Between 1920 and the start of World War Two over ten small mines operated in the Rice Lake

Gold Belt. Surface exploration at this time resulted in the discovery of almost all of the current

known deposits in the belt. Most of the mines went down to about 500 ft, with a couple going

down to as much as 1000 ft. In contrast, the recently discovered high-grade zone discovered at

the Red Lake mine goes down to as much as 7000 ft. Thus, based on depth alone, the Rice

Lake Belt remains vastly under-explored.