The Geological Survey of Canada was active in the area in the late 1940s. The first systematic regional mapping program of the northern Superior Province of Quebec was undertaken in the 1950s by Eade of the Geological Survey of Canada who produced a 1:1,000,000 geological map of the area north of the 52ºN latitude. Iron formation around Duncan Lake was discovered by prospectors in 1949. In 1953 the discovery was staked, and exploration began. Exploration throughout the entire James Bay region started in the 1950s. Numerous regional geological surveys and geoscientific studies have been conducted by the Québec Government in the James Bay area in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the Société de Développement de la Baie James (SDBJ) undertook a regional geochemical survey of lake bottom sediments that covered the entire James Bay area which took 5 years to complete. Exploration for lithium in the Whabouchi area is first reported in 1962 with the discovery of a lithium-bearing pegmatite by geologists from the Quebec Bureau of Mines. The first recorded exploration in the Éléonore area was undertaken by Noranda Inc. (Noranda), in 1964. Noranda identified a copper showing located within the Ell Lake diorite intrusion; this showing is located approximately 6 km southwest of the Roberto deposit. Exploration on the Eau Claire property dates back to the early 1970s when SEREM Québec Inc. (“SEREM”) and Société de développement de la Baie-James (“SDBJ”) completed airborne electromagnetic surveys and limited core drilling in search for volcanogenic massive base metal sulphide deposits. The Eastmain Mine Property has a history of significant exploration that has been undertaken intermittently since Placer Development Limited’s initial discovery of the Eastmain Deposit in 1969/1970. At that time the gold-silver-copper bearing A-Zone was intersected while drill-testing an airborne geophysical conductor. The mine produced from August 1994 through November 1995. Diamond exploration commenced in the Foxtrot Property area in 1996, with the formation of a 50:50 joint venture between Ashton Mining Canada Inc. (Ashton) and SOQUEM (SOQUEM). Prior to that time, regional exploration had been undertaken for gold and base metals by several parties using prospecting and geochemical techniques. These activities were limited in scope due to the location of the current property between two Archean volcanic belts, an area that was considered to be non-prospective for traditional gold and base metal targets. The Renard mine commenced production in 2016 and after a brief period of suspension is producing again in 2020. In 2020 the James Bay area has seen a resurgence in exploration with a number of new discoveries.