched and blasted the rock, they uncovered a lengthy vein of gold later known as the “Golden Stairway”. The Dome Mine was founded on this discovery and is still operating to this day.
Many mines are still in operation and many exploration companies continue to explore and discover the treasure located beneath the City of Timmins. In fact, we have the highest number of active exploration claims in Ontario and have approximately 90 exploration companies working within the city.
Forestry
Another very important economic sector in Timmins is the forestry industry. Several firms in Timmins manufacture value-added wood products like Oriented Strandboard and softwood lumber products. The region has a coniferous forest zone and is an important source of forest products. Black spruce, white spruce, jack pine, poplar, white birch, white pine, balsam and yellow birch are the most common trees within our community.
The beginnings of the Timmins timber industry were underway by 1910. The Porcupine fire of 1911 destroyed a large portion of the forest and many lives were lost. The industry has been a solid one in the City of Timmins due to ongoing reforestation efforts. Companies like Tembec Inc. – Timmins Sawmill, Domtar (formerly McChesney Lumber), Grant Forest Products Inc., and Millson Timber Inc. are some of the largest companies operating in the community.
Economic Diversity
Through “Building our Future” (the City of Timmins strategic plan) the community stakeholders have been working together to diversify the economy. While mining and forestry are still the mainstays of the local economy, the City encourages the development of other industry sectors. Some have emerged as major employers, including:
- Retail Trade
- Construction
- Business Services
- Health and Social Services
- Industrial Suppliers
- Telecommunications
- Education
- Tourism, Accommodation and Entertainment
For statistics, publications and more information visit the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) web site at www.timminsedc.com.
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Our municipality owes its existence to the initiative and efforts of prospectors by the names of Harry Preston, Sandy McIntyre and Benny Hollinger, who in the early 1900′s discovered gold. Financiers Noah and Henry Timmins were responsible for the development of the Hollinger Mine and, thus, the name Timmins came to the forefront and has been our proud designation ever since. 
