ATIKOKAN — The bold decision to drain a lake and divert a river to access iron ore for the war effort in the 1940s led to impressive engineering feats that are now the focus of a set of historical markers in Atikokan.

The local museum arranged for the recent installation of new signage that provides a sense of the massive scope of the effort it took to develop the Steep Rock and Caland Ore mines, which continued to operate until about 1979.

The ore deposits were first discovered in 1938, but could not be accessed without an immense water diversion project including altering the course of the Seine River and draining Steep Rock Lake.

This required the construction of multiple dams, tunnels and other works, and the dredging of over 200 million tons of sediment from the lake bottom.

The h

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