The Hollinger Open Pit Lookout, which offers not only stunning panoramic views of Timmins but also the opportunity for visitors to get a closer look at Newmont’s Porcupine gold operation, has a new addition: a bronze bust that pays tribute to one of the founding fathers of Timmins.  

On Oct. 9, 1909, young Benny Hollinger, a former barber hailing from Haileybury, came to the Porcupine area dreaming of striking gold with professional prospector Alex Gillies. After digging into a mound, Hollinger found a hunk of quartz. He brushed away the moss on top and discovered the precious metal “splattered through it” according to the book Gold in Ontario by Michael Barnes. That find was a momentous discovery and the claims from that day were developed into the Hollinger Gold Mine.  

Sudbury-based sculptor Tyler Fauvelle chiselled the bronze-on-stone monument of Hollinger, which was unveiled in June of this year. Visitors can see the sculpture for themselves until Sept. 30 every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. when the lookout is open, unless it is blast time.