CANADA—There is a $1 million golden treasure waiting to be found somewhere in Canada. All it takes is some clever sleuthing to decipher the clues hidden within a cryptic poem to uncover where the treasure can be found. As part of the next 12 months, 12 more treasure hunts consisting of $25,000 in prizes will be up for grabs.
The newspaper, ‘The Northern Miner,’ has set up the innovative contest, with the grand prize being a physical box containing a unique code redeemable for 217 one-ounce gold coins and 12 smaller bonus prizes of $25,000 in gold coins.
To discover the treasure’s location, participants must solve a series of poetic riddles released monthly. All of the treasure boxes are located on publicly accessible land and do not require any special equipment or digging.
The Great Canadian Treasure Hunt is a promotional event being sponsored by The Northern Miner that aims to increase membership in the 110-year-old publication. The Northern Miner has over 100 years of experience serving the mining and exploration industry. Reports by The Northern Miner writing staff help inform the decision-making process of thousands of high-performing mining professionals. The Northern Miner prides itself as “the only publication that sends reporters to visit worldwide mining projects and record their findings for our readers. These seasoned journalists specialize in mining and exploration and are able to analyze the merits of any project concisely and accurately.”
But there are other clues that will be published over the next 12 months and subscribers to the newspaper can get a head start on the clues, but even without a subscription, treasure hunters can receive clues by signing up with their email address. Complete rules on how to compete in the contest can be found online at: treasure.northernminer.com.
The Poem containing the clues:
In a land crowned cold and vastOld riches whisper through the past
A mirror hides what veins once bore
The verdigris behind the lore
Beyond the clouds where glaciers reign
Gold sighs beneath the mountain’s strain
Yet peaks mislead with gilded hue
The path lies where the birch trees grew
Salt air once bore a copper song
But brittle roots don’t guide for long
The brine remembers, but forgets
The current pulls where moss still wets
Where fire stitched a northern name
And red seams sparked a fleeting flame
No ember now ignites the track
The phoenix flew and won’t look back
A giant coin reflects the sun
But circles lead where none begun
Its gleam is but a siren’s light
No miner’s truth is held in sight
Where chalco fever gripped the past
Where Flinty’s claim once never ceased
The water hums an ancient code
But silence marks the current road
The Shield bends low through sleeping trees
Where sunken whispers told of ease
But breaks don’t speak nor faults confess
What roots may hold in silent quest
Where iron sings and cedars lean
The northern call remains unseen
A truth not loud, but forged to be
The strong, the silent, and the free
One marker stands, by shore and pine
Its message dulled by passing time
What once declared, now disappears
Beneath the weight of growing years
Where warm the zinc-toned waters fell
And Bathurst rang its deepest bell
The sounds now fade but echo trails
In folds where even memory pales
Where suits and stones have struck accord
And Bay Street crowned the mining hoard
No gilded desk nor numbered share
Will point to where the birches stare
Step not in haste where paths align
But where the trail forgets design
Beyond the mark the tall grass grow
And buried speaks what no one knows
Not marked by gold but core alone
A sliver rests in overgrown
Look past the script, behind the brush
The compass turns, and all is hush