The Abitibi gold belt is a region of Canada that extends from Wawa, Ontario to Val-d'Or, Quebec. Located within the mineral-rich Abitibi greenstone belt, the gold belt is an established gold mining district having produced over 100 mines, and 170 million ounces of gold since 1901. Timmins, a town founded in 1912 following the Porcupine Gold Rush and subsequent creation of the Hollinger Mines, McIntyre Mines and Dome Mine, which was one area in the region that experienced a gold rush, beginning in 1909. The Kerr Addison Mine in Virginiatown was at one time Canada's largest gold producing mine. Many of the towns readily acknowledge gold mining as part of their history, some being named after gold (Val d'Or means 'valley of gold', Kirkland Lake's nickname is 'the mile of gold'). One of Canad