temporarily changed to Jamestown in honour of Sir James Hamet Dunn, but it was later changed back to Wawa at the request of the community's residents.
Gold production had slowed by 1906, but as mining technology improved, additional amounts began to be extracted from the area. Gold mining in the Wawa area prospered and receded several times in the 20th century, and it continues today.
Iron ore extraction has also been an important industry in the area. The search for the elusive precious yellow metal during the Michipicoten gold boom led to the unexpected discovery of iron ore in 1897. Rock samples made their way into the hands of Francis Hector Clergue, an American entrepreneur who at once recognized the ore for its potential in the form of a steel company in the industrial future of Sault Ste. Marie. The community then came to be served by the Algoma Central Railway.
The first supply of ore extracted form the Helen Mine was shipped to Midland, Ontario, in July 1900 and thus became the "first boat shipment of Canadian iron ore to a Canadian port." The mine produced high-grade iron ore until 1903, when operations shut down due to financial difficulties that were confronting Clergue and his company. By 1904, the mine had returned to full production capabilities and was mining 1,000 tons of hematite ore a day. From 1900 to 1918, the Helen Mine had the largest production of any iron mine in Canada.
In 1909, a second hematite ore deposit was uncovered near the Magpie River 12 miles north of the Helen Mine. The Algoma Steel Corporation, organized between 1904 and 1909 in Sault Ste. Marie, bought up the claims and operated both the Magpie and Helen mines for the next decade.
The Helen Mine continued ore production until 1918, when the company felt the reserve of hematite ore was finally depleted. The same fate followed the Magpie Mine in 1921. The Census of Canada records that the population of the Michipicoten region in 1921
