Samuel J. Ritchie, President of the Canadian Copper Company.
From Akron, Ohio, Ritchie was involved in iron mining and railroads in central Ontario before becoming the first major entrepreneur to take an interest in the Sudbury ore bodies. Together with other American capitalists he formed the Canadian Copper Company early in 1886 and purchased a number of claims from Frood and other prospectors. At the time, Ritchie and everyone else assumed that the mines would primarily produce copper which explains the names given the company, the first main mine, and the company town. With the discovery that the ore contained significant amounts of the then little-known metal, nickel, the irrepressible Ritchie launched himself on whirlwind tours of Europe and the United States and successfully sought markets for his product. He just happened to be pushing a product which proved to be particularly valuable in strengthening naval armour plating at a time when the major world powers were becoming involved in a naval arms race.
