Internationaler Kongress Diisseldorf 1910 
 
 The mineral industries of Canada. 
 
 By H. Mortimer-Lamb , Secretary, Canadian Mining Institute. Montreal, Canada. 
 
 * (With 2 plates). 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rilhe purpose of this paper is to direct attention to recent progress of the mining industries; to 
 indicate the mineral potentialities of the Dominion; and, in general, to present a survey of con¬ 
 ditions in the hope that such information may conduce to a more comprehensive study of a 
 mineral area of not only extraordinary extent, but possessing numerous unique features and 
 characteristics. 
 
 HISTORI CAL 0 UTLINE . 
 
 The first recorded discovery of mineral in Canada was that made by the expedition to Hudson 
 Bay under Sir Martin Frobisher in the year 1576. After the expedition had returned to England, 
 a piece of rock taken from Hall’s Island in Frobisher’s Bay proved to be rich in gold, and in con¬ 
 sequence a second and subsequently a third voyage was undertaken to prospect the new field; 
 these expeditions, however, were without commensurate result. In the early eighteenth century 
 ron ore was mined and smelted in the Province of Quebec; while copper mining was first under 
 taken in the year 1770. Coal was discovered in Nova Scotia in 1672, and a first attempt at 
 systematic mining was inaugurated in 1720. Again, later, in 1835, a discovery of coal was made 
 at Fort Rupert on the Pacific Coast; and this was followed in 1858 by the notable discoveries 
 of placer gold in the Fraser River deposits, and in the Cariboo area of British Columbia. 
 
 These references, however, while no doubt of interest to the chronologist, only very indi¬ 
 rectly bear on the present status of the industry whose inception as such may be said to date 
 from the completion of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway across the Continent 
 in 1885. By means of this great achievement, a vast territory was at once rendered accessible for 
 exploration, while at the same time the establishment of mineral industries became commercially 
 possible by the creation of favourable contributory'cdhditions in respect of transport and markets. 
 
 But perhaps the most notable instance of mining development immediately consequent upon 
 the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was the opening up of the great Sudbury nickel 
 areas in the Algoma district of the Province of Ontario, the production from which field between 
 that date and the present represents a value of over a hundred million dollars. Here the railway 
 was directly responsible not only for the subsequent development, but for the actual initiation 
 of industry, for to the discovery of one of the larger occurrences in the course of the construction 
 of the main line near Sudbury may be traced all later activity. 
 
 For a period of nearly five years after the completion of the Canadian Pacific, however, 
 progress was slow; but about the year 1890 a very distinct improvement in conditions is observable, 
 and since then the growth and expansion of the industry has been extraordinarily gratifying. Thus, 
 in 1§90, the asbestos industry in the Province of Quebec suddenly sprang into great prominence, 
 becoming importantly productive; in Nova Scotia, in the same year, iron and steel works were 
 established at Sydney; corundum was first mined in Ontario; the famous Rossland gold-copper 
 deposits in British Columbia were discovered; and, in general, the value of the mineral production 
 />f the Dominion showed a momentous increase. This, then, was the beginning of the considerable 
 expansion that has since taken place. Between the years 1890 and 1895 new discoveries and new 
 developments followed one another in rapid succession. This was especially marked in Western 
 Canada, where within this short period of time the rich silver-lead deposits of the Slocan district 
 in West Kootenay division, and of Fort Steele in the East Kootenay division were discovered and 
 worked; the development of the unique copper area of the Boundary district was commenced, 
 and the establishment of smelters at Trail and at Nelson, inaugurated metallurgical enterprise in 
 British Columbia. New territory was constantly added to the area of productivity, with the result 
 that at the close of 1897, the value of the mineral output for that year showed an increase of nearly 
 260 per cent over the returns of 1887. 
 
 I 
 
The commencement of active mining development and operations in the coal fields of Alberta 
 in 1897 represented another important mile-stone in the march of progress; while the discovery 
 of the Yukon gold placers at about the same period stimulated interest in the mineral resources of 
 the country to a remarkable degree. 
 
 The third decade in the history of the mining industries of the country has been no less eventful 
 than the second; while, as is natural, the rate of progress has been correspondingly greater. Industry 
 is no longer on a tentative footing, but is now regularly organized and firmly established. Individual 
 effort has generally given place to corporate control, while the tendency of late in most industries 
 has been in the direction of the consolidation of interests with a view to the attainment of a maximum 
 efficiency and economy of operation. Thus, from an insignificant position Canada has, within this 
 period of time, been brought to occupy a high rank among the mineral producing countries of the world, 
 and is now the chief source of the world’s supply of asbestos and nickel; while only less relatively 
 important is her present production of silver, copper, gold, coal and chromite; and this notwith¬ 
 standing that certainly not over a third of the country has yet been even nominally explored or 
 prospected. 
 
 Point is given to this statement by the fact, emphasised by Mr. R. W. Brock, the Director 
 of the Geological Survey of Canada, in his introduction to a recently issued report 1 on the Geology 
 and Economic Minerals of Canada, that while six years ago the line representing prospected territory 
 would probably have been placed considerably north of Lake Temiskaming, Ontario, yet only 
 a few miles west of a silver-lead deposit on Lake Temiskaming — a deposit the existence of which 
 had been known for a century and a half — lay the silver veins of Cobalt, the occurrence of which 
 were not suspected until the autumn of 1903, when the phenomenal richness of the area was revealed 
 as a result of railway construction through the district. Cobalt, it may be further mentioned, is 
 situated only an hundred miles north of North Bay on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 
 and for many years, therefore, has been readily accessible to prospectors. The discovery of the 
 Cobalt district has been perhaps the most important event in the history of the mining industry 
 in recent years. Apart from the fact the production of silver from the area already represents 
 the considerable total value of $ 32,500,000, the unique character of the deposits and the remarkable 
 values contained in the ores has created widespread interest and attention, and has, no doubt, 
 influenced and stimulated to an important degree exploration effort and recent industrial expansion 
 generally throughout Central Canada. 
 
 To conclude, in brief, this necessarily hasty historical survey: The last ten years has witnessed 
 an unprecedented development in all branches of mining endeavour. From small beginnings the 
 iron and steel industries of Nova Scotia and Ontario have now become of considerable importance, 
 there being at present in operation in the latter Province seven well equipped modern smelting plants, 
 inmost cases employing secondary metallurgical processes. The progress of coal mining has been even 
 more remarkable, chiefly in consequence of the development of the Alberta and British Columbia 
 fields, where over a hundred collieries are at present producing coal. The asbestos industry in the 
 Province of Quebec has been established on a firm footing, and its annual production now represents 
 between 75 and 80 per cent of the World’s consumption. The nickel industry of Ontario, employing 
 nearly four thousand men and contributing 70 per cent of the world’s requirements, has been 
 brought to occupy a position of pre-eminent importance. As a result of operations in the Cobalt 
 district, which is the richest individual silver-producing area in the world, Canada now ranks 
 third among the silver-producing countries of the world in point ot value of anual output. 
 
 In copper mining, achievements in British Columbia have been especially noteworthy, and j 
 as a result of naturally favourable conditions, together with the perfection of mining and metallurgical 
 practice, low grade copper ores carrying less than 1— 1 / 2 per cent, copper and small gold and silver 
 values and yielding under five dollars per ton, are being and for some years past have been profitably j 
 won. In fact, in no other direction is progress more apparent than in the development of the 
 metallurgical industries of Western Canada, as indicated by the reduction in costs in the treatment!: 
 of copper ores, representing a difference of 100 per cent, in ten years; while it is claimed that a I 
 certain class of ore is now smelted and converted into blister copper at a cost of approximately a 
 dollar per ton. Considering the relatively high cost of labour, such an achievement is without 
 parallel. 
 
 In the northern placer fields of the Yukon, notable changes have taken place. The day of the 
 individual miner, employing crude methods and appliances, has passed away; and instead, the^ 
 
 J »A Descriptive Sketch of the Geology, and Economic Minerals of Canada«, by G. A. Young .1 
 Page 8: Canadian Geological Survey, Ottawa, 1909. 
 
55 7 / 
 
 7T) 8^-mru 
 
 field is being exploited by great corporations, who have established dredges on the rivers, built 
 miles of flumes and ditches, and in other directions invested enormous sums in equipment and plant 
 in order to operate on a scale heretofore unheard of. 
 
 At the close then of the period under review, the industry is found to have emerged from a 
 condition of incipiency and incertitude to one of maturity and stability, well ordered and well 
 organized. Initial difficulties and disabilities have to a large degree been surmounted or have 
 disappeared. Costs have been very materially reduced by the improvement of methods, the cheap¬ 
 ening of transport, and the electrification and utilization of water powers; while the steady increase 
 of population warrants the belief that the time is not far distant when the demands of a home 
 market will justify the establishment of refineries and manufactories in the country itself. A 
 beginning in this direction has already been made. 
 
 ST AT 1ST I CA\L REVIEW. 
 
 In substantiation of the above general statements a few figures from official sources may 
 now be presented. The annual mineral production since 1886 is shown in the following table: 1 2 
 
 $ $ 
 
 1886 . 10,221,255 1898 38,412,431 
 
 1887 . 10,321,331 1899 49,234,005 
 
 1888 . 12,518,894 1900 64,420,983 
 
 1889 . 14,013,113 1901 65,804,611 
 
 1890 . 16,763,353 1902 63,211,634 
 
 1891 . 18,976,616 1903 61,740,513 
 
 1892 . 16,623,415 1904 60,073,897 
 
 1893 . 20,035,082 1905 69,525,170 
 
 1894 . 19,931,158 1906 79,057,308 
 
 1895 . 20,505,917 1907 86,865,202 
 
 ' 1896 . 22,474,256 1908 85,927,802 
 
 1897 . 28,485,023 1909 90,415,763 
 
 This table very strikingly illustrates the three marked divisions of industrial development 
 to which illusion has already been made. It will be noted, for example, that growth was gradual 
 until 1890, when a sudden advance is shown; that for another period of six or seven years no great 
 amelioration was apparently in progress, but that towards the close of the second decade, about 
 the years 1898—1900, a remarkable improvement as indicated by the increases, took place; and 
 again this is shown in the statistics covering the third decadal period. It is also interesting to note 
 that while in 1886 Canada’s mineral production represents only $ 2.23 per capita; in 1909, it 
 represented about $ 12.00 per capita; while the actual increase was nearly ninefold. The total 
 value of the minerals produced during the twenty-four years of the industry’s history is 
 $ 1,116,932,342.00, of which nearly one-third is ascribable to gold output. 
 
 The progress and growth of some of the more important individual industries are shown in 
 the' following tables: 
 
 ASBESTOS . » 
 
 year 
 
 tons (2000 lbs.) 
 
 value 
 
 1880 . 
 
 . . . . 380 
 
 24,700 
 
 1885 . 
 
 . . . . 2,440 
 
 142,441 
 
 1890 . 
 
 . . . . 9,860 
 
 1,260,240 
 
 1900 . 
 
 . . . . 21,621 
 
 729,886 
 
 1905 . 
 
 . . . . 50,669 
 
 1,486,359 
 
 1907 . 
 
 . . . . 60,761 
 
 2,036,428 
 
 1908 . 
 
 . . . . 66,548 
 
 2,555,361 
 
 2 1909 . 
 
 . . . . 88,315 
 
 2,315,816 
 
 It will be noted that the value of the output in 1890 is apparently disproportionate to the 
 tonnage produced in that year. This seeming discrepancy is, however, explained by two facts: 
 First, the ruling prices during the years 1889,1890 and 1891 were extraordinarily high; and, secondly, 
 production was confined almost entirely to crude fibre of the highest grade. Milling methods, 
 whereby the lower grade material were profitably utilized, were not employed until the years 
 1897—98. With this explanation it will be observed that the progress of the industry has been 
 steady and persistent. 
 
 1 Report, Division of Mineral Resources and Statistics, Department of Mines, Ottawa. 
 
 2 Asbestos & Asbestic. Estimate Bureau of Mines,. Quebec, Que. 
 
 3 
 
CHROMITE. 
 
 year tons vaiae 
 
 $ 
 
 1886 . 60 945 
 
 1894 . 1.000 20,000 
 
 1900 . 2,335 27.000 
 
 1908 . 7,225 82,008 
 
 1909 (estimated) 5,000 83,740 
 
 The mining of chromite iron ores, the occurrence of which is confined, so far as at present 
 known, to localities in the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec, was not actually initiated 
 until 1894. Operations are being at present actively prosecuted by a Canadian company at Black 
 Lake. A limited quantity of the ore is utilized locally in the manufacture of ferro-chrome, but the 
 bulk of the product is marketed in the United States. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 year tons ( 2,240 lbs) value 
 
 s 
 
 1886 . 2,116,653 3,739,840 
 
 1890 . 3,084,682 5,676,247 
 
 1900 . 5,777,319 13,742,178 
 
 1905 . 8,667,984 17,520,263 
 
 1908 . 10,886,311 25,194,573 
 
 1909 (estimated) 10,411,955 24,431,351 
 
 Prior to 1886 practically all the coal produced in Canada was mined in the Provinces of Nova 
 Scotia and New Brunswick. In 1890 the production from the Western coal areas represented 
 29 per cent., of which 25 per cent, was contributed by British Columbian collieries. In 1900, as a 
 result of the development of the Crow’s Nest field, the British Columbia production represented 
 31 per cent of the total Canadian output. The improvement of conditions in Nova Scotia, in part 
 attributable to the promotion of large consolidations and a concentration of effort, was responsible 
 for again reducing for a period the Western percentage, notwithstanding the steady advance of the 
 coal mining industry in British Columbia; but in 1905 production from the new coal fields of Alberta 
 having considerably increased, Western coal production is shown as being 34.5 per cent, of the 
 aggregate Canadian output. Since then, the West has continued to contribute a proportionately 
 greater output, and in 1909 the distribution was Nova Scotia, 54.5 per cent.; Saskatchewan and 
 Alberta, 20.5 per cent.; and British Columbia, 24.3 per cent. 
 
 The following table shows the growth of the industry by Provinces: 
 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 year 
 
 tons 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 1872 
 
 . 880,950 
 
 1,568,446 
 
 1880 
 
 . 1,032,710 
 
 2,000,079 
 
 1885 
 
 . 1,352,205 
 
 2,418,735 
 
 1890 
 
 . 1,984,001 
 
 3,407,864 
 
 1900 
 
 . 3,298,791 
 
 6,496,982 
 
 1908 
 
 . 6,652,539 
 
 13,364,476 
 
 1 1909 
 
 . 5,683,750 
 
 11,418,249 
 
 
 Alberta and Saskatchewan. 
 
 year 
 
 tons ( 2,240 lbs.) 
 
 value 
 
 1887 
 
 . 74,152 
 
 nP 
 
 157,577 
 
 1890 
 
 ..... 128,953 
 
 193,498 
 
 1895 
 
 . 185,654 
 
 414,064 
 
 1900 
 
 . 357,950 
 
 839,375 
 
 1905 
 
 . 1,046,513 
 
 2,167,249 
 
 1908 
 
 . 1,836,217 
 
 4,381,101 
 
 1909 
 
 .2,142,172 
 
 4,983,343 
 
 A protracted strike was 
 
 responsible for a falling off 
 
 in output. 
 
British Columbia. 
 
 year 
 
 tons ( 2,240 lbs.) 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 1880 . . 
 
 . . . 267,595 
 
 817,086 
 
 1885 . . 
 
 . . . 365,596 
 
 999,072 
 
 1890 . . 
 
 . . . 678,140 
 
 2,056,035 
 
 1895 . . 
 
 . . . 939,654 
 
 2,834,049 
 
 1900 . . 
 
 . . . 1,590,178 
 
 4,799,553 
 
 1905 . . 
 
 . . . 1,736,696 
 
 5,211,030 
 
 1908 . . 
 
 . . . 2,333‘708 
 
 7,292,838 
 
 1909 . . 
 
 . . . 2,538,004 
 
 7,931,263 
 
 
 COKE. 
 
 
 year 
 
 tons 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 1886 . . 
 
 .... 11,564 
 
 41,391 
 
 1890 . . 
 
 .... 36,564 
 
 133,344 
 
 1895 . . 
 
 .... 53,356 
 
 143,047 
 
 1900 . . 
 
 .... 157,134 
 
 649,140 
 
 1905 . . 
 
 .... 700,488 
 
 2,436,211 
 
 1909 . . 
 
 .... 875,080 
 
 3,557,147 
 
 These "returns very clearly indicate the growth of Canadian metallurgical enterprise. Prior 
 
 to 1893 the manufacture of coke was confined to the Province of Nova Scotia, and the production, 
 
 as will be noted, was inconsiderable. 
 
 The establishment, however, of iron and steel works at Sydney 
 
 in 1900, and the inauguration of smelting in 1896 in British Columbia, naturally stimulated a demand 
 for the product; and at the close of the year 1909 there were 670 ovens in operation in Nova Scotia; 
 
 226 in Alberta, and 767 in British Columbia. 
 
 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 
 year 
 
 lbs. 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 385,550 
 
 1886 . . 
 
 . . . 3,505,000 
 
 1890 . . 
 
 . . . 6,013,671 
 
 947,153 
 
 1895 . . 
 
 . . . 7,771,639 
 
 836,228 
 
 1900 . . 
 
 . . . 18,937,138 
 
 3,065,922 
 
 1905 . . 
 
 . . . 48,092,753 
 
 7,497,660 
 
 1909 . . 
 
 . . . 54,061,106 
 
 7,018,213 
 
 Copper mining has been carried on since the year 1865 in both provinces of Ontario and 
 
 Quebec; but the output was relatively small until 1886 when the nickel-copper deposits of Sudbury, 
 Ontario, were first worked for their copper contents. The great increase in annual production dates, 
 however, from 1895, when the British Columbia copper mines in the Rossland district and rather 
 later in the Boundary and Coast districts first became importantly productive. By 1900 the mines 
 of the Boundary district, British Columbia, that are at present the chief source of Canadian copper 
 
 output, were being operated on a 
 
 large scale. 
 
 
 By Provinces the production 
 
 has been as follows: 
 
 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 
 year 
 
 lbs. 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 1886 . . . 
 
 . 3,340,000 
 
 367,400 
 
 1900 . . . 
 
 . 2,220,000 
 
 359,418 
 
 H909 (estimate copper ore) 35,000 
 
 tons 159,588 
 
 
 Ontario. 
 
 
 year 
 
 lbs. 
 
 value 
 
 18,150 
 
 1886 . . 
 
 . . . 165,000 
 
 1890 . . 
 
 . . . 1,303,065 
 
 205,233 
 
 1895 . . 
 
 . . . 4,576,337 
 
 492,414 
 
 1 Return Bureau of Mines, Quebec, Preliminary Report. 
 
 5 
 
Ontario. Continued. 
 
 year 
 
 lbs. 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 1900 . . 
 
 . . . 6,740,058 
 
 1,901,215 
 
 1905 . . 
 
 . . . 8,779,259 
 
 1,368,686 
 
 1909 (estimate) 15,746,699 
 
 2,047,071 
 
 
 British Columbia. 
 
 
 year 
 
 lbs. 
 
 value 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 1894 . . 
 
 . . . 324,680 
 
 31,039 
 
 1900 . . 
 
 . . . 9,977,080 
 
 1,615,289 
 
 1905 . . 
 
 . . . 37,692,251 
 
 5,876,222 
 
 1909 (estimate) 37,314,407 
 
 4,850,873 
 
 
 CORUNDUM. 
 
 
 year 
 
 tons (grain corundum) 
 
 value 
 
 <5* 
 
 1900 . 
 
 .... 3 
 
 300 
 
 1908 . 
 
 .... 1,089 
 
 100,398 
 
 1909 . 
 
 .... 1,491 
 
 157,398 
 
 Canada is practically the only country from which pure corundum is obtained. The marketed 
 product is valued at $ 96.62 per ton. 
 
 GOLD 
 
 year 
 
 ounces (fine) 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 1887 . 57,465 
 
 1895 . 100,806 
 
 1897 . 291,582 
 
 1900 . 1,350,176 
 
 1905 . 685,012 
 
 1908 . 476,112 
 
 1909 (approximate) 460,000 
 
 1,187,804 
 
 2,083,674 
 
 6,027,016 
 
 27,908,153 
 
 14,159,195 
 
 9,842,105 
 
 9,790,000 
 
 The present chief sources of the gold won in Canada are the lode mines and placers of British 
 Columbia, and the placers of the Yukon Territory. In 1887 the major proportion of the production 
 was derived from the British Columbia placers, while the remainder represented the Nova Scotia 
 yield from lode mining. In 1895, output was augmented by the returns from the Rossland (B. C.), 
 gold-copper mines, production from which then commenced, while in this year a first considerable 
 yield is recorded as having been made in the Yukon Territory. 1900, however, marked the height 
 of the Yukon’s productivity and thenceforward as the richer areas became exhausted the output 
 gradually diminished until in 1908 it reached its lowest point. In 1909 a slight increase is again 
 shown, and it is expected that in the future the territory will continue to yield handsome returns 
 as a result of operations recently initiated on a large scale and under favourable auspices by great 
 corporations. Meanwhile, the British Columbia gold-copper and copper-gold mines of the Rossland 
 and Boundary districts, respectively, are the chief contributors to the Dominion’s annual gold output. 
 The distribution, however, during recent years is better shown in the following tables giving the 
 Provincial and Territorial returns: 
 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 year 
 
 value 
 
 
 % 
 
 1887 
 
 .413,631 
 
 1890 
 
 . 474,990 
 
 1900 
 
 . 598,553 
 
 1905 
 
 . 283,353 
 
 1908 
 
 . 244,799 
 
 1909 
 
 (estimated) 250,000 
 
Ontario. 
 
 year 
 
 value 
 
 
 $ 
 
 1887 
 
 . 6,760 
 
 1895 
 
 . 62,320 
 
 1900 
 
 . 297,495 
 
 1905 
 
 .91,000 
 
 1908 
 
 . 60,337 
 
 
 Yukon. 
 
 year 
 
 value 
 
 
 $ 
 
 1887 . 
 
 .... 70,000 
 
 1895 . 
 
 .... 850,000 
 
 1897 . 
 
 .... 2,500,000 
 
 1898 . 
 
 .... 10,000,000 
 
 1899 . 
 
 .... 16,000,000 
 
 1900 . 
 
 .... 22,275,000 
 
 1901 . 
 
 .... 18,000,000 
 
 1902 . 
 
 .... 14,500,000 
 
 1903 . 
 
 .... 12,250,000 
 
 1904 . 
 
 .... 10,500,000 
 
 1905 . 
 
 .... 7,876,000 
 
 1908 . 
 
 .... 3,600,000 
 
 1909 . 
 
 .... 3,960,000 
 
 British Columbia. 
 
 year 
 
 value 
 
 1887 . 
 
 $ 
 
 .... 693,709 
 
 1890 . 
 
 .... 494,436 
 
 1895 . 
 
 .... 1,266,954 
 
 1900 . 
 
 .... 4,732,105 
 
 1905 . 
 
 .... 5,902,402 
 
 1908 . 
 
 .... 5-,929,880 
 
 PIG IRON. 
 
 year 
 
 tons 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 1887 . . . , 
 
 . . 24,827 
 
 366,192 
 
 1900 . . . . 
 
 . . 96,575 
 
 501,698 
 
 1905 . . . , 
 
 . . 525,306 
 
 6,475,186 
 
 1908 . . . . 
 
 . . 630,835 
 
 8,111,190 
 
 1909 . . . , 
 
 . . 757,162 1 
 
 9,581,864 
 
 The mining of iron ore has as yet not assumed important proportions in Canada, the major 
 part of the pig iron production being derived from imported ores. Thus, in 1909, 1,234,990 tons 
 of ore were imported, mainly from Newfoundland, while but 231,994 tons of Canadian ores were 
 utilized in blast furnaces. The table as given serves, however to illustrate the progress of the iron 
 industry in Canada during the last ten years. For present purposes the position of the steel 
 industry may be indicated by merely quoting the returns for, respectively, 1908 and 1909: 
 
 STEEL (Ingots and castings). 
 
 year 
 
 tons 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 1908 
 
 588,763 
 
 10,916,602 
 
 1909. 
 
 754,719 
 
 14,359,710 
 
 Classified as: Bessemer, 222931 tons; Basic, 400021; foundry including miscellaneous, 116307 tons 
 
There are at present in operation in Canada eight steel plants, exclusive of three electric 
 iurnace plants making ferro products. 
 
 LEAD. 
 
 year 
 
 pounds 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 9,216 
 
 1887 
 
 204,800 
 
 1892 
 
 808,420 
 
 33,064 
 
 1895 
 
 16,461,794 
 
 531,716 
 
 1900 
 
 63,169,821 
 
 2,760,521 
 
 1905 
 
 56,864,915 
 
 2,676,632 
 
 1908 
 
 43,195,733 
 
 1,814,221 
 
 1909 
 
 45,857,424 
 
 1,959,488 
 
 It will be observed from the above table that lead production first became important in 
 
 the year 1895. This date represents the establishment of the industry in British Columbia, the 
 rich mines in the Kootenay division having been discovered some three or four years previously. 
 Practically all the lead produced in Canada is derived from British Columbia ores. In 1900 a 
 maximum output was attained in consequence of specially favourable market conditions. Since 
 1904, a large proportion of the output has been refined electrolytically in the country, and is 
 manufactured for home consumption. 
 
 NICKEL. 
 
 year 
 
 pounds 
 
 value 
 
 $ 
 
 1889 
 
 830,477 
 
 498,286 
 
 1890 
 
 1,435,742 
 
 933,232 
 
 1895 
 
 3,888,525 
 
 1,360,984 
 
 1900 
 
 7,080,227 
 
 3,327,707 
 
 1905 
 
 18,876,315 
 
 7,550,526 
 
 1908 
 
 19,143,111 
 
 8,231,538 
 
 1909 
 
 26,282,991 
 
 9,461,877 
 
 The above figures demonstrate most eloquently the extraordinary expansion of this 
 Canadian industry in recent years. The present output of nickel is derived almost entirely from 
 the operation of two companies working mines in the Sudbury district in Ontario, although a 
 certain proportion of the metal is contained in the silver-cobalt ores now mined in the Cobalt 
 district. The Sudbury ores are smelted locally to a 74 to 82 per cent, copper-nickel Bessemer 
 matte, which is subsequently refined in the United States and Great Britain. A recent innovation 
 is the manufacture locally of an alloy, known as “monel” metal, containing, aporoximately, 
 30 per cent, copper and 70 per cent, nickel, having great tensile strength. It is also non-corrosive, 
 and possesses other properties peculiarly valuable for engineering purposes. A considerable pro¬ 
 duction has already been marketed. 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 year 
 
 ounces 
 
 vaiue 
 
 1887 
 
 355,083 
 
 np 
 
 347,271 
 
 1890 
 
 400,687 
 
 419,118 
 
 1895 
 
 1,578,275 
 
 1,030,299 
 
 1900 
 
 4,408,225 
 
 2,740,362 
 
 1905 
 
 5,989,667 
 
 3,614,883 
 
 1908 
 
 22,106,233 
 
 11,686,239 
 
 1909 
 
 27,878,590 
 
 14,358,310 
 
 It will be observed from the foregoing that there have been two notable periods of silver 
 mining activity, the first commenced between the years 1890 and 1895 with the operation of the 
 argentiferous lead ores of British Columbia, the yield from which until 1904 constituted over 90 
 per cent, of the total annual Canadian production; and a second period, opening about the year 
 1905 when the output from the Cobalt district in Ontario became important. The returns of 
 silver production from the Provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, respectively, are corro¬ 
 borative of this statement: 
 
 8 
 
B ritish Colum bia . 1 
 
 year 
 
 1887 
 
 1893 
 
 1895 
 
 1900 
 
 1905 
 
 1908 
 
 year 
 
 1887 
 
 1895 
 
 1900 
 
 1904 
 
 1905 
 
 1906 
 
 1907 
 
 1908 
 
 ounces 
 
 17,690 
 
 227,000 
 
 1,496,522 
 
 3,958,175 
 
 3,439,417 
 
 2,631,389 
 
 Ontario. 2 
 
 ounces 
 
 nil 
 
 206,875 
 
 2,473,452 
 
 5,433,984 
 
 10,028,259 
 
 19,444,400 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 17,331 
 
 195,000 
 
 977,229 
 
 2,309,200 
 
 1,971,818 
 
 1,321,483 
 
 value 
 
 % 
 
 349,330 
 
 nil 
 
 96,367 
 
 111,887 
 
 1,372,577 
 
 3,689,286 
 
 6,551,608 
 
 10,543,410 
 
 12,382,659 
 
 1909 (estimated) 25,737,037 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS MINERAL PRODUCTION. 
 
 A fair conception of the progress of other Canadian mining industries may be obtained from 
 the following comparative statement of mineral production for the years 1887, 1900 and 1909. 
 
 
 1887 
 
 1900 
 
 1909 
 
 
 value 
 
 value 
 
 value 
 
 
 % 
 
 $ 
 
 $ 
 
 Antimony. 
 
 . . . 10,860 
 
 nil 
 
 nil 
 
 Cobalt. 
 
 
 nil 
 
 66,319 
 
 Zinc. 
 
 ... nil 
 
 4,810 
 
 250,000 
 
 Arsenic. 
 
 
 nil 
 
 64,000 
 
 Feldspar. 
 
 ... nil 
 
 nil 
 
 157,398 
 
 Graphite. 
 
 . . . 2,400 
 
 31,000 
 
 35,694 
 
 Grindstones. 
 
 . . . 64,008 
 
 53,450 
 
 50,944 
 
 Gypsum. 
 
 . . . 157,277 
 
 259,009 
 
 667,816 
 
 Magnesite. 
 
 
 nil 
 
 2,508 
 
 Mica. 
 
 . . . 29,816 
 
 166,000 
 
 154,106 
 
 Ochres and Barytes . . . 
 
 . . . 6,133 
 
 23,003 
 
 29,213 
 
 Mineral Waters. 
 
 . . . 11,456 
 
 75,000 
 
 177,304 
 
 Natural Gas. 
 
 
 417,094 
 
 1,205,943 
 
 Petroleum. 
 
 . . . 556,708 
 
 1,157,007 
 
 559,604 
 
 Phosphate. 
 
 . . . 319,815 
 
 18,000 
 
 41,618 
 
 Pyrites . 
 
 ... — 
 
 — 
 
 196,312 
 
 Quartz . 
 
 ... 
 
 — 
 
 63,032 
 
 Salt. 
 
 . . . 166,394 
 
 279,458 
 
 415,219 
 
 Talc. 
 
 ... 800 
 
 6,365 
 
 12,172 
 
 Tripolite. 
 
 ... — 
 
 1,950 
 
 — 
 
 Cement, Portland .... 
 
 ... — 
 
 562,916 
 
 5,266,008 
 
 1 Annual Report Minister of Mines, British Columbia, 1908. 
 
 2 Reports Ontario Bureau of Mines. 
 
 9 
 
Clay Products. 
 
 
 1887 
 
 1900 
 
 1909 
 
 
 value 
 
 value 
 
 value 
 
 
 $ 
 
 $ 
 
 s 
 
 Brick. 
 
 . . . 986,689 
 
 2,275,000 
 
 4,200,000 
 
 Sewer pipes, etc. 
 
 . . . — 
 
 690,975 
 
 1,300,000 
 
 Lime. 
 
 . . . 394,859 
 
 800,000 
 
 1,049,473 
 
 Sand & Gravel (exports) . 
 
 . . . — 
 
 101,666 
 
 256,166 
 
 Stone . 
 
 . . . 142,506 
 
 80,000 
 
 340,047 
 
 Limestone for flux . . . 
 
 . . —. 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 marble, limestone, and sandstone 552,267 
 
 1,520,000 
 
 1,600,000 
 
 Other minerals produced in Canada, but so far on a small scale only, are mercury, palladium, 
 platinum and osmiridium. 
 
 GEOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY. 
 
 The continental extent of the territory embraced by the Dominion of Canada will, perhaps, 
 be more readily appreciated from the comparative viewpoint. Thus, the statement that the total 
 estimated area of the country is 3,729,665 square miles becomes more cogent when it is added 
 that this is a greater area than that of the'United States, and very nearly as great as that of the 
 whole of Europe. It is essentially a region of lakes and navigable rivers, providing unequalled 
 facilities for cheap transport and the development of water powers. The river St. Lawrence 
 constitutes a navigable route to the heart of the Continent of nearly 4,000 miles, and with its 
 numerous tributaries drains a basin of approximately 530,000 square miles. The rivers emptying 
 into Hudson Bay and Strait drain an estimated area of 1,486,000 square miles. In Western Canada, 
 northwest of the Hudson Bay Basin, a region of about 1,290,000 square miles is mainly drained 
 by the Mackenzie River and its tributaries. The Pacific Basin, having an area of about 387,300 
 square miles, drainage, is afforded by numerous rivers including the Fraser and the Columbia; 
 while the Yukon River, 1,760 miles long, drains a region in the north of about 145,000 square miles. 
 
 The two important mountain systems of North America are the Appalachian in the East 
 and the Cordilleran in the West. These converge to the South and between them lie the great 
 central plain of the Continent. 
 
 Physiographically and geologically a natural Eastern and Western division of the country 
 might be made. An Eastern division, a region of relatively low relief, underlain by Palaeozoic 
 or older strata; and a Western division differentiated by the continuation of sedimentation through 
 Mesozoic and Cenozoic times; and in the extreme West, by evidences of igneous activity and the 
 operations of mountain building forces. For purposes, however, of convenience of description, 
 the Geological Survey of Canada has employed a six-fold division 1 as follows: 
 
 (1) The Appalachian Region, including the portion of Canada East of a line running from 
 Lake Champlain to the neighbourhood of the City of Quebec, and thence down the Channel of 
 the St. Lawrence. 
 
 (2) The St. Lawrence Lowlands, including the plains bordering the St. Lawrence River above 
 the City of Quebec, and extending through Southern Ontario to Lake Huron. 
 
 (3) The Laurentian Plateau Region, including the great U-shaped upland surrounding Hudson 
 
 Ba y- 
 
 (4) The Arctic Archipelago, including the islands of the Artie Ocean, north of Hudson Bay. 
 
 (5) The Interior Continental Plain, including the central belt of plains lying between the 
 Western margin of the Laurentian Plateau and the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 (6) The Cordilleran Region, including the mountainous region of the Western portion of 
 the Continent. 
 
 The Canadian Appalachian Region. 
 
 The Canadian Appalachian region is characterised geologically by a very complicated 
 structure, the strata over large tracts having been greatly disturbed, traversed by faults, uplifted, 
 and intruded by granitic and other igneous rocks. Physiographically, the region though essentially 
 broken, and frequently rugged and hilly, includes many fertile valleys, while the country is 
 generally well forested. Strata of Carboniferous and Permian age are confined almost wholly 
 to the Maritime Provinces, and with the exception of the Triassic measures that occur along the 
 shores of the Bay of Fundy, neither the Mesozoic nor the Tertiary is represented in the Canadian 
 Appalachian region. The Crystalline rocks of pre-Cambrian age occupy considerable areas in 
 
 A Descriptive Sketch of the Geology, and Economic Minerals of Canada«, G. A. Young, page 29. 
 
 10 
 
the Eastern Townships of Quebec, the Gaspe Peninsular, in New Brunswick and in the Northern 
 and Eastern portions of Cape Breton Island; while Cambrian and Ordovician strata occupy much 
 of south-eastern Quebec. Devonian strata are also widely distributed over the Canadian Appala¬ 
 chian region. 
 
 The economic minerals at present recovered and occuring in the Appalachian region are 
 asbestos, coal, gold, copper, chromite, iron, barite and gypsum; while lead, tin, manganese, 
 tungsten, antimony, oil and sulphate of ammonia are also known to occur. 
 
 St. Lawrence Lowlands. 
 
 In this region, which is underlain by somewhat disturbed Palaeozoic measures, conditions 
 have not been favourable to the development of metallic minerals. It includes, however, valuable 
 and important petroleum and salt resources, while throughout the region brick and tile 
 manufacture constitute considerable industries. Gypsum occurs in the Salina formation of 
 South-Western Ontario; while extensive peat bogs occur in various localities. 
 
 The Laurentian Plateau . 
 
 Except for a zone of Palaeozoic rocks bordering Hudson and James Bays on the South- 
 Western and in the small marginal areas, this great U-shaped region is altogether underlain by 
 rocks of pre-Cambrian age. The area of the region is estimated as being over 2,000,000 square 
 miles, or more than half the total area of Canada. This statement is of extreme interest and 
 importance in view of the known fact that formations belonging to this geological period are pecu¬ 
 liarly favourable to the occurrence of mineral deposits of economic value. Thus, within the 
 extension of this area across and adjoining the Canadian border in the States of Michigan, Wis¬ 
 consin and Minnesota, occur the greatest iron ore deposits and some of the most noteworthy 
 copper deposits in the world; while, in Canada, along the Southern fringe of the area, which 
 alone has been at all prospected, lie the nickel mines of the Sudbury — the largest and most 
 valuable deposits of nickel in the world — and the phenomenally rich silver deposits of the Cobalt 
 District; the unique corundum deposits of Eastern Ontario and ores of gold, copper, lead, sulphur, 
 and arsenic; while also important occurrences of graphite and mica are found. 
 
 The physical features of the area are characteristically uniform, the altitude of the plateau 
 being seldom over 2,000 feet above the sea level, except along the Labrador Coast. In certain 
 areas it is densely wooded, while also containing extensive clay belts of potential value for 
 agricultural purposes. 
 
 The Arctic Archipelago. 
 
 The area of the Arctic Archipelago is over 500,000 square miles. In general, the tableland 
 in the South has an elevation ranging from 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet, while northward it measures 
 to about 5,000 feet. The elevated districts of the large Eastern Islands are largely underlain by 
 pre-Cambrian strata, similar to those of the Laurentian plateau; while the lower areas are occupied 
 by rocks of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age. Little information is as yet available concerning the 
 occurrence of economical minerals in the Arctic region. The existence of both gold and native 
 copper is, however, reported, while mica, which occurs in quantity, is now being mined. Lignite 
 also occurs in the Tertiary beds of the Northern and Eastern shores of Baffin Island and elsewhere, 
 while the occurrence of bituminous coal of good quality in thin seams is also known. 
 
 The Interior Continental Plain. 
 
 Between the Laurentian Plateau region on the East and the Cordilleran Mountain system 
 on the West is situated the Interior Continental Plain, embracing an enormous tract of comparatively 
 level, rolling country, much of which is eminently suitable for agricultural uses. The Southern 
 portion, in Alberta, represents 150,000 square miles of open grass land. To the North of the prairie 
 country it is at first wooded, but farther N orth the area of forestation gradually diminishes. South 
 of the 54 th parallel the plains are divided into three parts by two lines of escarpment. The lower 
 prairie level, that of the Red River Valley, has an average elevation of about 800 feet, and South 
 of Lake Winnipeg comprises some 7,000 square miles of prairie land. To the West are a series of 
 highlands, the summits rising from 500 to 1,000 feet above the level of the low plains to the East. 
 The second prairie level, extending Westward 250 miles, has an average elevation of about 1,000 feet. 
 The third level has a general elevation along its Eastern margin of 2,000 to 2,500 feet, but rising to 
 over 4,000 feet in the West. 
 
 11 
 
The Interior plain is for the most part underlain by undisturbed Cretaceous and Tertiary 
 sediments. Along the Eastern margin, however, strata of Palaeozoic age rest directly on the pre- 
 Cambrian formations, while Ordovician measures outcrop on the Western shores of Lake Winnipeg 
 to the South. Further West these are underlain by Silurian beds, in turn covered by Devonian 
 strata, outcropping near the foot of the Manitoba escarpment, where the cretaceous sediments 
 overlap the Palaeozoic measures and extend Westward to the Rocky Mountains, and Northward 
 for over 1,200 miles. 
 
 The economic mineral resources of the area include coal (lignite), which occurs within two 
 horizons; gold, in numerous rivers; clay, iron, stone, salt, gypsum, building stones, clays, and 
 cement materials; while natural gas has been found over wide areas. The lower sandstones of the 
 Cretaceous, where outcropping along the Athabaska, are for many miles saturated with bitumen, 
 probably averaging 12 per cent, in maltha or asphalthum, and, it is estimated, represent 4,700,000,000 
 tons of bitumen actually available. There are also promising indications of large oil fields in Northern 
 Alberta. 
 
 The Cordilleran Region. 
 
 The Cordilleran Region is, in Canada, a continuation of a great mountain system, stretching 
 from Mexico, along the Pacific border of the Continent into Alaska. It is pre-eminently characte¬ 
 rized by the variety and wealth of its mineral resources. In Canada the region has a length of 
 1,300 and a width of 400 miles, and includes all of British Columbia, partes of Western Alberta, 
 the whole of the Yukon Territory and a large tract in the adjacent Western portion of the North- 
 West Territories, — an area approximately 600,000 square miles. Physiographically the region 
 may be generally described as being exceptionally mountainous, and densely forested, but 
 possessing as well wide stretches of open, grass-covered hills and valleys, noted for their fertility. 
 
 The geological history of the region, as a result of successive epochs of vulcanism and earth- 
 movements, is extraordinarily complicated, and various formations ranging from the pre- 
 Cambrian to those of recent deposition are widely displayed. The Rocky Mountains and the 
 ranges of the Mackenzie system to the North are almost entirely composed of sedimentary measures, 
 chiefly of Palaeozoic age, but in places including great thicknesses of stratified pre-Cambrian 
 rocks. Directly West of the Rocky Mountains are the Gold ranges, embracing the Selkirks, the 
 Purcell, tl e Columbia and the Cariboo Mountains, in which the prevailing rocks are pre-Cambrian 
 and the older Palaeozoic rocks. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Coast Range, the country 
 is underlain by Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic measures, much folded and faulted, and invaded 
 by masses of Plutonic rocks. In Southern British Columbia large areas are occupied by Tertiary 
 strata, while in the Northern section Cretaceous, with perhaps, late Jurassic beds prevail. The 
 Coast range is essentially a complex batholith of granite rocks of Jurassic age, penetrating 
 Triassic and older rocks. 1 The upper Mackenzie Valley is chiefly occupied by Devonian measures, 
 while Devonian limestones and shales are present in the Rocky Mountain, Mackenzie Mountain 
 systems, and in the Northern portion of the Yukon Territory. Carboniferous strata with, perhaps, 
 conformably underlying Devonian beds, are extensive throughout Central British Columbia, 
 continuing into the Yukon. In the Rocky Mountains usually the Carboniferous beds are directly 
 overlain by Cretaceous strata. Ordovician limestones and Fossiliferous shales occur at wide inter¬ 
 vals along the course of the Rocky Mountains, and also far North in the Mackenzie Mountains. 
 So far Silurian measures have been recognized at one locality only. 
 
 Although but a very small and insignificant area in this region in Canada has as yet been 
 prospected for minerals, it has already contributed virtually all the lead produced in the country, 
 nearly all the gold, nearly three-quarters of the copper, a quarter or more of the coal, and a 
 considerable proportion of the silver. According to Mr. R. W. Brock, Director of the Geological 
 Survey, not one-twentieth part of the area has been prospected in detail; while not one area, 
 however small, has been completely tested. In addition to the minerals mentioned, the following 
 have been either produced or discovered: Platinum, mercury, iron, zinc, mica and building and 
 ornamental stones. 
 
 NATURAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS. 
 
 Natural conditions in Canada are on the whole distinctly favourable to mining enterprise. 
 A vast section of the area lies within the temperate zone, and the climate is peculiarly salubrious 
 and enjoyable throughout the year. Even in the more Northern latitudes, industry is not impeded 
 to any serious degree by the cold or length of the winters. In this connection a few statements 
 from official meteorological records may be of interest: 
 
 1 Geology, and Economic Minerals of Canada, page 120. 
 
Temperature. 
 
 The following table 1 gives~the average number of days during the year when temperatures 
 were above 32°, 50°, and 70° (Fahr.) respectively, at centres in each Province or Territory: 
 
 District days above 32° days above 50°, days above 70° 
 
 Halifax, Nova Scotia .... 328 200 50 
 
 Montreal, Quebec. 300 200 75 
 
 Winnipeg, Manitoba. 250 200 100 
 
 Calgary, Alberta. 300 175 50 
 
 Victoria, Br. Columbia .... 363 255 50 
 
 Dawson, Yukon. 200 140 42 
 
 The mean annual temperatures are: 
 
 Halifax, N. S.43,2 ° 
 
 Montreal One.42,5 ° 
 
 Winnipeg, Man.33,5 ° 
 
 Calgarv, Alta.37,5 ° 
 
 Victoria, B. C.47,5 ° 
 
 Dawson, Y. T.27,5 ° 
 
 The Summer temperatures, North of Latitude 50°, in the East and to Latitude 70°, in the 
 West has a mean of 50° (Fahr.) The mean Summer temperatures between latitudes 40° and 50°, 
 vary between 55° and 65° (Fahr.) 
 
 Rainfall. 
 
 Halifax, N. S. 
 
 . 50" 
 
 — 55 
 
 Montreal, Oue. 
 
 . 35" 
 
 
 Winnipeg, Man. 
 
 . 20" 
 
 — 25 
 
 Calgary, Alta. 
 
 . 15" 
 
 
 Victoria, B. C. 
 
 . 50" 
 
 
 Dawson, Y. T. 
 
 . 7" 
 
 — 9 
 
 Snowfall. 
 
 Halifax, N. S. 
 
 . 60" 
 
 
 Montreal, Que. 
 
 . 120" 
 
 
 Winnipeg, Man. 
 
 . 30" 
 
 — 60 
 
 Calgary, Alta. 
 
 . 30" 
 
 — 60 
 
 Victoria, B. C. 
 
 rr 
 
 
 Dawson, Y. T. 
 
 . 50" 
 
 - 60 
 
 (N. B. The snowfall on the Western slopes of the mountains in British Columbia is very 
 heavy, being probably not less than 130".) 
 
 Sunshine. 
 
 The whole of Canada, except the region near the coast of British Columbia, is favoured with 
 more sunshine than any portion of Great Britain, Germany, Holland, or northern France. Nearly 
 all parts of the Dominion have an annual percentage of over 40, and a summer percentage of 
 between 53 and 59, whereas it is only the more southern part of England that a normal percen¬ 
 tage of 36 is reached, and the summer figures, while in a few instances up to 50, are more generally 
 between 35 and 45. At German stations the August maximum averages under 50%; and in a 
 few cases reaches 52. In the south of Europe much higher values are obtained: Vienna, 54; Zu¬ 
 rich, 57; Trieste, 66; Lugano, 67; Rome, 75; Madrid, 84. Thus only the southern parts of 
 Europe have more sunshine than Canada. The most salient feature of Canada’s climate is not 
 the cold of winter, but the perfection of the summer and autumn. 2 
 
 WATER POWERS. 
 
 The economic importance of the great river systems of Canada, both as affording mean- 
 of cheap transport and as source for the development of water powers, has already been empha, 
 sized. Exact data, however, in respect of Canadian waterpower resources is not as yet available 
 
 1 Compiled from isotherm data. 
 
 2 Extract from paper ,,The Canadian Climate”, read by R. F. Stupart, Toronto, before the eighth 
 International Geological Congress. 
 
 13 
 
except possibly as regards those in certain well-settled areas. Meanwhile the following figures, though 
 incomplete, will serve to direct attention to developments in this direction: 
 
 Province 
 
 Possible H. P. 
 
 Amount 
 
 
 Development 
 
 Developed 
 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 , . . 54,300 
 
 13,330 
 
 New Brunswick. 
 
 . . . 150,000 
 
 
 Ouebec. 
 
 . . 17,075,939 
 
 50,000 
 
 Ontario. 
 
 , . . 6,190,000 
 
 350,000 
 
 Manitoba . 
 
 . . 495,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 North West Territories . . 
 
 . . . 600,000 
 
 
 Saskatchewan . 
 
 . . . 500,000 
 
 
 Alberta. 
 
 . . . 1,144,000 
 
 1,330 
 
 ] British Columbia . . . 
 
 . . . 2,065,500 
 
 73,100 
 
 In practically all the great centres of mining activity hydro-electric power is utilized. The 
 most notable installation, perhaps, is that at Bonnington Falls, near Nelson in British Columbia, 
 where 40,000 horse power has been developed and is transmitted to mines and smelters within 
 a radius of over 80 miles. This development, it may be remarked, by making cheap power available 
 
 Water Powers of Canada, Upper Bonnington Falls, near Nelson, B. C. 
 
 to the mines, has contributed in a very large measure to the solution of the problem of the profi¬ 
 table operation of the large “low-grade” ore bodies of the Rossland and Boundary districts. . 
 
 1 With the exception of the returns from the Provinces of Que. and Ont., the figures here presented 
 were kindly supplied by Mr. Jas. White, Secretary of the Commission of Conservation, Ottawa. 
 
Power plant on Spanish River, at which power is generated to operate the nickel mines and smelters 
 
 at Copper Cliff, Ontario. 
 
 TIMBER . 
 
 Except in the extreme North, as also in regions of prairie country in the middle West where 
 timber is somewhat scarce and its growth confined to river courses, it may be broadly stated that 
 in those districts in which mining operations are, or are likely to be carried on, a plentiful supply 
 of timber suitable for mining purposes will be readily available for many years to come; although 
 it must be admitted that in certain localities as a result of forest fires, wasteful cuting, and im¬ 
 providence generally, reserves have been badly diminished. In the Eastern Provinces tamarack 
 and spruce is chiefly used for mine purposes; in Ontario the best results have been obtained 
 with elm; while in the West pine and Douglas fir are mainly employed for props, and cedar, 
 when obtainable, for lagging. In a paper 1 read recently before the Canadian Mining Institute, 
 Dr. B. E. Fernow, Dean of the faculty of Forestry of Toronto University, observed, however, that 
 Canadian mines apparently use very little timber, in consequence of favourable conditions of 
 rock in most localities, the roofs requiring little support. From recent information the average 
 consumption appears to be between one and eight cubic feet of wood per ton of ore mined. At 
 one colliery in British Columbia 3,000,000 lineal feet of props and ties are annually required, at 
 a cost of from 1— 3 / 4 to 6 cents per lineal foot; in West Kootenay districts, British Columbia, 
 the cost of timber varies from 8 to 12 cents per -cubic foot; in Nova Scotia, from 3 to 5 per 
 cubic foot for stulls and poles, and 6 to 12 for better class timber. These figures are merely 
 quoted as suggestive of prevailing conditions. 
 
 MINING LAWS. 
 
 By the provisions made at the time of the Canadian Confederation, the Provinces, then 
 existing, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and subsequently British 
 Columbia, retained the regalian rights to and jurisdiction over minerals within their boundaries. 
 Consequently a distinctive law governing the acquisition and operation of mining lands obtains 
 in each of these provinces, differing either fundamentally or in detail. In the Provinces of Mani¬ 
 toba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the North-West Territories, and the Yukon Territory, however, 
 mining is controlled and regulated by Federal Government enactments. In general, the terms 
 under which title is granted are peculiarly easy, the aim of legislature being to promote to the 
 utmost the development and utilization of the mineral resources of the country. The several 
 sets of laws in force may be briefly summarized as follows: 
 
 Dominion Regulations (Applicable to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the North-West 
 Territories, Yukon Territory etc.). 
 
 Coal Lands: Areas, not exceeding 2,560 acres, may be leased for a term of 21 years, at an 
 annual rental of $ 1.00 per acre payable yearly in advance. The lease is conditional upon the 
 commencement of active operations within one year from a prescribed date. 
 
 1 The Relation of Mining to Forestry, B. E. Fernow, Can. Mining Inst., Vol. XII, pages 371—6. 
 
 15 
 
Royalty is levied at the rate 0^5 cents^per short ton on the merchantable output. 
 
 Quartz Claims. Every person over 18 years of age has the right to prospect for minerals 
 and locate claims upon any vacant Dominion lands, or lands whereon the gold or silver has been 
 reserved to the Crown. To hold the claim from year to year, work to the value of $ 100.00 must 
 be performed thereon, or the cash equivalent paid to the Government. 
 
 Freehold title or ’’Crown grant'‘ may be obtained after the sum of $ 500.00 has been ex¬ 
 pended in the development of the claim, or a cash payment of $ 500.00 made to the Government. 
 The size of a mineral claim is limited to 1,500 feet square. The Crown reserves the right to levy 
 a Royalty not exceeding 2—V 2 % of the products of the location. 
 
 Placer Claims. (Yukon) — Any person over 18 years of age may locate. Claims may not 
 exceed 800 feet measured along base line of creek, by 1,000 feet. Title — grant renewable from 
 year to year, conditional on the performance of work to the value of $ 200.00 per annum. 
 
 Royalty. — At the rate of 2— 1 / 2 % of the value of the output. 
 
 Dredging. — Title, Leasehold for term of fifteen years, renewable at discretion of Govern¬ 
 ment at rental of $ 100.00 per mile for first year, and $ 10.00 for each subsequent year. Within 
 three years from date of lease at least one dredge of sufficient capacity must be in operation, and 
 work continued for not less than fifty days each year. Royalties — at the rate of 2— 1 / 2 per 
 cent no gold recovered. 
 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 Coal, Iron and Other Minerals (exclusive of gold and silver): Title-License to search or leasehoid. 
 A license (fee $ 50) entitles holder to exclusive rights to prospect over any single tract not exceeding 
 5 square miles and not over 2— 1 / 2 miles in length. 
 
 Leases are granted for a term of 20 years, renewable for further like periods. Annual rental 
 $ 30.00 per tract. Coal and iron tracts covered by lease may not exceed one square mile; copper 
 or lead, one-half square mile; tin or precious stones, one-quarter square miles. Royalties are imposed 
 as follows: Coal, 10 c per long ton removed from mine or used in manufacture of coke; copper, 
 4 c per unit of copper sold; lead, 2 c per unit sold; iron, 5 c per long ton; tin, precious stones and 
 unspecified minerals, 5% of their value. 
 
 Gold and Silver. Areas are laid off in plots of 250 x 150 feet. Any number up to 100 of these 
 areas may be secured under a license to prospect for twelve months on payment of 50 c per area. 
 During the life of the license, areas may be leased, or direct application may be made for a lease, 
 at a rental of $ 2.00 per area for the first year, and 50 c per area thereafter. Royalties — 2 % of the 
 gross value. 
 
 New Brunswick. 
 
 General principles and provisions similar to those of Nova Scotia. 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 Any person holding a »miner’s certificate« (fee $ 10.00 per annum) may prospect and locate 
 claims. When a claim has been »staked«, notice must be given to the authorities. Within four 
 months from the date of staking a mining license must be applied for. Licensee (fee $ 10.00) is 
 entitled to a claim of from 40 to 200 acres in unsurveyed territory; and from 100 to 200 acres in 
 surveyed territory upon payment at the rate of $ 1.00 per acre. The license is renewable from year 
 to year. Title in fee may be obtained by purchase, at a minimum rate of $ 10.00 per acre and a 
 maximum rate of $ 20.00 (according to the proximity of a railway), but no one person in the same 
 year is entitled to purchase a concession of over 400 acres within a 100 mile radius. 
 
 Royalties — On placer gold, at a rate not exceeding 3% of the net value of the output. In 
 respect of other minerals the Crown reserves the right to levy royalties. 
 
 Ontario . 
 
 Lode Mines. Any person over eighteen years of age holding a miner’s license (fee $ 10.00), 
 may prospect for minerals and stake out claims in unreserved territory. Before, however, a claim 
 may be legally ,,located", valuable mineral in place must have been discovered thereon. The size 
 of claims vary in accordance with local survey requirements. In a section declared to be a „Special 
 Mining Division", a mining claim must be a square of 40 acres; elsewhere from 37— 1 / 2 to 50 acres. 
 The boundaries of all claims extend downwards vertically on all sides; not more than three claims 
 may be staked in the name of any one licensee in any one mining division or other territory in the 
 one year. Special permits to prospect, giving the licensee exclusive rights to occupy a block of 
 land within certain boundaries for a defined period of time, are also granted. Actual mining opera¬ 
 tions must be commenced and carried on continuously within three months of the date of recording 
 
 16 
 
for a period of thirty days; during the next two following years, sixty days’ work in each year 
 is required; and during the third year, ninety day’s work. Fulfillment of these conditions entitles 
 the licensee to a,,Certificate of PerformanceA freehold patent — ,,Crown Grant" —may then 
 be obtained upon payment at the rate of $ 3.00 per acre for the mining rights of the lands in surveyed 
 territory, and at the rate of $ 2.50 per acre in unsurveyed territory. Before a patent is issued, the 
 claim must, however, be surveyed at the expense of the applicant. 
 
 Placer Mining. General provisions of the Mining Act apply. 
 
 Dredging. Title — Leasehold for ten years renewable for a further term of ten years. Rental, 
 not less than $ 20.00 per mile in length of any river, stream or lake. 
 
 Petroleum, gas, coal, and salt. Boring permits (fee $ 100.00) granting exclusive rights to prospect 
 in defined areas are granted, and are good for one year. Boring ooerations must be commenced 
 within two months from the granting of the permit, and during its term exploration work must be 
 performed to the value of not less than $ 2.00 per acre. The permit is renewable on the same con¬ 
 ditions. Title — Leasehold; but only granted upon proof of actual discovery. A lease is granted 
 for a term of ten years at an annual rental of $ 1.00 per acre, subject to the performance of operations 
 to the value of not less than $ 2.00 per acre. It is renewable on the same terms for a further period 
 of ten years, and for a third term of twenty years at such renewal rental as may be agreed upon 
 or provided by Statute or regulation. 
 
 British Columbia. 
 
 Lode Mines. Any person over the age of eighteen years holding a miner’s certificate, (fee $ 5.00) 
 may prospect for minerals and locate claims and mine on Crown lands or on lands on which - the 
 mineral rights are reserved. Only one claim may be located by the licensee on the same vein or lode 
 The size of claim is limited to 1,500 feet square (approximately 52 acres). The claim may be held 
 from year to year on condition of performance of work to the value of $ 100.00, or payment to the 
 Crown of a sum of money to that amount in each year. The actual cost of the Survey of a claim 
 not exceeding $ 100.00 is allowed to apply as, Representation" work. If, during any year, work done 
 represents a greater expenditure than $ 100.00, any further sum of $ 100.00 may be officially 
 recorded. When $ 500.00 has been expended on the development of a claim, or that sum paid to 
 the Government, a Crown Grant, providing freehold title, may be applied for (fee $ 25.00). 
 
 Placer Mining. Persons over eighteen years of age holding a miner’s certificate may locate 
 one claim on each separate creek, ravine, hill, or bar diggings. Creek Claims — 250 feet long measured 
 in the direction of the general course of the stream, and 1,000 feet wide, measured from the general 
 course of the stream, 500 feet on either side of the centre thereof. Bar Diggings — (a) not exceeding 
 250 feet square at any bar covered at high water; or (b) a strip of 25C feet of land at high water mark, 
 and in width extending from high water mark to extreme low water mark. In clay diggings a claim 
 is 250 feet square. (Discoverer’s claims are 600 feet in length to one person, or 1 000 feet to two). 
 Claims are as nearly as possible rectangular in form, marked by four corner posts. Title — (1) 
 Conditional on continuous operation, exceut during the close season, lay-over, or leave of absence, 
 or for some other reasonable excuse which shall be shown to the satisfaction of the gold com¬ 
 missioner. (2) Leasehold — 20 years period on terms and conditions prescribed by the gold commis¬ 
 sioner. Areas not to exceed. Creek claims, half a mile; hydraulic diggings, 80 acres; for dredging 
 leases, 5 miles; precious stone diggings, 10 acres. Minimum rentals for a creek lease is $ 75.00 per 
 annum, and for a hydraulic lease, $ 50.00 per annum, with a condition that at least $ 1,000.00 per 
 annum shall be spent in development. 
 
 Dredging. Title, Leasehold for 20 years. — Bed $ any river below low water mark. For dred¬ 
 ging leases the usual rental is $ 50.00 per mile per annum, and operations to the value of $ 1 000.00 
 per mile per annum must be performed. 
 
 Taxation. — At the rate of 2% per annum, payable quarterly, on the assessed value of output 
 over $ 5,000. The gross output of placer and dredging mines to the value of $ 2 000 in any one 
 year are exempt from taxation. 
 
 Coal. — license to prospect. Applicant must have staked out an area by placing stakes at 
 the four corners thereof, and advertised his intention to apply for such license in the official gazette 
 and in a local paper. Within two months from the publication of such notice, application must be 
 made to the Assistant Commissioner of lands and works for the district for a prospecting license. 
 This license covers a term not exceeding one year. The fee is $ 100.00. The area covered by each 
 license must be rectangular in shape, and cannot exceed 640 acres, measuring eighty chains by eight 
 chains. The lines must run true North and South, and true East and West. The licences are 
 renewable for second and third years on condition of bona jide exploration. The licenses are not 
 
 17 
 
transferable. Title —Leasehold and freehold upon evidence of discovery. Areas may be leased foi 
 a term of five years at an annual rental of 15 c per acre. Then at the end of five years, provided 
 mining operations have been continuously and vigorously prosecuted, the lands, including surface 
 rights, may be purchased at the rate of $ 10.00 per acre; or if the mining rights only for $ 5.00 per acre. 
 A royalty of 5 c per long ton of merchantable coal raised is imposed. 
 
 Petroleum. — License to prospect for and title as provided in the case of coal. 
 
 Royalty. 2— 1 / 2 c per barrel containing 35 imperial gallons on all crude petroleum raised. 
 
 IMPORTS OF MINING MACHINERY. 
 
 While the manufacture of machinery for mining purposes in Canada is becoming an increas¬ 
 ingly important industry, and a number of the large manufacturing establishments of the United 
 States have of late established factories in the Dominion, the impoits of machinery continue to be 
 considerable. For purposes of comparison tl e following tabulated statement, which also further 
 indicates the progress of the mining industry, may be of interest: Value of Mining Machinery 
 imported into Canada in the fiscal years 1890, 1900 and 1909: 
 
 Country 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 
 
 1909 
 
 
 $ 
 
 $ 
 
 $ 
 
 Great Britain. 
 
 . 6,182. 
 
 43,660. 
 
 127,187. 
 
 United States. 
 
 
 678,065. 
 
 687,468. 
 
 Germany. . . . 
 
 
 
 49,102. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 
 
 1,168. 
 
 Sweden. 
 
 
 
 761. 
 
 France. 
 
 
 156. 
 
 
 B. W. Indies . 
 
 
 61. 
 
 
 
 21,748. 
 
 721,942. 
 
 865,686. 
 
 List of Items Admitted into Canada Free cf Duty. 
 
 Sundry articles of metal as follows, when for use exclusively in mining or metallurgical opera¬ 
 tions, viz.: —■ Diamond drills, not including the motive power; coal cutting machines, except 
 percusion coal cutters; coal heading machines; coal augers; rotary coal drills; core drills; Miners’ 
 safety lamps and parts thereof, also accessories for cleaning, filling and testing such lamps; electric 
 or magnetic machines for separating or concentrating iron ores; furnaces for the smelting of copper, 
 zinc, and nickel ores; converting apparatus for metallurgical processes in metals; copper plates, 
 plated or not; machinery for extraction of precious metals by the chlorination or cyanide processes; 
 amalgam safes; automatic ore samplers; automatic feeders; retorts; mercury pumps; pyrometers; 
 bullion furnaces; amalgam cleaners; blast furnace blowing machines; wrought iron tubing, butt 
 or lap welded, threaded or coupled or not, over four inches in diameter; and intregral parts of all 
 machinery mentioned in this item. 
 
 Machinery and appliances of iron or steel, of a class or kind not made in Canada, and elevators, 
 and machinery of floating dredges, when for use exclusively in alluvial gold mining. 
 
 Iron or steel pipe not butt or welded, and wirebound wooden pipe, not less than thirty inches 
 internal diameter, when for use exclusively in alluvial gold mining. 
 
 Blowers of iron or steel of a class or kind not made in Canada, for use in the smelting of ores, 
 or in the reduction, separation or refining of metals; rotary kilns, revolving roasters and furnaces 
 of metal of a class and kind not made in Canada, designed for roasting ore, mineral, rock or clay; 
 furnace slag trucks and slag pots of a class or kind not made in Canada. 
 
 Briquette-making machines. 
 
 RESOURCES AND INDUSTRY. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 The extensive coal areas of Canada are found in the Provinces of Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick, in the East; and in the Provinces of Saskatchewan. Alberta and British 
 Columbia, and in the Yukon Territory, in the West. The Eastern measures occur in the 
 Carboniferous formation; while those of central and Western Canada are found in the 
 Cretaceous and Tertiary. The eastern coal is entirely Bituminous, the central chiefly 
 Lignite, while in Western Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon it ranges in character 
 from a high grade Lignite to Anthracite. Lignites of still more recent age occur in Ontario. Average 
 
 18 
 
analyses of Canadian coals from the respective areas are shown in the following table compiled for 
 the writer by Mr. Edgar Stansfield, M. Sc., of McGill University, Montreal: 
 
 Coal Field 
 
 Moisture 
 
 left in air 
 dry coal 
 
 % 
 
 Fixed 
 
 Carbon 
 
 Proximate 
 
 % 
 
 Volatile 
 
 Matter 
 
 analysis of 
 
 % 
 
 Ash 
 
 dried coal. 
 
 % 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 in 
 
 dry coal 
 
 % 
 
 Calorific 
 value of 
 dry coal, 
 calries 
 
 Sydney Field. 
 
 2.6 
 
 57 
 
 36 
 
 7 
 
 2.4 
 
 7 600 
 
 Pictou Field . 
 
 1.7 
 
 57 
 
 30 
 
 13 
 
 1.2 
 
 7 200 
 
 Souris Field. 
 
 18.1 
 
 45 
 
 44 
 
 11 
 
 0.6 
 
 5 750 
 
 Edmonton Field . . . 
 
 19.0 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 0.4 
 
 6 100 
 
 Frank-Blairmore Field . 
 
 0.8 
 
 57 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 0.6 
 
 6 850 
 
 Crow’s Nest Field . . . 
 
 0.9 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 11 
 
 0.5 
 
 7 450 
 
 Cascade Field. 
 
 0.7 
 
 72 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 0.7 
 
 7 200 
 
 Nanaimo-Comox Field . 
 
 1.5 
 
 51 
 
 38 
 
 11 
 
 0.9 
 
 7 150 
 
 Nova Scotia Coal Areas. The Coal Districts of Nova Scotia in which active mining ope¬ 
 rations are conducted, number five, of which the Sydney coal field, whose output represents 71.9 
 per cent of the aggregate annual output, is the most productively important. The measures, 
 it is estimated, underlie a land area of about fifty-seven square miles, while a large area under 
 the sea is also worked. The strata dip very gradually about 7%, and are practically free from 
 faults of any magnitude. The exposed section of the productive coal measures represents about 
 1,800 feet, and the strata largely composed of shales and sandstones, contain from forty to fifty 
 feet of coal, in twenty-four seams, of which six are four feet or more in thickness. The largest 
 seam is known as the “Phalen”, and is 8 feet, 7 inches in thickness. 
 
 Other Nova Scotian fields are those of Inverness -— a series of narrow areas extending 
 for over fifty miles along the Western shore of Cape Breton Island — at present producing 6% 
 of the coal mined; Pictou County, having an area of about 25 square miles and producing 12.7%; 
 and Cumberland County, having a total area of about 350 square miles and producing 8.8%. 
 The Grand Lake field in New Brunswick is also productive, but not importantly so; while coal 
 of a less superior quality has been mined from large seams in Richmond County, Cape Breton. 
 
 The largest seams worked in Nova Scotia are those found in the Pictou field; one seam being 
 here 38 feet in thickness, a second, from 22 feet in thickness to 38 feet, and a third, 13 feet to 20 
 feet in thickness. 
 
 Approximate anatyses of the Nova Scotia coals are given in the following returns: 1 
 
 Sydney Field (from Phalen Seam). 
 
 Fixed Carbon . 
 
 . 58.5% 
 
 
 Volatile Matter. 
 
 . 32.2% 
 
 
 Ash. 
 
 . 7.1% 
 
 
 Sulphur . 
 
 ■ 2.2% 
 
 
 
 J00.0% 
 
 
 Cumberland Field (Springhill Colliery). 
 
 
 Fixed Carbon . 
 
 . 62.78% 
 
 
 Volatile Matter. 
 
 . 28.55% 
 
 
 Moisture. 
 
 3.66% 
 
 
 Ash. 
 
 • 4.32% 
 
 
 Sulphur . 
 
 . 1.26% 
 
 
 Inverness Field. 
 Fixed Carbon . 
 
 . 47.04% 
 
 
 Volatile Matter. 
 
 . 42.16% 
 
 
 Ash. 
 
 . 10.80% 
 
 
 Sulphur . 
 
 ■ 5.04% 
 
 
 Pictou Field (Acadia Colliery). 
 
 
 Fixed Carbon . 
 
 . 61.15% — 
 
 60.77% 
 
 Volatile Matter. 
 
 . 29.20% — 
 
 28.09% 
 
 Ash. 
 
 . 7.55% - 
 
 9.99% 
 
 Sulhphur. 
 
 • 1.48% - 
 
 1.24% 
 
 Moisture.. 
 
 • 2 : 10 % - 
 
 1.15% 
 
 1 Report Mining and Metallurgical industies of Canada. Dept. Mines Ottowa, 190V . 
 
 19 
 
Methods of Working. —^At seven of the collieries operated by the Dominion Coal Company 
 in the Sydney field, the seams are reached by means of shafts. At the three remaining collieries, 
 entry is by slopes or main deeps. In general, the pillar and room system of mining is em¬ 
 ployed, although in five collieries in Nova Scotia the method of working by the long wall system 
 is followed. While the Cape Breton mines are comparatively free from gas, safety lamps are in 
 universal use in the Collieres of the Province. Compressed air and electric locomotives, as well 
 as the endless rope system, are employed in the principal collieries for coal haulage; while 
 compressed air is also used to operate coal-cutting machines. A recent innovation at the 
 Dominion Coal Company’s collieries, worthy of remark, is the installation — the first in Canada 
 — of life saving apparatus of the Draeger type. 
 
 The bulk of the coal produced in Nova Scotia is marketed in Eastern Canada, while the 
 balance is sold in the United States. The cost of the coal (including the Royalty impost of 
 12— 4 / 2 cents), loaded on steamers at Sydney, is estimated at approximately $ 1.75 per ton. The 
 sale price in the St. Lawrence market is $ 2.85 per ton. 
 
 Labour. — The number of men employed in the Nova Scotia collieries in 1908 was 12,933, 
 of which 6,567 represented skilled labour. The miners in the larger collieries in the Cape British 
 area work on a contract basis and are paid according to an agreed schedule, 1 as follows: 
 
 Machine Cut Coal. 
 
 Cutting. 
 
 . 9.5 cents 
 
 to 12.1 cents 
 
 Loading. 
 
 . 11.5 „ 
 
 „ 13 „ 
 
 Shot-firing.. 
 
 . 9.5 „ 
 
 „ 12 
 
 Total for rooms. 
 
 . 31.5 „ 
 
 „ 41 
 
 Deeps . 
 
 . 39.5 „ 
 
 „ 52.5 „ 
 
 Levels. 
 
 Cross cuts, per lineal yard in 
 
 . 36.3 „ 
 
 „ 49.5 „ 
 
 addition to room prices . . 
 
 . 12.5 „ 
 
 
 Hand Cut Coal. 
 
 Rooms. 
 
 . ... 49 cents 
 
 to 51.5 cents 
 
 Deeps . 
 
 .62 
 
 „ 76 
 
 Headwavs or slants . . 
 
 . ... 56 
 
 „ 63 
 
 Levels. 
 
 . . . . 54.5 ,, 
 
 „ 62 
 
 Pillars . . . . 
 
 . ... 46 
 
 „ 48 „ 
 
 Cross cuts 
 
 per lineal foot. 
 
 
 Up to 12\feet. 
 
 . . . .32.4 cents 
 
 
 Up to 15 •,,. 
 
 . . . . 25.6 „ 
 
 
 Over 15 .. 
 
 . . . . 33.0 „ 
 
 
 Up to ^0 „. 
 
 . . . . 27.0 „ 
 
 
 Over 12 ,, & up to 21 
 
 feet . 45.6 ,, 
 
 
 Over 20 ,,. 
 
 . . . . 33.0 „ 
 
 
 Over 21 „.50.0 „ 
 
 The average earnings of mineis in one field in 1909 is said to have been between $ 2.81 to 
 $ 2.97 a day. 
 
 Manitoba and Saskatchewan. No coal mining has been undertaken in Manitoba for some 
 years past; although in the near future .the exploitation of some of the areas is anticipated. 
 
 In Saskatchewan, especial!} 7 in the. southern section, lignite seams outcrop in numerous 
 localities on the borders of the areas of Tertiary beds constituting the elevated districts. Some 
 of these seams are of considerable magnitude. The average thickness of seams worked is, how¬ 
 ever, five feet. Activity at present is chiefly confined to operations in the Souris River area, 
 between Estevan and Bienfait, sufficient production being maintained from six collieries to 
 supply local market needs. The coal is reached both by shaft and slope, and in some cases by 
 level entry, the room and pillar method of mining being employed. The mines are practically 
 non-gaseous, permitting naked lights to be used with impunity. The coal output during the 
 year from March 1908 to March 1909 was 169,732 tons, the industry employing 357 men 
 
 Alberta. The productive coal horizons in the Province of Alberta are those known as, 
 respectively, the Kootanie, or lowest horizon; the Belly River, or middle horizon; and the 
 Edmonton or Laramie. The Kootanie measures include the extensive and valuable Elk River 
 (partly in British Columbia), Crow’s Nest (Coleman-Blairmore areas), and Cascade Basins. In 
 the Elk River basin, 22 workable seams, containing 216 feet of coal are known; in the Crow’s 
 
 1 This schedule differs in respect of each colliery. 
 
Nest, 21 seams, containing 125 feet of coal; and in the Cascade area, 25 to 29 workable seams, 
 containing from 189 to 214 feet of coal. The Belly River measures include, in Alberta, the 
 Lethbridge*' area; while even larger coal areas in the Province belong to the Laramie. The ex¬ 
 traordinary rapidity with which the Albertan coal industry is developing is indicated by the fact that, 
 although its history scarcelly covers a longer period than ten years, there are now no less than 
 one hundred and twenty-one mines in operation; while in 1909 thirty-two new mines were opened. 
 Again, last year two large new coal areas in the bituminous field were proven, namely the Brazeau 
 area, west of Edmonton, and contiguous to the line of the Grand Trunk Pacific railway; and 
 the South Fork area, south of the Crow’s Nest Branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, south¬ 
 west of Frank. Of this latter area, the Inspector of Mines of the Province of Alberta remarks 
 that it is now proved to be larger and will eventually be more important than the Frank-Coleman 
 area in which collieries are at present in successful operation. There is an excellent market for 
 all the coal produced throughout the north-west, a large proportion being used for domestic 
 requirements, and the remainder for fuel or locomotives and steam purposes generally. The 
 coal is reached by shafts and slopes, while the common method of mining is »pillar and stall«. 
 All the larger collieries are magnificiently equipped. A general statement concerning production 
 appears elsewhere. More precise information may, 'however, be of interest, and to this end the 
 following comparative figures in respect of coal, coke and briquette output during 1908 and 
 1909, respectively, are presented: 
 
 17.85% 
 
 16.07% 
 
 147.60% 
 
 1908 1909 Increase 
 
 Coal . 1,845,000 tons 2,174,329 tbns 
 
 Coke. 75,657 „ 87,812 „ 
 
 Briquettes. 36,261 ,, 89,785 
 
 The output .of coal may be classified under: 
 
 Bituminous. 1,197,399 tons 
 
 Lignite. 763,673 
 
 Anthracite . 213,257 
 
 It may be further noted that the 1909 output represents an increase of 168.03% q^er that 
 of only five years ago. 
 
 Labour. The average number of men employed in the mines last year was 5,207." Miners’ 
 wages are $3.50 a day of eight hours; helpers, $2.75 to $3.00, and underground labourers, 
 $ 2.00 a day of eight hours. Men employed on surface w'ork receive from $ 2.00 to $ 3.25 a day 
 of ten hours. 
 
 It was recently reported that the Government of Alberta contemplates installing rescue 
 stations at all the principal mining centres of the Province. This is instanced as evidence of the 
 interest of the Provincial Administration in the welfare of the mining industry. 
 
 British Columbia. Coal mining continues to occupy the premier position among the pro¬ 
 ductive mining industries of British Columbia, the output in 1909 reaching the considerable value 
 of approximately $ 6.800,000 for coal, and $ 1,700,000. for coke, or an increase over the returns 
 of 1908 of about a million dollars. Practically all the coal mined is bituminous of excellent quality, 
 much of it being eminently suitable for steam raising and coking purposes. 
 
 The distribution of coal in British Columbia is very wide, but the areas at present exten¬ 
 sively worked are those of the Crow’s Nest Pass district in the Rocky Mountain section, and the 
 coal fields on Vancouver Island. In both areas the coal is of Cretaceous age, the measures in 
 the Rocky Mountains area occuring as basins amongst the folded a nd faulted Palaeozoic and Me¬ 
 sozoic strata; while in the Nanaimo-Comox fields on Vancouver Island the seams are found in 
 the upper part of the Cretaceous. A third coal area, from which coal is also produced, is that of 
 the Nicola Valley, a district in the south-west portion of the Province. Here the coal is I ignite, 
 and of Tertiary age, occurring in very thick seams, sometimes as great as eighteen feet. 
 
 The important collieries of Fernie and Michel are established on seams within the boundaries 
 of the Elk River Basin, already referred to, the southern portion of which has an area of about 
 300 square miles and extends eastward into the Province of Alberta. In this basin many of the 
 seams are fifteen and more feet in thickness. In one section no less than 62 seams of coal have 
 been proven. In the Comox field, which has an estimated area of approximately 300 square 
 miles, at one mine worked the ten seams have an aggregate thickness of 29 feet, the thickest seam 
 measuring ten feet. In the Nanaino field coal is extracted from two seams, one of which 
 varies in thickness from five to twenty feet, and the other from three to five feet. The machinery 
 equipment at all the collieries is thoroughly modern, and most complete, and it may be 
 mentioned in this regard that at one colliery alone, in the Crow’s Nest area, an expenditure, it is 
 
 21 
 
reported, has been made on account of recently completed equipment of upwards of a million 
 dollars. About 40% of the coal raised is exported chiefly to the United States, the remainder 
 being sold for home consumption. The coke made in the Crow’s Nest area is of the highest quality. 
 
 In 1908 the industry gave employment to 6,073 persons. The scale of wages paid to miners 
 is much the s. me as that usual in the Alberta mines; although in several of the collieries the con¬ 
 tract system is followed, payment being made on a tonnage basis. 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 Gold has been discovered and mined in all the Provinces and Territories of the Dominion, 
 with the exception only of Manitoba. In Nova Scotia, gold occurs, both in quartz veins and 
 in association with antimony; in New Brunswick and Quebec both in quartz veins and in alluvia] 
 deposits; in Ontario, in quartz veins, and at times as an associated mineral with mispickel, pyrite, 
 magnetite, chalcopvrite and pyrrhotite; in Saskatchewan and Alberta, in alluvial deposits; in 
 British Columbia, in alluvial deposits, in quartz veins, as free gold associated with pyrite, galena 
 and zinc blende, with argentiferous tetrahedrite, galena, zinc blende, iron and copper sulphides, 
 in schistose pvritiferous diabase, and in copper-gold deposits; and in the Yukon territory, in 
 pre-glacial and more recent alluvial deposits, and in quartz veins. 
 
 N 0 V A S C OTI A. The gold-bearing series of Nova Scotia, a group of sedimentary rocks 
 intruded by dikes and batholiths of granite, have a very wide distribution, occupying, it is esti¬ 
 mated, an area of approximately 8,500 square miles. They consist of two groups, an upper of 
 dark slates, and a lower of quartzites, in which latter the auriferous quartz, — dominantly 
 ibedded veins — occur usually at points along the anticlinal axes of folding, and, under certain 
 sU r atigraphical conditions, are localized along the crowns of the arches, resulting in a series of 
 superimposed saddle reefs — an occurrence very similar to that met with in the Bendigo gold 
 field, Australia. Some of these reefs attain maximum thicknesses of from fifteen to twenty feet 
 or ovyr, but quickly diminish in size on either side of the fold, — According to a report made 
 by an official of the Nova Scotia Department of Mines, they also extend in many cases for thou¬ 
 sands oPfeet, and have been followed to depths of seven hundred feet in their vertical extension. 
 The veins occuring to one side of the anticlinal axes, as a rule within a zone of from 200 to 1,000 
 feet wide, usually average in width from four to twelve inches. Another class of veins also occur 
 cutting the planes of stratification at various angles. The gold that is within the zone of oxidation 
 generally occurs in the free state as filaments, leaves and nuggets, or as very fine invisible particles 
 is distributed through the veins, but more commonly is locally concentrated towards the centre 
 of the zones of quartz veins; while the longer gold particles are as a rule found at points of local 
 enrichment. Gold was first discovered in 1860, and operations have been carried on continu¬ 
 ously, but in no one instance on a large scale, since 1862. The annual yields have fluctuated 
 in value between, in round figures, $ 200.000 and $ 600.000, the total production to September 
 1908 being $ 16,887,670. In 1909, the annual production increased to $ 218,000. The average 
 value covering the whole of the period during which the mines have been operated is $ 8.97 per 
 ton of ore crushed. 
 
 Mining and Milling Costs. Returns from a representative enterprise show the average 
 cost of mining' to have been $ 2.44 per ton; and of milling 63 c per ton. Mining costs, however, 
 vary between $ 2.00 and $ 4.00 per ton, and milling costs between 50 c and $ 1.00 per ton, 
 according to the width of the vein and the tonnage treated. In all cases the gold is extracted 
 by crushing and amalgamation; but at some mines cyaniding is a supplementary process. 
 
 Labour. Miners <*re paid at the rate of $ 1.75 per day; muckers, $ 1.40 per day; mill-men, 
 from $1.50 to $2.00; and engineers, $ 2.50. 1 
 
 QUEBEC. No gold production is at present khown from the Province of Quebec, although 
 within recent months preparations have been made to extensively work the auriferous gravels 
 of the pre-glacial streams in the Valley of the Chaudiere and in the neighbourhood of the Gilbert 
 River, in which localities gold to the value of approximately three million dollars was won, chiefly 
 between the years 1860 and 1876. Small values in gold are also contained in the chalcopyritic 
 deposits of the Eastern Townships. 
 
 ONTARIO. Gold as so far found occurs in both Eastern and Western Ontario in numerous 
 I localities, both in the free state, in quartz cutting schists and basic igneous rocks and in association 
 ( with mispickel, pyrite and pyrrhotite, with which the quartz is frequently impregnated. Although 
 t for a brief period" a considerable production, reaching a maximum of nearly half a million dollars 
 in 1899, was maintained, and industrial possibilities aplared favourable, subsequent operations 
 
A placer claim on Spruce Creek, Atlin District, British Columbia. 
 
 The placers of the Province are pre-glacial sands and gravels, and the more recent deposits 
 originating therefrom. In quartz, gold occurs (1) as auriferous, mispickel, with copper and iron 
 pyrites, in bodies replacing country rock, or near the contact of igneous rocks of dioritic inclination 
 
 proved discouraging, and comparatively few mines are now being worked. A new gold district, 
 known as the Porcupine, situated North of the height of land between Hudson Bay and the Great 
 l akes, has recently been discovered. The gold here occurs in veins three feet and upwards in width, 
 the surface indications being unusually promising. It is, however, yet too early to offer any opinion 
 concerning the probable permanence of the occurrences or of the productivity of the area. In 1909 
 the gold production of Ontario was but 2,042 ounces, the major proportion of which was derived 
 from one mine in the Wabigoon district. It may, however, be noted that a large and apparently 
 important deposit has been quite recently opened near Sudbury, on which a considerable expen¬ 
 diture, not far short probably of a quarter of a million dollars, has been made on account of develop¬ 
 ment and equipment; and in consequence production from this mine will, it is expected ere long, 
 add measurably to the annual gold output of the Province. 
 
 Labour. Muckers are paid from $ 1.75 to $ 2.25 per day; helpers, $ 2.25 to 2.75; miners, $ 2.75 
 to $ 3.50; blacksmiths, $ 3.00 to $ 4.50; engineers $ 2.00 to $ 3.00. 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. At the close of 1909 British Columbia was credited with having 
 produced since the inception of the industry in 1858, gold to the value of $ 126,317,200. of which rather 
 more than one-half was derived from the placer mines. The gold production from this Province 
 last year was probably at least 95% of the total yield from the several Canadian Provinces, or 
 over 55% of the aggregate gold output of the Dominion, which last calculation takes into conside¬ 
 ration production contributed from the Yukon Territory, now occupying the second place in point 
 of productivity among the gold yielding regions of the country. 
 
and in a gangue of garnet, epidote, calcite, etc., (2) as free gold, in quartz veins cutting carbonaceous 
 phyllites. Here the associated minerals may be pyrite, galena, zinc blende, and argentiferous 
 tetrahedrite, (3) as free gold in schistose pyritiferous diabase, and in quartz veins carrying mispickel, 
 galena and pyrite; and (4) in copper-gold deposits, such as those of the Boundary, Rossland, and the 
 Coast districts, to which more specific reference will be presently made. 
 
 Between the years 1858 and 1894 the gold won in British Columbia was derived almost entirely 
 from placer sources. In 1895, however, the lode mines, which only two years previously had become 
 productive, contributed a gold yield of nearly twice the value produced from the placer mining 
 districts; and since that time, notwithstanding that rich new placer fields were discovered and 
 worked, by far the major proportion of the Province’s annual gold production is traceable to lode 
 mining operations. 
 
 The principal placer gold areas are those of the Cariboo district, about 285 miles North of the 
 mainline of the C. P. R., at Ashcroft, and within the drainage basin of the Fraser River; localities 
 in the Omineca district, still further North; and again those of the Cassiar Division, including the 
 gold fields of the Atlin District to the extreme North-West of the Province. Mining is also carried 
 on in other localities, but to a less important degree. In passing, it may be noted that the Cariboo 
 mines as so far worked all occur in a relatively restricted area in the vicinity of Barkerville, and in 
 the basin of the Quesnel River. The production from this region to date represents a value approxi¬ 
 mate^ of forty million dollars, and the remarkable richness of the field may be gauged from the 
 fact that certain claims on the creek have yielded an average value of $ 1,075 per lineal foot; while 
 from another creek gold to the value of $ 2,179,27.2 has been recovered. The Atlin district .first 
 \ actively worked in 1899, has to the present produced gold to the value of six million dollars 1 , or the 
 Equivalent of a per capita annual output of a thousand dollars. 
 
 Pine freek, one of the gold producing streams of the Atlin district, B. C. 
 
 Methods of working etc. Gold is recovered in the placer mining districts by ordinary sluicing 
 and hydraulicing methods, and by dredging. This last, however, has proved as yet only moderately 
 successful. Steam shovels have been employed in one or two instances to good advantage. The 
 working season continues as a rule from late in April to the beginning or middle of November. 
 Labour costs are relatively high. In the Atlin district the customary wage for miners is $ 5.00 a day; 
 but in the Cariboo district it is somewhat less. 
 
 1 Mining in Atlin, B. C., Rosalind Watson Young, M. A., Journal Canadian Mining Institute, 
 Vol. XII, page 478. 
 
 24 
 
Hydraulic Mining, Atlin District, B. C. 
 
 The principal occurrence of free milling gold ores, now being worked, are at Hedl^y, in the 
 Similkameen district, at Camborne and Fish Creek in the Lardeau district, and in the Nelson district. 
 At Hedley the occurrence is somewhat unusual, the ore being an auriferous mispickel, in a gangue 
 of garnet, epidote and calcite, the width of the workable deposit being between 20 and 50 feet. 
 This mine has yielded very handsome profits. No special comment is necessary in reference to 
 mining and milling practice, which presents no unusual features. In a few instances cyanidation is 
 employed as a supplementary process to crushing and amalgamation; and in some cases concentrates 
 are produced and sent to local smelters for final treatment. In the Lardeau district milling costs 
 are in the neighbourhood of 60 c per ton, and of mining and milling combined, $ 4.01 per ton. At a 
 Nelson 1 mine the average costs of mining are reported to be $ 3.11 per ton, and of milling, $ 1.90 
 per ton. 
 
 Quite the bulk of the gold annually recovered from lode mining in British Columbia originated, 
 however, from the copper-gold mines of Rossland, Boundary and the Coast districts, as already 
 mentioned; for while the gold values in these ores are, with the exception of those in the Rossland 
 ores, very small, yet as a result of the considerable tonnage mined, the gold yield from these sources 
 represents a very large proportion, possibly amounting to nearly 20%, of the value of the annual 
 aggregate mineral production of the Province. The following table shows the gold yield for 1908 
 from these districts: 
 
 oz. value 
 
 $ 
 
 Rossland. 142,314 2,941,630 
 
 Boundary. 91,551 1.892,359. 
 
 Coast Districts. 2,492 51,510. 
 
 Yukon. The gold fields of the Yukon are included in an area of about 800 square miles, 
 bounded on the West by the Yukon River; on the East by Dominion Creek, a tributory of the 
 Indian River. The region is a series of long branching ridges, the average elevation of which, above 
 the valley, is 2,000 feet or 3,200 feet above the sea level. The rock formation is very complex, 
 presenting extreme variety in structure and composition, and ranging in age through the greater 
 part of the geological scale. What is known as the Klondike region is within the unglaciated region 
 of the Yukon, and is part of the upraised, dissected Yukon peneplain. 
 
 1 Report of the Mining and Metallurgical Industries of Canada, 1907—8, Mines Branch, Dept, 
 of Mines, Ottawa, page 121. 
 
 25 
 
Head frames of two of the important gold-copper mines in the Rossland District, B. C. 
 
 According to Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, 1 a distinguished Canadian geologist who spent many years 
 in the district, the land was raised above the sea at or shortly after the close of the Eocene period, 
 and ever since has been continuously subjected to decomposition by meteoric agencies, and to 
 sub-aerial and stream erosion, the streams having assumed and retained normal courses outwards 
 from the centre of the mountain mass. To quote Mr. Tyrrell, »After the land was raised well above 
 the level of the sea atmospheric agencies began the decomposition of the rocks, and the breaking 
 apart and liberation of the rock particles one from another, while the rain and the smaller and larger 
 streams cut out the valleys, dissolved parts of the rock, and washed the undissolved particles from 
 the higher to lower levels. The very heavy particles, such as the grains and nuggets of gold, would 
 settle close to the places from which they were derived, while the lighter particles would be carried 
 farther away. 
 
 The processes of decomposition and erosion, with transportation and separation of the eroded 
 material, went on continuously from year to year and from age to age until the land had been 
 reduced almost to its present level, and the bottoms of the wide and relatively shallow valleys had 
 been filled with coarse pebbles and cobbles of the harder and more resistant kinds of rock, though 
 chiefly vein quartz, that had been slowly washed down the adjoining hills. Mixed with these larger 
 masses of rock were the smaller but heavier nuggets and grains of gold, which had been washed 
 out of the same hills, but on account of their weight had not been carried away with the rock par¬ 
 ticles of the same size. The beds of quartzose gravel thus formed are locally known as the »white 
 gravel« or »white quartz wash«. 
 
 After these gravel d^eds were formed the northward-flowing streams were accelerated and given 
 greater cutting power in some way, probably by a tilting of the land from the south northward, 
 consequent on the continued rising of the mountains near the Pacific Coast. These streams therefore 
 cut narrower valleys, with steeper sides, through the »white gravel* and into the underlying rock, 
 leaving terraces of the »white gravel« on one or both sides of the valleys, and reconcentrated into 
 their beds the gold from the gravel which they had cut through and washed away, as well as any gold 
 that may have been in the rock cut through below the older gravel. 
 
 1 Economic Geology, Vol. II, No. 4, P. 344 et seq. 
 
These two sets of gravel deposits have together produced to date about six million fine ounces 
 of gold, and it is not improbable that there are still four million ounces remaining in the placers, 
 making a probable total content for these Klondike placers of ten million fine ounces of gold. 
 
 As has been shown above this gold was concentrated by the rills and streams from the whole 
 of the rocky material washed down from the Klondike mountain-mass, and it probably represents 
 a considerable proportion of the gold originally contained or included in the rock. 
 
 In reference to the quantity of rock that was so washed down by eroding and transporting 
 agents acting continuously through a long period of time only approximate data are obtainable,, 
 but the following statement is believed to represent with a resonable degree of accuracy the condi¬ 
 tions as they existed during the erosion period. 
 
 As stated above the mean elevation of the land when active denudation began at the close 
 of the Eocene period was 3,500 feet, taking the present sea level as a datum. The mean elevation 
 of the district at present is about 2,600 feet above the same datum, from which it would appear that 
 the thickness of the rock removed from the surface between the end of the Eocene Age and the 
 present time is equal to a thickness of 900 feet over the whole area. Adopting the ordinary time 
 scale of 4,000 years for the removal of one feet of surface, 3,600,000 years would be the time required 
 for the removal of the 900 feet of surface, and such, according to this computation, would be the 
 length of time since the close of the Eocene period. A thickness of 900 feet over an area of 800 square 
 miles would equal a mass of 136 cubic miles or 1,600,000,000,000 tons of rock. This is, therefore, 
 the quantity of rock that was removed by denudation, and from which 10,000,000 ounces of gold 
 was washed and concentrated into the Klondike placers, and it represents an average gold content/ 
 0,003 grains or 0,013 cents to the ton of the original rock in place. / 
 
 It is thus that the Klondike district owes its phenominally rich placers, not to the weadfng 
 down of highly mineralized gold-bearing veins or lodes, but rather to the favourable conditionfe of 
 long and uninterrupted concentration from a great mass of rock that contained only very mKinute 
 quantities of gold«. / 
 
 While recently some attention has been directed towards the development and operation 
 of lode mines, the alluvial deposits, which during the past thirteen years have yielded/approxi¬ 
 mately $ 130,000,000., still continue to be the main source of production. The methods of mining 
 include »ground sluicing and shovelling in, hydraulicing and dredging«. For thawing frozen 
 ground an efficient and unique system has been developed. The equipment for this purpose j 
 includes a boiler of not exceeding 50 H.P.. iron piping, steam hose, and five feet length of steel I 
 pipes tipped with very hard steel bored at the end, the hole being a quarter inch in a diameter, j 
 This point is driven into the frozen gravel, while the steam from the boiler, maintained at a pressure 
 of from 80 to 100 pounds, is forced through it. The“thawer” is put to many uses, especially in the 
 sinking of shafts, and by its means mining may be continued much later in a season thai 
 would be otherwise possible. On the authority of a mining engineer for many years residen 
 in the Klondike district, pay - dirt in solidly frozen ground can be mined from tunnel 
 and drifts, hoisted and sluiced for about $ 3.00 a cubic yard. The dredges in use in the Yukon at 
 all built on the ladder and bucket principle, and since there is an absence of large boulders, grM 
 when free from frost is very easily moved by this means. The cost of digging has recently pen 
 considerably reduced in consequence of the installation of hydroelectric transmission pknt s - 
 Thirteen dredges were in operation in the Yukon last year; while a recent innovation is the eld-® 
 elevator, of which three have recently been installed. The elevator is fully equal in performance 
 to a dredge, costs less, and may also be operated in localities where conditions are not /avoirable 
 to dredging. Since their installation the elevators have proved highly efficient. I 
 
 Continued mining activity in the Yukon is indicated by the official returns for/90‘3 which 
 show that 909 entries for placer mining claims, 563 entries for quartz mining claims and 4,385 
 renewals and relocations were officially recorded during the fiscal year; while sixtyfiine lease^! 
 to dredge for minerals are in force. 
 
 Labour in the Yukon is, as might be expected, costly, the ordinary rate for Miners being 
 from 8 5.00 per day. 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 The three copper-producing Provinces of the Dominion are Quebec, Ontario and British 
 Columbia, of which the latter is by far the heaviest contributor. Although copper mining is one 
 of the oldest of the Canadian mineral industries, it occupied a relatively unimportant position 
 until some twelve years ago, when to the considerable production then commencing from the 
 Sudbury district mines in Ontario, was added the output of the copper mines of Western Canada. 
 Since that date the expansion of the industry has been notably rapid. 
 
QUEBE C. Ores of copper are found in numerous localities in the Eastern Townships, and also 
 in the South-Eastern portion of the Province of Quebec. In the Eastern Townships, to which 
 distinctive operations are at present confined, the occurrence is chalcopyrite with some chalcocite 
 and bornite, in pyrite, replacing country rock and forming lenses in pre-Cambrian schistose por¬ 
 phyries and andesites. The individual lenses rarely exceed in width 20 to 30 feet, or in length 
 200 to 300 feet, having about the same dimensions along the plane of the dip. At depth the 
 metallic contents of these ores average from 25 % to 38 % in sulphur, 1— y 2 % to 8 % in copper 
 and values, ranging between $ 2.00 and $ 12.00 per ton, in gold and silver. At one property all 
 ore containing over 38 % in sulphur is transported direct for treatment, while that of lower grade 
 is concentrated locally to that percentage, and with the picked ore sent to works at Boston, Mass.. 
 U. S. A., where it is used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The copper is subsequently recov¬ 
 ered from the cinder by smelting. At another mine the ore is utilized in local works in the manu¬ 
 facture of sulphuric acid and chemical fertilizers, and the cinder also smelted locally into a matte 
 in a Herreschoff furnace. These mines represent ti e oldest established copper undertakings in 
 Canada, having been in operation for between 30 and 40 years, and continuously for over 20 years. 
 They have paid very handsome profits on the capital invested. The mines are opened by shafts, 
 while a method of mining is devised to suit the local requirements. In one of the mines a depth 
 of over 3,000 feet has been attained. Miners are paid from $ 1.50 to $ 1.75 per day. 
 
 ONTARIO. Quite the major proportion, considerably over 90%, of the copper produced in 
 Ontario is at present contributed by the nickel-copper mines of the Sudbury district; important 
 \occurrences of copper ores are, however, widely displayed through the district bordering the North 
 j^iore of Lake Huron, and also in the Parry Sound district. The Sudbury ores occur as pentlandite, 
 cll^loopyrite and pyrrhotite in large irregular deposits at the edge of a great body of norite intruding 
 preSCambrian sediments and igneous rocks. The mines are worked primarily for their nickel contents, 
 hence the copper production is regulated to a very considerable degree by nickel market require¬ 
 ments., The ore is first smelted to a 35 % matte, which by subsequent bessemerization is raised 
 to about 80 %. This product is then refined by a special process at works in the United States, 
 The average copper and nickel contents of the ore mined and smelted in 1908 was copper, 2.08 %. 
 and nickel, 2.65 %. In 1909, 462,336 tons of ore were smelted, from which 25,845 tons of Bessemer 
 matte was* produced, containing 7,873 tons of copper and 13,141 tons of nickel. 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. The copper mining industry of BritishColumbia, 1 while relatively still 
 lin its infancy, can show a record of progress and achievement comparable with that of any copper 
 Vroducing country in the world. Its inception dates from 1894, when the first shipments of gold- 
 i rapper ores were made from Rossland. The definition ‘‘gold-copper’’ is here advisedly used; since 
 Ve gold in the Rossland ores was from the first, and still is, the chief constituent of value. The 
 \st shipments, however, contained no less than 5.21 % copper, but this was by no means represen- 
 - \ive of the average of ore; the conditions at the time requiring that only exceptionally rich 
 Hected ore should be marketed. Following the development and operation of mines in the Rossland 
 Wict, the constructions of railways rendered available the immense copper resources of the 
 floVidary district, forty miles West of Rossland; while at the same time, copper mining began 
 to isume important proportions on Vancouver Island, the mainland coast districts and elsewhere, 
 ^uorecdntly new areas have been developed or are undergoing development in the islands belonging 
 10 Oujen, Charlotte Group, and again still further North in the Portland Canai district, bordering 
 Qn AViskU 
 
 \hei| are now established in British Columbia no less than seven large smelteries, one of 
 •which\ thJLat Grand Forks, is the largest in the British Empire, at which the gold-copper and 
 copper-goB/ores are treated. 
 
 The haracter of the principal deposits now importantly productive are: In the Boundary 
 district, Mignetite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in varying proportions, and small quantities of 
 pyrite and hematite, occurring in immense bodies, of the contact metamorphic type, within a 
 series of Palaeozoic sediments, and mainly confined to beds of limestone and tuff. The ores are 
 associated with secondary rock minerals (garnet, hornblende, calcite, quartz, etc.), and occur in 
 fissured zones, replacing^the country rock. As a rule the ore bodies have no well defined walls, 
 but gradually give way to country rock. 2 Mr. R. W. Brock, Director of the Geological Survey, 
 who has devoted special study to these and other copper deposits in British Columbia, states that 
 the minerals are not evenly distributed through the ore-bodies, but in the more typical mines 
 
 1 | Extract from chapter contributed by the writer to ,,Report on Mining and Metallurgical 
 Industries of Canada, 1907—8“, page 136, Mines Dept., Ottawa, Ont. 
 
 2 Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada, G. A. Young, page 133. 
 
 28 
 
the distribution of the various ore minerals, in bands or masses in which one or more of the minerals 
 largely predominates, gives rise to magnetic ore, and calcareous ore that are mixed in suitable 
 proportions to form a practically self-fluxing ore for smelting. A representative analysis would 
 be the following: 
 
 Si0 2 . 
 
 .33 % 
 
 Fe. 
 
 .13 % 
 
 Ca O. 
 
 .17 % 
 
 ai 2 0 3 . 
 
 . 8 % 
 
 Mg O . 
 
 . 3 % 
 
 The smelter returns on production made by the largest operating company in 1908 show the average 
 metallic values per ton of ore treated to have been: copper, 1.171 %; gold, 0.0503 oz., and silver, 
 0.2865 oz. per ton. As will be noted these values are unusually low to admit apparently of 
 profitable extraction; and, as a matter of fact, before it had been demonstrated that a mining 
 industry could be successfully established in the area, the field was condemned as unworkable 
 by many eminent engineers. Success has been achieved, however, as a result of careful and 
 capable management, and of peculiarly advantageous natural conditions, including the great 
 size of the ore bodies, permitting extensive mining operations to be economically conducted; the 
 solidity and firmness of the ground that renders the use of timbers largely unnecessary; the self- 
 fluxing character of the ore; cheap fuel; abundant electric power; plentiful water and timber; 
 dry mines; and an unsurpassed climate. In a large measure the mines are worked by either 
 open pits, known locally as »glory holes«, or by »rock pillars or stopes«. By the former 
 method a tunnel is driven under the ore, and raises provided with chutes made thence to the 
 surface. The raises are filled with ore, and the rock is blasted from around their collars, thus 
 forming funnel-shaped openings growing deeper and wider as operations proceed. Shovelling is 
 practically obviated by maintaining the stopes in the funnels at angles of 45 degrees. When the 
 second method referred to of rock pillars and stopes is employed, a series of two or more parallel 
 drifts are driven under the ore, and therefrom raises, provided at the bottom with steel-lined 
 chutes, are made at intervals of about 30 feet, and carried upward from level to level. The 
 whole width of the ore on each level is stoped, pillars, however, being left to ensure the support 
 of the roof. In one mine the practice is to withdraw all the ore from the stopes directly all the ore 
 above the first level is broken. Subsequently the pillars and roofs are robbed to the limit of 
 safety, and the level abandoned. The ore is crushed at the mines before delivery to the 
 smelters. At the smelters the ore is first reduced to a matte, and finally converted to blister 
 copper, which is moulded into bars ready for shipment. The costs of mining, smelting and marketing 
 are under $ 3.50 per ton of ore. 
 
 Miners in the Boundary district are paid at the following rates: 
 
 Shift boss (foreman). .$ 5.00 per 8 hours. 
 
 Blasters.$ 4.50 ,, 8 
 
 Machine men, timber men, etc.$ 4.00 ,, 8 ,, 
 
 Helpers, muckers, etc.$ 3.50 ,, 8 
 
 Engineers, blacksmiths, and other skilled artisans ... $ 4.40 ,, 8 ,, , 
 
 Labourers ..$ 3.30 ,, 8 ,, 
 
 The characteristic Rossland ores are chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite with some pyrite and 
 mispickel, occurring in fissure veins without any accompanying replacement of the country rock; 
 in zones of shearing as veinlets replacing the country rock; and in irregular impregnations of the 
 country rock. Mr. R. W. Brock publishes the following table of analyses, which may be regarded 
 as typical of the ores now being mined: 
 
 Au oz. . . 
 Ag oz. . . 
 Cu p. c. . 
 Fe p. jfc. ) 
 Si 0 9 p. c. 
 S. p. c. 
 
 Ca O p. c. 
 Al 2 0 3 p. c, 
 
 .4 to 1.18 
 .3 to 2.S18 
 .7 to <3.62 
 15.5 to 32. 
 
 37. to 43. 
 
 6.8 to 10.8 
 4.2 to 17.6 
 14.9 to 15. 
 
 The pay ore is commonly localized in shoots of from one foot to, in exceptional cases, 130 feet 
 wide; in length, from 50 to 500 or more feet, and of considerable vertical dimensions. Several of 
 the mines have been developed to great depths, in some cases attaining to 1,500 feet/<ff over. 
 
 p ' 
 
 29 
 
The costs of mining average about $ 4.00 per ton; but in addition large tonnages are available 
 for stoning, which may be mined and raised at a cost not exceeding $ 2.40 per ton. The ore is 
 smelted at local works, the practice being to produce a low grade copper matte, which after desul¬ 
 phurization in Heberlein pots, is raised in the blast furnace to 42 % copper, the metallurgical losses 
 
 An open pit in one of the large nickel mines. Sudbury District. 
 
 being exceptionally low. As a result of improved methods and the availability of cheap fuel, 
 smelting costs have been reduced from about $ 10.00 per ton in 1895 to about $ 3.00 or less at 
 the present time. 
 
 The relative productive importance of the several copper mining districts of British Columbia 
 is shown in the following table compiled from the more recently published official statements T 
 
 1 For a detailed account on this district see Report on the »Nicke and Copper Deposits of the 
 Spclbury'^ning Districts by A. E. Barlow, Gecl. Survey, Ottawa, 1904. 
 
* District 
 
 Yale (Boundary) . 
 Rossland .... 
 Coast & Cassiar . 
 Yale-Kamloops . . 
 
 Nelson. 
 
 Other Districts 
 
 1906 
 
 32,226,782 lbs 
 4,750,110 „ 
 5,431,269 „ 
 355,377 „ 
 
 216,034 „ 
 10,916 „ 
 
 1907 
 
 31,521,550 lbs 
 5,080,275 „ 
 3,757,967 „ 
 36,120 „ 
 434,222 „ 
 2,586 „ 
 
 1908 
 
 40,181,790 lbs 
 5,042,244 „ 
 1,997,337 „ 
 
 53,243 ” 
 
 85.0 % 
 10.7 % 
 4 . 2 % 
 
 1 O/ 
 
 1 /o 
 o/ 
 
 • /o 
 
 42,990,488 lbs 40,832,720 lbs 47,274,614 lbs 100.00% 
 
 The average assays of the copper ores of the various camps, based upon the copper recovered 
 were as follows: 
 
 Boundary.1.35 % 
 
 Coast .2.87 % 
 
 Rossland.0.834 %. 
 
 NICKEL. 
 
 The Sudbury district, Ontario, 1 is at present not only the chief source of Canada's but, 
 the world's supply of nickel. Under the heading of »copper«, a brief reference was made to the 
 mode of occurrence of these depoits. This information may now be supplemented by the statement 
 that the deposits, largely consisting of uyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, constitute part of the edge 
 of an eruptive sheet of norite, or gabbro-diorite, that has a length of thirty-six miles, a breadth 
 of sixteen miles, and an estimated thickness of a mile and a quarter. It rests in a synclinal basin 
 on upturned Huronian and Keewatin strata intruded by plutonic rocks. The occurrence has been 
 likened rather aptly to what may be observed to take place when molten slag ocols after pouring 
 
 at mine in Cobalt District. 
 
 into its receiving pot. The central portion of the igneous sheet is overspread by stratified 
 rocks, agglomerates, tuffs, shales and sandstones, while the orebearing norite outcrops as an 
 oval band of from about half a mile to rather over four miles in width. Around the inner 
 margin the rock is micropegmatite, gradually changing to norite, while about the outer 
 margin the ore bodies occur and also in offsets of the eruptive body. These ore bodies are 
 often of remarkable extent, one, for example, measuring at thesurface 150 feet by 200 feet, while 
 
 1 Minister of Mims, Report, British Columbia, 1908. 
 
 31 
 
it has been proved to continue to a depth oi at least 400 feet. In another mine, belonging to the 
 second class of deposits formed along offshoots from the main norite mass, the ore body has an 
 average width of from 50 to 90 feet, and has been followed to a depth of a thousand feet. Pyrrhotite 
 predominates in the ores, but the nickel is mainly, if not entirely, contained in the pentlandite. 
 Much of the ore is mined by open cut or quarrying methods, although underground systems are 
 also followed. The ore is first roasted for the elimination of sulphur, and then smelted to a 35 % 
 copper-nickel matte, which by subsequent bessemerization is raised to 80 %. The following analyses 
 of these mattes may be of interest: 
 
 
 
 rui 
 
 III. 
 
 IV 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Nickel. 
 
 39.96 
 
 40.93 
 
 31.35 
 
 1 
 
 41.18 
 
 39.64 
 
 48.82 
 
 Cobalt. 
 
 ■ • 
 
 
 -—- 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 Copper . 
 
 43.96 
 
 45.71 
 
 48.86 ! 
 
 44.87 
 
 42.75 
 
 25.92 
 
 Iron .. 
 
 0.30 
 
 0.40 
 
 0.81 
 
 10.94 
 
 1.03 
 
 2.94 
 
 Sulphur. 
 
 13.76 
 
 — 
 
 — ! 
 
 11.82 
 
 14.05 
 
 22.50 
 
 Gold. 
 
 0.1 to 0.2 oz — 
 
 — 
 
 0.30ozj 
 
 0.75oz 
 
 .000 075 
 
 Silver. 
 
 7 oz 
 
 ,— 
 
 — 
 
 5.10oz 
 
 5.30oz 
 
 .001 775 
 
 Platinum.. 
 
 0.25 oz 
 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 0.50oz| 
 
 0.000 430 
 
 Iridium. 
 
 —- 
 
 — .' 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 - 
 
 0.000 056 
 
 Osmium. 
 
 —■ 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 0.000.057 
 
 Rhodium. 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Trace 
 
 Palladium. 
 
 0.25 oz 
 
 1 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Trace 
 
 The final smelter product is sent, in the case of one company, to New Jersey, and in another 
 to Wales to be refined. 
 
 Nickel is also recovered in connection with the treatment of the silver-cobalt ores oi the 
 Cobalt district, the estimated jdeld from this source in 1909 being 766 tons, 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 Among the mineral industries of Canada silver mining from occupying a relatively unimpor¬ 
 tant place now ranks only setond to coal in point of annual output value. This has been brought 
 about within the last few years by the discovery and operation of phenomenally rich silver mines 
 within a small area, probably not exceeding ten square miles, in Northern Ontario; and whereas 
 prior to 1904 British Columbia annually contributed over 90 % of the silver won in the Dominion; 
 this position is now exactly reversed in favour of Ontario. 
 
 ONTARIO. The discovery of the Cobalt area, as before stated, was due to railway construction 
 operations in that region; and it is an interesting and remarkable co-incidence that the two most 
 important and at the same time unique mineral occurrences in Canada, namely those of Sudbury 
 and Cobalt, have been discovered under the same fortuitous circumstances. Although the first 
 claims were “located” in August, 1893, no production was made until the following year, and, 
 as a matter of fact, the mines did not become importantly productive, nor was the remarkable 
 richness of the region realized or recognized until the Spring of 1905, notwithstanding that 
 Dr. W. G. Miller, Provincial Geologist of Ontario, exhibited specimens of the ore at a meeting, 
 of the Canadian Mining Institute in 1904, and at the same time called attention to the notability 
 of the occurrences. Since 1905, however, very extraordinary progress has been made. In 1906 
 the increase in output was over 100 %; in 1907 a further increase of 100 % over 1906 was shown; 
 while again in 1909 the silver yield was twice that of 1907. Of the total production to date, valued 
 at $ 35,000,000., nearly one-half that amount represents the sum distributed in profits and 
 dividends. In 1909 twenty-eight mines w^ere productive, and of these fourteen paid dividends 
 amounting during the year to $ 6,150,000. 
 
 The Cobalt silver ores occur, in the Cobalt district proper, as native silver associated with 
 smaltite and nicolite, etc., in narrow veins of calcite in Huronian sediments and post-Huronian 
 diabase; and in the Montreal River district near by, as native silver and argentite w r ith hematite 
 and various sulphides in aplite dikes, also cutting Huronian sediments and post-Huronian diabase. 
 The veins commonly occupy nearly vertical fissures of often irregular course, splitting or dividing 
 into a series of stringers confined to a narrow zone. In many cases the veins are of considerable 
 horizontal extent, and have been traced for distances of over a thousand feet. Much of the ore 
 produced is astonishingly »high-grade«, carrying in some vfcins as high as four and five thousands 
 fc^nces of silver to the ton. Until within a year or so ago any ore beloA 50 oz. silver content 
 \y?> ^t^med valuelsess as being too »low-grade» to repay ^hipment. Sinck then, however, the 
 
low. grade ore has been subjected to concentration, there being now nine mills (maximum daily 
 output, 850 tons) in operation in the district, while others are in course of building. The con¬ 
 centration ratio in 1909 were 39 to 1 as compared with a ratio of 45 to 1 in 1908. Cyanidation is 
 also employed in some instances as an auxiliary process. The ore and concentrates are consigned 
 for treatment to reduction works in Canada, the United States, Germany, and England. The 
 bulk of the high grade product is, however, smelted in Canada. In general, the foreign smelters 
 
 A calcite vein in the Cobalt District, in which the silver commenly occurs. 
 
 pay for the silver contents (95 %) alone, while arsenic, in excess of 5 % is penalized. The treatment 
 charges'vary at different works, and according to the grade and character of the ore shipped, but 
 the following schedule of a works in Newark, N. J., U.S.A., may be quoted as affording some 
 general idea: 45 c for each % of arsenic in excess of 6 %, and 6 c for each % of insoluble in excess 
 of iron; Ores over 1000 ounces to 1500 ounces, pay for 93— y 2 % of the silver contents and a 
 smelting charge of $ 4.00 per ton of ore, with penalties as above; Ores above 1500 punces to 2000 
 ounces pay for 93— y 2 % of the silver contents, and a smelting charge of $ 20.00 per ton of ore, 
 with penalties as above; Ores over 2000 ounces silver per ton, pay for 93 - - % % of the silver contents, 
 and a smelting charge of $ 19.00 per ton of ore, with penalties as above. 
 
 The Canadian smelters allow 75 % of the value of the silver contents on ore under 200 oz.; 
 93 % on 100 oz. ore; 94— :1 / 2 % on 2000 oz. ore; and 94— % % on 3000 oz. ore. They also pay 
 for the cobalt content in excess of 6 %. 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. About 75% of the silver won in British Columbia is derived from the 
 mining of the argentiferous galena ores of the Slocan and Fort Steele deposits, described elsewhere 
 in this paper, while the remainder is recovered from the copper-gold and gold-copper ores of, respec¬ 
 tively, the Boundary and Rossland districts. In the Slocan districts the proportion of silver to 
 lead in the ores averages from 1 to 1.5 oz. of silver per unit of lead. In exceptional instances, 
 however, this ratio is as high as 10 to 1. 
 
 33 
 
LEAD. 
 
 Ores of lead occur in the Yukon Territory and in the Provinces of Quebec, Ontario and 
 British Columbia, but production since 1904 has been made from the latter Province exclusively; 
 at no time, however, has the output of lead from either Quebec or Ontario been considerable. 
 The main occurrences in South-Eastern British Columbia, whence production is at present derived, 
 are argentiferous galena with zinc-blende and pyrite as associate minerals, forming irregular 
 lenses in a fissured zone with pre-Cambrian quartzite; or argentiferous galena in association with 
 argentiferous tetrahedrite, native silver and gold, argentite, zinc blende, copper and iron pyrites, 
 in a gangue of quartz, siderite and calcite, in veins cutting sediments; or lastly, as galena, zinc blende, 
 pyrite and pyrrhotite, replacing crystalline limestone along a zone of shearing. The first mentioned 
 describes the occurrence at Moyie, in the East Kootenay division, the largest lead deposit yet 
 discovered in Canada, and the second largest, it is believed, in the North American Continent. 
 The ore bodies lie in a nearly vertical fissure zone, consisting of two main, nearly parallel fissures 
 connected by cross veins. The ore bodies are found along the courses of the main and cross veins, 
 especially at the junctions, and are of very considerable size. Thus the main veins average about 
 six feet in width, while the cross fissures, and the points of their junction with the main fissures, 
 are from thirty to fifty or more feet wide. In height some of the lense-like bodies attain to 150 feet, 
 while in one instance a drift was continued for a thousand feet in solid ore. Other lead mining 
 districts are those of the Lardeau, Ainsworth, Slocan and Nelson in the West Kootenay division, 
 and the Windermere and Fort Steele districts in the East Kootenay. Some production has also 
 been maintained from mines in the Boundary district. 
 
 In the Slocan district the deposits are almost exclusively confined to fissure veins found 
 in the slates, the pay ore being generally localized in chutes, and are frequently concentrated, 
 around inclusions of carbonaceous country rock, or along and occasionally in the wall-rock. The 
 deposits are divisible into two series, the dry ore or silicious veins, adjacent to and occasionally 
 penetrating the granites, and the lead ore veins in the slates. There is no clearly marked or definite 
 order of mineral succession in these veins, but galena occurs in the outcrops of nearly all the pay 
 veins, and is also found in quantity at depth. It appears to favour the hanging wall of the veins, 
 and is generally more abundant in the first 300 feet than at greater depth. In the pay veins silver 
 ores are associated with galena, some copper mineral and zinc blende, in a highly 
 quartzose gangue. 
 
 The Ainsworth deposits occur in limestones; in Windermere district carbonate of lead occurs, 
 as also near Salmo, in the Nelson district. In the Lardeau district the ore occurs in veins cutting 
 carbonaceous slate and schist. 
 
 Lead mining has been conducted in British Columbia since 1887, a maximum production 
 being reached in 1904, since when, conditions — in consequence of restrictive duties imposed on 
 Canadian lead entering the United States, at one time the principal market — have been less 
 favourable. Subsequently the Dominion Government came to the assistance of the industry by 
 subsidizing the production of lead in ores. This, together with an improvement in methods and 
 reduction of costs of freight and treatment, has had a stimulating effect, although the heavy output 
 of 1904—5 has not since been equalled. 
 
 The majority of the lead mines being situated on precipitious slopes, entry is usually made 
 by adit tunnels. Much of the ore is concentrated, while both concentrates and lump ore are 
 smelted in local smelteries. Freight and treatment costs on Slocan (wet) ores are approximately 
 $ 10.00 per ton for 70 % lead ore; while the maximum charge is $ 13.00 on a basis of 10 c per unit 
 of lead below 70 %. Ores containing an excess of zinc over 10 % are penalized. 90 % of the lead 
 in the ore is paid for. 
 
 Milling costs range from 40 c to 70 c per ton; and of mining from $ 2.00 to $ 2.50 per ton. 
 Miners are paid from $ 3.25 to $ 3.50 per day of eight hours; shovellers, $ 3.00; blacksmiths, 
 $ 4.00; mill-foremen, $ 4.50; jig-men and table-men, $ 3.50; engineers, $ 3.75; helpers, $ 3.00 
 The high grade character of the argentiferous galenas of the Slocan district is signified by the 
 statement that the average production represents, silver, 90 oz. per ton, lead, 40 %, and zinc, 
 9.8 %. Much of the lead produced in British Columbia is refined electrolytically at Trail. This 
 refinery has a capacity, that, however, is now being increased, of from about 80 tons of refined 
 lead (99.99 pure) per day. A considerable proportion of the refined product is consumed in Canada, 
 where it is used in the manufacture of white lead, the balance being marketed in the Orient, and 
 elsewhere. Lead pipe is also manufactured at Trail. 
 
The relative productivity of the respective districts is shown in the following table: 1 
 
 Fort Steele M.D. produced 
 
 . 30,204,788 lbs. 
 
 Lead = 69.90% of total 
 
 Slocan 
 
 .... 6,572,268 ,, 
 
 „ = 15-20% „ „ 
 
 Ainsworth ,, 
 
 . 4,790,216 „ 
 
 „ = 11 . 10 % „ „ 
 
 Trout Lake 
 
 . 873,860 „ 
 
 „ = 2.10% „ „ 
 
 Nelson 
 
 . 345,424 „ 
 
 „ = 0.80% „ ,. 
 
 All others 
 
 .... 409,177 ,, 
 
 ,, = 0.90% „ „ 
 
 
 43,195,733 
 
 100.00 
 
 ZINC. 
 
 Heretofore the production of zinc in Canada has been relatively inconsiderable. This is in 
 part due to unfavourable treatment and market conditions. Until 1905 concentrates were marketed 
 in the United States, and, as >>calamine<< were admitted free of duty. In the following year, 
 however, it was proclaimed that »calamine« as specified in the tariff had reference only to the 
 hydrous silicate of zinc, and that sulphide and carbonate ores were subject to a duty charge of 
 20 %, ad valorem in consequence of this decision production for the American market ceased to 
 be profitable, and in 1906 practically no output was made 1 2 . Since then, however, an endeavour 
 
 Open cut at iron mine, Moose Mountain, Ontario. 
 
 has been made to revivify the industry, the future prospects of which are largely dependent on 
 the cheap local production of spelter. To this end electro-metallurgical 'experiments have been 
 conducted for some time past at Nelson, British Columbia, and recently a grant was made by the 
 Dominion Government for the furtherance of this aim. Zinc is found in three Provinces, but has 
 only-been mined to any extent in British Columbia, where it usually occurs with the argentiferous 
 galenas of West and East Kootenay. In the Slocan district the average zinc tenour of the ores 
 is about 9.8 %; in the Ainsworth district probably 15 %; while some of the East Kootenay ores 
 will vary from 4 % to 20 %. At a number of the silver-lead mines the concentrating mills have 
 been remodelled for zinc recovery, while the ores are also enriched by magnetic separation to the 
 market requirement of 45 % to 50 % metal. 
 
 1 Report, Minister of Mines, British Columbia, 1908. 
 
 2 It is stated that the United States Treasury Board has since ruled that zinc ores may be 
 admitted into that country free of duty. Minister of Mines Report, B. C., 1908, page 24. 
 
 35 
 
IRON. 
 
 Iron mining is at present of industrial importance in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec 
 and Ontario only. A considerable expansion of the industry may, however, be expected in the 
 near future, since the development and utilization of important resources both in the Province 
 of New Brunswick and in the Province of British Columbia are now in progress. 
 
 N 0 V A SCOTIA — Numerous deposits of iron ore occur in Nova Scotia, but mining to any 
 extent is only carried on in the Nictaux, Torbrook and Londonderry districts. At the former 
 the ore occurs, sometimes five to ten feet wide, in rocks of upper Silurian or lower Devonian 
 age; while at Londonderry a zone of fissuring, often a hundred or more feet wide, is occupied by a 
 complicated system of veins of Ankerite, Siderite, etc., Magnetite, Hematite and Limonite being 
 also frequently abundant. An analysis, said to be representative, shows: metallic iron, 51 %; 
 silica, 13.50 % phosphorus, 1.15 %; sulphur, 0.02 %. The production of iron from Nova Scotia 
 in 1909 was 12,000 tons only. 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK AND QUEBEC. — In New Brunswick a notable discovery of hematite 
 is being developed near Bathurst. The ore body, which outcrops over a length of nearly two miles, 
 shows a width, where exposed, of from 30 to 40 feet. In Quebec bog iron ores are at present alone 
 utilized. It is estimated, however, that on the north shore of the St. Lawrence are deposited some 
 twenty-five million tons of high grade titaniferous magnetite iron sands, which, if suitable processes 
 be devised for briquetting the sands and eliminating the titanim, might be turned to very profitable 
 account. 
 
 The distribution of iron ores in Ontario is very wide, there being no less than fifty-one locali¬ 
 ties in which deposits are known to occur. Heretofore hematite has been chiefly mined, but since 
 the development of an important magnetite deposit near Sudbury, the production of magnetite 
 has shown a considerable increase. The principal deposits now being mined are the magnetites 
 of the Moose Mountain Range near Sudbury; the hematite-limonite deposits of the Helen formation, 
 in the Michipicoten district; and the magnetite deposits of Eastern Ontario 1 . 
 
 Another important occurrence, the magnetite deposits at Atikokan, should also be classed 
 among those producing iron, since operations have been only temporarily suspended. 
 
 The Helen mine formation 2 has a total length of one and three-quarter miles, and is over 
 nine hundred feet wide, consisting chiefly of ferriginous and banded cherts and cherty siderites 
 containing the iron ores proper, hematite and limonite, and also pyrite. The total thickness of 
 the deposit is 288 feet. The first grade ore, a hard compact red hematite, yields 60 % and over 
 metallic iron; the second, porous but hard brown limonite, 57 % to 58 % iron; and the third, soft 
 brown limonite, 53 % to 54 % iron. An analysis of the ore, representative of the stock piles at 
 blast furnaces, gave the following returns: 
 
 Fe. 
 
 .57.10 
 
 Si 0 2 . 
 
 . 5.27 
 
 A1 2 0 3 . 
 
 . 1.04 
 
 P . 
 
 . 1.128 
 
 Mn . 
 
 . 0.038 
 
 CaO . 
 
 . 0.20 
 
 MgO. 
 
 . 0.10 
 
 S . 
 
 . 0.053 
 
 Moisture . 
 
 . 3.44 
 
 In the Moose Mountain formation two deposits have been found, one of which is approximately 
 500 feet long and 150 feet wide, and the other, consisting of »lean« ore, has been traced for over 
 two miles, and is 40 feet wide. An analysis of the ore from the first mentioned deposits is: 
 
 Fe . 
 Si0 2 , 
 
 ai 2 o 3 
 
 p .. 
 Mn . 
 CaO 
 MgO 
 S .. 
 
 55.50 
 
 13.29 
 
 1.21 
 
 0.10 
 
 0.02 
 
 3.60 
 
 3.15 
 
 0.011 
 
 1 A. B. Willmott, »The Iron Ores of Ontario«, Journal of Canadian Mining Institute, Vol. XI 
 page 106. 
 
 2 A. P. Coleman and A. B. Willmott, »The Michigan Iron Region«, Ontario Bureau of Mines 
 Report. Vol. II, 1902, page 152 et seg. 
 
 36 
 
The Eastern Ontario 1 “shipping” ores yield analysis from 48% to 55% metallic iron, with 
 phosphorous, 0.019 % to 0.022 %, and sulphur, 0.04 % to 0.06 %. 
 
 Recently much attention has been devoted by the Ontario Government Bureau of Mines 
 to the problem of the profitable magnetic concentration of ores occurring in considerable quantity 
 in the Province, the character of which, however, renders them unsuitable for utilization without 
 special treatment for the elimination of deleterious mineral associations. Results of experiments 
 in this direction are published in a Report made by Mr. G. C. Mackenzie, a member of the staff 
 of the Ont .rio Bureau of Mines in 1908. 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. — Large bodies of iron ore, both hematite and magnetite, occur in 
 British Columbia, the principal deposit at all developed in the Interior region, being that at Kitchener, 
 some twenty miles East of Kootenay Lake. : The ores here, chiefly hematite, are very pure, 
 occurring in deposits of from 5 to 20 feet wide parallel to one another, and outcrop at intervals 
 for several miles. Other large deposits of magnetite are found at several localities on the West 
 and North-West Coast of Vancouver Island; while some production of iron ore has been made 
 from Texada Island, where deposits, either lense-shaped masses, or long vein-like bodies, usually 
 occur along the contact of limestone with granite or porphyrites. The ore is a coarse, crystalline, 
 magnetite, the ore marketed analysising Fe 64 % to 68 %; S 0.05 to 0.29 %; P trace to 0.2%. 
 Arrangements are now being made, it is reported, to establish at Vancouver iron and steel works 
 for the utilization of coast ores, which heretofore have been marketed in the United States. 
 
 Labour. — In Nova Scotia, the average pay of miners working in the iron mines is $ 1 .62. 
 for nine hours; in Ontario, miners, wages range from $ 2.00 to $ 3.50 per day of ten hours. 
 
 IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRIES. 
 
 The iron and steel industries of the Dominion are yet, to use a trite phrase, “in their infancy",, 
 yet the standard practice is very high and the works as established are most efficiently equipped.. 
 The most important undertaking in Nova Scotia, that of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company, 
 was established at Sydney less than ten years ago. The plant now includes four 250-ton blast 
 furnaces, ten 50-ton open hearth furnaces, a blooming mill and pit furnaces, rail rod mills of the 
 continuous type and of large capacity, and a continuous billet mill. A second important under¬ 
 taking is that of the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company, with works at North Sydney and 
 Trenton; at Trenton, the plant is equipped for the production of steel billets, bars, plates, and 
 car axles. The ore utilized in both works is obtained from extensive deposits of high quality hematite 
 at Wabana, Newfoundland, averaging over 55 % metallic iron, with a phosphorous content of 
 1.01 % and sulphur, a trace only. The average rate of wages paid is $ 1.90 per day to men em¬ 
 ployed at the steel works. 
 
 The third and oldest established works are those at Londonderry, producing high grade 
 foundry iron from native ores. In Ontario the largest individual plant is that operated by the , 
 Algoma Steel Company, Limited, at Sault Ste. Marie. The equipment here includes two acid, 
 bessemer converters, two basic open-hearth furnaces and a rail mill having a capacity of 225,000 tons 
 annuall}. 
 
 Other iron and steel works in the Province are those at Hamilton, Midland, Deseronto/Port 
 Arthur and Welland. The manufacture of ferro-silicon is also undertaken at Welland, where four 
 electric furnaces of the Heroult type, each of 1,000 to 1,500 h. p., are established. The production, 
 is from five to eight tons of ferro-silicon daily, an analysis of which is: 
 
 Silicon.55.000 % 
 
 Iron .43.000 % 
 
 Carbon. 0.160 % 
 
 Sulphur. 0.040 % 
 
 Phosphorous. 0.036 % 
 
 For some years past the Dominion Government has assisted the iron and steel industries, 
 of the country by a system of bonusing the production of pig iron, manufactured iron, and steel. 
 During the present year (1910) bounties will be paid as follows: 
 
 a) In respect of pig iron manufactured from ore, on the proportion from Canadian ore produced 
 during the Calendar year, ninety cents per ton; 
 
 b) In respect of pig iron manufactured from ore, on the proportion from foreign ore produced, 
 during the Calendar year, forty cents per ton; 
 
 c) On puddled iron bars, sixty cents per ton;/ 
 
 1 Report, Ontario Bureau of Mines, Vol. XVII, (1908) page 190 et seg. 
 
 37 
 
d) On wire rods not over three-eighths of an inch in diameter, manufactured from steel produced 
 in Canada from ingredients of which not less then 50 % of the weight thereof consists of pig 
 iron made in Canada and sold to Canadian consumers, six dollars per ton; 
 
 f) In respect of steel manufactured from ingredients of which not less than 50 % of the weight 
 thereof consists of pig iron made in Canada, sixty cents per ton. 
 
 Bounties on the production of iron and steel by the electro-thermic process are also offered, 
 as follows: 
 
 a) On pig iron manufactured from Canadian ore by the process of electric smelting: — 
 
 1910 $ 2.10 per ton. 
 
 1911 $ 1.70 ,. „ 
 
 1912 $ 0.90 „ „ 
 
 b) On steel manufactured by electric process direct from Canadian ore, and on steel manufactured 
 by electric process from pig iron smelted in Canada bv electricity from Canadian ore: — 
 
 1910 $ 1.65 per ton. 
 
 1911 $ 1.05 „ ., 
 
 1912 $ 0.65 „ „ 
 
 The increase in the production of pig iron in 1909 as compared with the returns for the 
 corresponding twelve months in 1908 was 20 %; w’hile an equally large increase was shown in 
 steel production. By Provinces, the pig iron production w^as as follow’s: 
 
 1909. 
 
 Province tons value per ton. 
 
 © 
 
 Nova Scotia. 345,380 3,453,800 10.00 
 
 Quebec. 4,770 125,623 26.34 
 
 Ontario. 407,012 6,002,441 14.75 
 
 total . . . . . 757,162 9,581,864 12TkT 
 
 A classification of the product indicates that 222,931 tons represented Bessemer; 400,921 tons, 
 basic, and 116,307, foundry and miscellaneous. The amount of Canadian ore used during 1909 
 was 231,994 tons, imported ore, 1,234,990 tons, mill cinder, etc., 25,508 tons. In connection with 
 blast furnace operations there were employed 1,486 men and $ 879,426 were paid in wages. In 
 all, eleven furnaces were in blast. Steel production returns during the year is detailed as having 
 been : 
 
 
 tons 
 
 value 
 
 Ingots-Open hearth (basic) . . . 
 
 . . . 535,988 
 
 $ 
 
 9,372,615 
 
 Bessemer (acid). 
 
 . . . 203,715 
 
 3,829,012 
 
 Castings-Open hearth. 
 
 . . . 14,013 
 
 1,043,370 
 
 Other steels. 
 
 . . . 1,003 
 
 114,713 
 
 total. 754,719 14,359,710 
 
 Eight steel plates were in operation, employing 2,073 men, whose wages aggregated $ 1,284,940. 
 The Government bounties paid in 1909 amounted to $ 640,108 on pig iron; $ 766,470 on steel 
 ingots and $ 488,432 on steel wire rods, or a total not far short of two million dollars. 
 
 ASBESTOS . 
 
 i* Asbestos, of the crysotile variety, occurs in several localities in the Province of Quebec, 
 but production representing Canada’s total asbestos output is exclusively derived from mines 
 operating in three centres of a relatively small area in the Eastern Townships. These centres are 
 known as, respectively, ’the Thetford-Black Lake District; the Danville district, 45 miles to the 
 South-West; and the East Broughton district, 25 miles to the North-West. The mineral is found 
 in gash veins in the serpentine rocks that form part of a belt or series parallelling the Atlantic 
 Coast from Georgia to Newfoundland. In the Province of Quebec the belts are nearly continuous 
 from the international boundary line to Thetford, a distance of 150 miles. The serpentine with 
 which the asbestos is associated is derived from the alteration of peridotites, and is principally of 
 middle Palaeozoic age. The veins rarely exceed three inches in width or two hundred feet in length, 
 while the majority are less than three-quarters of an inch wide and but a few feet in length. They 
 
 1 J. A. Dresser, Journal of Canadian Mining Inst. Vol. XII, 1909, page 168. 
 
 38 
 
are, however, very numerous, and in one locality as many as seventy veins have been found 
 within a radius of only two feet. The larger veins (those belonging to the horizontal series being 
 occasionally over two inches wide and from 100 to 200 feet in length) occur in the joint planes 
 of the original rock; others in fractures produced by regional metamorphism, and again in crevises. 
 Mr. J. A. Dresser, of the Geological Survey of Canada, remarking on the distribution of the 
 asbestos-bearing portions of the serpentine belt, expresses the opinion that while the productive 
 areas are relatively small, yet they nevertheless foim asbestos deposits that are practically 
 inexhaustible. By far the greater proportion of what is known as No. 1 or long fibred asbestos 
 is the product of three mines in the Thetford district; while the output of the Black Lake, Danville 
 and East Broughton mines is milled, the veins in these areas producing a fine, short fibre that 
 is eminently suitable to the purpose. Mining is conducted by open-cuts or quarrying methods,. 
 
 The Thetford Asbestos District. The Photograph shows the developement of 
 
 large veins of asbestos. 
 
 although at one of the larger mines underground operations have also been successfully initiated. 
 The broken rock is picked over in the pits, the milling material being sorted out by hand, hoisted 
 by means of boom and cable derricks, and conveyed to the mills, where it is subjected to a special 
 process of crushing and fiberizing. The mechanical treatment of the lower grade products was 
 not introduced before the year 1892, prior to which time only “crude" was produced. Its intro¬ 
 duction consequently revolutionized the industry, which has been further stimulated in recent 
 years by the enormously increased demand, and the many new uses to which asbestos is applied. 
 As an indication of recent progress it may be stated that in 1909 no less than eigth or ten new 
 mills were either erected or in course of construction, while also large works for the local manu¬ 
 facture of hsbestos, including slates, board, paper, cloth, etc., were established near Montreal. 
 
 The present price of asbestos is approximately as follows: 
 
 $ $ 
 
 No. 1 Crude . . 
 No. 2 Crude . . 
 No. 1 Fibre . . 
 No. 2 and 3 Fibre, 
 
 250 to 
 
 300 per ton 
 
 120 „ 
 
 150 „ „ 
 
 45 ,, 
 
 J70 „ „ 
 
 18 „ 
 
 40 „ „ 
 
 Labour is comparatively cheap. Foremen are paid at the rate of $ 2.00 for a 10— y 2 hour 
 day; drillmen, $ 1.90 to $ 2.00; helpers and labourers, $ 1.75, and boys 60 t to $ 1.00. 
 
 39 
 
A quarry at an Asbestos mine, Thetford District, Quebec. 
 
 CORUNDUM. 
 
 Although relatively regarded the corundum industry is a minor one, yet the iact that 
 Canada supplies the major part of the world’s consumption, is sufficient to justify some remark 
 on the occurrence of the mineral in this country. Corundum was discovered some fourteen years 
 'ago in Ontario, and since then corundiferous rocks have been found to occur at intervals along 
 a belt extending some seventy-five miles through three countries in Ontario, those of Haliburton 
 Hastings and Renfrew, into the Province of Quebec. The Canadian deposits are noteworthy 
 not Only by reason of the great area covered by the corundum-bearing rocks, but also as regards 
 the relative richness of individual occurrences, as well as on account of the purity and unaltered 
 character of the material recovered. The mineral, in general, is associated with various types 
 of alkali syenites, nepheline syenites, corundum syenites, anorthosites etc., its frequent occurrence, 
 and, all times the abundance of corundum in the nepheline syenites being of special interest 
 to geologists' since, so far as is known, this is unique. In age the corundum rocks doubtless belong 
 to the Archaean, although they are intrusive into the granite and diorite gneisses, classified 
 generally as Laurentian. 
 
 Mining is carried on by means of open-cuts, and the material after hand sorting is then 
 concentrated to a 50 % to a 60 % product, and by further treatment, including magnetic 
 separation and re-concentration, is raised to marketable grades of purity and fineness. 
 
 OTHER MINERALS. 
 
 Space limitations preclude any more than the merest passing reference to those several 
 Canadian mining industries that, though at present of but secondary importance, are likely in 
 the near future to come into greater prominence. These industries among others include 
 antimony, arsenic, cobalt, chromite, graphite, gypsum, mica, natural gas, petroleum and platinum 
 production. 
 
 40 
 
Antimony occurs in nearly vertical veins of auriferous stibnite, in the gold-bearing series 
 in Hants County, Nova Scotia. Some of these veins have been traced for at least 1,200 feet on the 
 surface, and have been developed vertically to a depth of 500 feet; the width varying from a few 
 inches to as much as seven feet. Values as high as 60 % antimony and over 2—% oz. gold have 
 been obtained; but an average sampling would probably yield about 15 % antimony and from 
 an ounce and a half to two ounces gold. The mines have been intermittently worked since 1880. 
 Native antimony and stibnite also occurs in the Province of New Brunswick, in British Columbia, 
 and in the Yukon Territory. 
 
 A few years ago the only arsenic works in North America were these in North Hastings, 
 Ontario. At present three concerns in Canada are engaged in making white arsenic, the production 
 in 1909 being 2,258,187 pounds; while in addition 1,074,511 pounds of arsenic were exported in the 
 form of speiss. The arsenic is derived almost entirely as a by-product from the treatment of the 
 cobalt-nickel arsenide ores of the Cobalt district, although a percentage is obtained from mispickel 
 ores mined in Eastern Ontario. 
 
 As a result, also, of the operation of the Cobalt district mines, the Canadian production of 
 cobalt oxide is far in excess of the world’s consumption, and in consequence since 1907 the price 
 has declined from $ 2.50 per pound to between 80 cts. and 85 cts. per pound. 
 
 Chromic iron occurs very generally and occasionally in large bodies in the peridotite and the 
 serpentine rocks in the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec, but production is at present 
 confined to one county. The Canadian production represents about 10 % of the world’s con¬ 
 sumption. The crude ore containing 40 % and over chromic oxide is directly marketed, but if 
 below that grade is concentrated. The first class crude ores or concentrates rarely exceed 55 % 
 chromite. 
 
 Extensive deposits of graphite are found in numerous localities in the Provinces of Quebec 
 and Ontario, within the region occupied by rocks belonging to what is termed the Hastings- 
 Grenville series. There are three general modes of occurrence, the first, and, economically considered, 
 the most important, when the mineral is found in small scaley particles disseminated through 
 bands or beds (varying in thickness from one to thirty feet or more), of gneiss, quartzite, etc.; 
 a second class of deposit in which the graphite occurs in a fibrous or laminated form in narrow 
 veins in igneous rocks; and a third class, in which the graphite is contained in numerous small 
 vein-like or lenticular masses in crystalline limestone. In the first class of deposit the percentage 
 of minerals in the graphite-bearing rocks is frequently from ten to fifteen, while in some beds 
 thirty to forty per cent, graphite is encountered. The ore is mined, as a rule, by quarrying methods, 
 a marketable product being obtained by concentration. Both the dry and wet processes have 
 been employed, but the latter appears to have afforded the more satisfactory results. 
 
 Gypsum has a wide geological and geographical distribution in Canada. The largest 
 production is, however, now obtained from beds, associated with the lower carboniferous lime¬ 
 stones, in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In some localities in these Provinces the deposits, 
 are very extensive, forming beds 200 feet or more in thickness. Other large deposits, in the sail/ 
 bearing Salina formation of upper Silurian age, in Ontario; and in formations of Devonian ^ge, 
 in Manitoba, are also worked. The material in the crude state is for the most part marketed in 
 the United States. The costs of production in Nova Scotia is reported to be forty-two cents 
 per ton. 
 
 Workable deposits of mica in the three varieties, muscovite, phlogopite, and biotite, occur 
 in sections of Eastern Ontario and the neighbouring districts in Quebec, and especially in the 
 Ottawa region. The muscovite variety occurs entirely in pegmatite dikes, either in isolated cry¬ 
 stals, sometimes of unusually large dimensions, or in accumulations near the walls of the dikes. 
 The phlogopite variety is, however, chiefly produced. It is commonly accompanied by apatite 
 and lies in vein-like bodies parallelling the plane of foliation of the surrounding gneissic rocks, 
 or cutting these planes traversely. A large market for the product is the United States, notwith¬ 
 standing the heavy customs impost of 6 c per pound on crude and 12 c per pound on cut mica, 
 together with 20% ad valorem. Mica also occurs in British Columbia, but production heretofore 
 has been of a merely tentative character. It is interesting, however, to note that Canada is one 
 of the three countries of the world in which mica deposits of economic importance are found. 
 
 Natural gas is the basis of important industries in the province of Ontario, production, 
 which is steadily increasing, having been valued at $1,188,000. in 1909. The industry is confined 
 to a region in South-Western Ontario, the gas horizons being in the Clinton, Medina, and Trenton 
 formations. One group of fourteen wells drilled to depths of about 3,000 feet yield regularly 
 about 30,000,000 cubic feet of gas per day, while some individual wells have yielded as high as 
 
 41 
 
1,000,000 cubic feet of gas per day. In the Province of Alberta natural gas has been found along 
 the Athabaska River in the North, and near Medicine Hat, on the main line of the Canadian Pacific 
 Railway, in the South. In the latter locality gas was encountered in an upper horizon at a depth 
 of 700 feet, but the majority of the wells have been drilled to a depth of about a thousand feet. 
 The gas is found in sandstone beds intercalated with Niobrara shales. From one well the yield 
 is about 1,500,00 cubic feet per day, the gas when tubed and closed in registered a rock pressure 
 of nearly 600 lbs. 
 
 The chief Canadian oil fields at present productive are those of South-Western Ontario, in 
 the margin between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. This region is underlain by rocks of Devonian 
 age, the petroleum being largely obtained from horizons in the corniferous at depths varying from 
 450 feet to over a thousand feet. 
 
 The actual mining of' platinum is restricted to one district, that of the Tulameen River in 
 British Columbia, where the metal is won from alluvial deposits by ordinary placer mining me¬ 
 thods. In Ontario, a small quantity of platinum is annually recovered in connection with the 
 mining and treatment of the Sudbury nickel-copper ores, with which is associated, to, however 
 a very minor degree, the platinum mineral sperrylite. 
 
 Among other industries in which great progress is now being made, the manufacture of 
 Poitland cement is worthy of special mention. In 1909, production represented an increase 
 of 17% ; while the present rapid industrial development of Canada is indirectly indicated by the 
 fact that the sales during that year of this material, so largely used for structural purposes, 
 represented an increase of 50% over the corresponding period of 1908. This is also evidenced 
 in the considerable increased production of structural material and clay products in general. 
 
 UNDEVELOPED MINERAL RESOURCES. 
 
 In approaching this subject it is merely proposed to broadly generalize on the basis of as¬ 
 certained facts, or rather to draw deductions from facts obtainable from official sources. This 
 restriction, however, necessarily limits consideration of the question to that of the undeveloped 
 resources of those areas in Canada — a relatively small portion of the whole — officially in¬ 
 vestigated. 
 
 Referring first to fuel reserves, an approximate idea of the available tonnage of easily mine¬ 
 able coal in seams over four feet (1.2 meters) in thickness in accessible areas is afforded in the 
 following table, kindly prepared for the writer by Mr. D. B. Dowling, of the Geological Survey 
 of Canada. 
 
 Estimate of Readily Available Coal. (In millions of tons of 2000 lbs.) 
 
 Area 
 
 Sq. Miles area 
 
 Anthracite 
 
 Bituminous 
 
 Lignite. 
 
 British Columbia 
 
 . . . 1.123 
 
 20 
 
 38.642 
 
 314 
 
 v Yukon. 
 
 ... 400 
 
 9 
 
 32 
 
 850 
 
 \ Mackenzie. 
 
 ... 200 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 500 
 
 Alberta. 
 
 . . . 19,582 
 
 400 
 
 44,530 
 
 60,002 
 
 Saskatchewan . . . 
 
 . . . 7,500 
 
 — - 
 
 — 
 
 20,000 
 
 Manitoba. 
 
 ... 48 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 230 
 
 Ontario. 
 
 ... 10 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 25 
 
 New Brunswick . . 
 
 ... 113 
 
 .— 
 
 155 
 
 — 
 
 Nova Scotia .... 
 
 ... 992 
 
 — 
 
 6,250 
 
 • - — 
 
 Total, 172,059 million tons. 
 
 29,967 
 
 429 
 
 89,609 
 
 82,021 
 
 This is probably a very conservative estimate, since according to another authority, Mr. 
 James McEvoy the Coal reserves of the Crow’s Nest Pass area, in British Columbia, alone re¬ 
 present 22,595,000,000 tons; while in the Lethbridge area coal has been exposed over an area 
 sixty miles long by a mile wide; and throughout the West and North-West new coal fields are 
 being constantly discovered. In Nova Scotia the Pictou measures are the thickest in the World, 
 while the Sydney field, it is estimated, contains 1,000,000,000 tons of coal. A practically un¬ 
 developed field is that of New Brunswick, where there are very extensive coal areas, which in due 
 course should become importantly productive. The coal here occurs near the surface in 
 comparatively thin seams, the supply, it is computed, representing 150,000,000 tons of coal. 
 The coal reserves of Manitoba likewise have not been attacked. While no coal is found in 
 the Central Provinces, Ontario is known to possess workable peat beds spread over an area 
 
 42 
 
of 10,450 square miles. It is merely a question of time before the problem of the utilization 
 of these resources shall have been solved. 
 
 As already shown, relatively little has as yet been attempted in the direction of the deve¬ 
 lopment of an iron industry in Canada. In the Province of Nova Scotia, iron ore is very widely 
 distributed. While it is questionable whether a local industry is capable of ever competing very 
 extensively with the American and Ontario producers in their own field 1 yet there is a fair possi¬ 
 bility of maintaining a production sufficient to satisfy future Eastern Canadian market requi¬ 
 rements. The authority cited adds: “Every ton of iron or steel that can be made from native 
 ores at a cost to meet the existing conditions of trade can be sold. Whether or not iron and steel 
 can be made from native ores for export, there certaintly will be room in the near future for all 
 the metal that can be produced for manufacturing purposes in Eastern Canada, and especially 
 in the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick”. In the latter Province iron occurrences 
 are also common over a wide area; and to emphasise this statement it is only necessary to refer 
 to one deposit, that at Bathurst, the discovery and development of which is of very recent date, 
 where, according to the measurement of a well known consulting engineer 2 , the available ore 
 carrying over 50% metallic iron in the three principal ore-bearing areas aggregates twenty million 
 tons. Again, farther north, Dr. A. P. Low, Deputy Minister of Mines of the Federal Department, has 
 reported the occurrence of enormous deposits of high grade iron ore in Labrador; while in the Province 
 of Quebec, much iron ore, including a vast quantity of magnetic sands, is available for utilization. 
 Possibly, however, the most promising field with regard to immediate possibilities, is that of Ontario. 
 Even the immense resources of the Lake Superior iron ranges in the United States’ territory are 
 not inexhaustible, and on the basis of present production, depletion, it is estimated, is only a matter 
 of fifty years. Already indications of this are manifested in the lower standard of the iron produced. 
 Hence attention may be the sooner directed to the development of Canadian resources. Mean¬ 
 while, it may be pointed out that the rock formations in Northern Ontario are identical with those 
 found throughout the iron ranges of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and they also contain the 
 iron series in many cases identical with those associated with the ore bodies of the American ranges. 
 Thus, Mr. G. C. Mackenzie 3 states that »banded jaspers, magnetites and hematites occur for many 
 hundreds of miles throughout Northern Ontario, and when thoroughly and intelligently prospected 
 will, no doubt, afford many valuable ore bodies. American ironmasters have spent more money 
 in the exploration of one range alone than has been expended in exploring the whole of Northern 
 Ontario«. 
 
 Electric smelting, the costs of which will, doubtless ere long, be reduced to a point where 
 pig iron by this process may be produced in successful competition with blast-furnace products, 
 promises meanwhile to become an important contributory factor in the utilization of Ontario iron 
 resources. 
 
 In respect of the British Columbia 4 iron deposits, now practically undeveloped, it is important 
 to realize that these are the only known occurrences of iron ore in quantity on the North Pacific 
 Coast, and very little, if any, pig iron is produced in the United States, West of the Rocky Mountains. 
 Consequently a British Columbia industry would have, in addition to a local market, markets in 
 the Western United States, as well as possibly elsewhere. Some years ago the writer in an article 5 
 on »The Iron Ores of British Columbian wrote: »It is not too much to say that British Columbia 
 possesses enormous potential resources in her iron deposits, but these resources must wait on the 
 commercial development of those industries that stimulate a demand for iron. Sooner or later 
 the political reasons which led to the construction of United States battle-ships on the Pacific Coast, 
 for which,British Columbia iron was partially utilized,will give place to commercial reasons connected 
 with the development of trade on the Pacific necessitating the building of a large mercantile marine. 
 
 Sooner or later manufacturing industries with their constant demand for the iron which 
 is their base will be brought into being to supply the ever increasing market of the Orient. When 
 these things happen, British Columbia with its abundant coal and lumber in direct connection with 
 its iron, must become the seat of a great iron industry«. Already these developments are being 
 witnessed. Within the next year or two iron and steel works are likely to be established on the 
 British Pacific Coast, and a beginning will have been made in the exploitation of those resources 
 that have been allowed for so long to remain dormant. 
 
 1 J. E. Woodman, Report on the Iron Ore Deposits of Nova Scotia, Mines Branch, Dept, of 
 
 Mines, 1909. ^ 
 
 2 Mr. John E. Hardman, E. M., Montreal, Que. 
 
 3 Report Bureau of Mines, Ont., Vol. XII, page 202. 
 
 4 Minister of Mines Report, B. C., 1902, page 201. 
 
 5 Engineering Magazine, Vol. XX, page 407. 
 
With regard to Canada’s undeveloped nickel resources, it is only necessary to remark that 
 the present developed territory, constituting as it does the chief source of the world’s supply of 
 this metal, is but a portion of the area in Northern Ontario in which nickel is known to occur, and 
 that neither the middle nor the Northern nickel ranges have yet been exploited. Again, important 
 bodies of similar sulphide material, though of somewhat lower grade as compared with the Sudbury 
 ores, are found at St. Stephen, New Brunswick; while other occurrences, though not perhaps at 
 present of economical importance, are reported from British Columbia and the Province of Quebec. 
 There can be no doubt, however, that both as regards developed and undeveloped nickel resources, 
 Canada’s position is unrivalled. 
 
 It is manifestly less easy to compute undeveloped resources of the precious metals. An old 
 saying has it that »gold is where you fin dit«. In Canada gold has been discovered in practically 
 every Province and territory of the Dominion. The great extent covered by the rocks of the gold- 
 bearing series in Nova Scotia promises well for further discoveries in that area. In the Province 
 of Quebec rich finds have but lately been made in a district long ago believed to have been exhausted. 
 In a great belt of country, forty miles broad and over three hundred miles long and occupied by 
 Huronian rocks in the Northern section of this Province, the prospects of the discovery of gold are 
 undoubtedly bright. And only within the last year or so extraordinarily rich gold fields have been 
 discovered and are being developed within the extension of this belt in the Province of Ontario. 
 But heretofore the most important Canadian goldfields have been found in the Cordilleran regions 
 of theWest a country generally difficult of access until communication has been afforded by railways. 
 Within the next few years, fields, only small portions of which have been as yet explored by the 
 prospector, but which small portions by early and crude methods of mining have yielded much 
 gold, will be made readily accessible; and on the testimony of geologists it is not unreasonable to 
 expect in consequence a repetition of discoveries such as those of Cariboo and Klondike. 
 
 As to silver, the Cobalt area believed at first to be limited to eight square miles is now proved 
 to cover a territory at least double that originaly estimated; while new, if less rich silver mines, 
 are being developed in neighbouring localities. Again, in Northern British Columbia, valuable 
 deposits of argentiferous galena have been found in a region through which the Grand Trunk Pacific 
 Trans-Continental Railway will pass. 
 
 The undeveloped copper resources are likewise enormous. In certain localities in Nova Scotia 
 the indications are exceedingly promising. In Quebec, a wide opportunity is afforded for the 
 establishment and development of a considerable copper mining and metallurgical industry in the 
 Eastern Townships; while again, in the Northern district of Chibogomou, most promising discoveries 
 of large copper deposits have been reported. 
 
 In the Hudson Bay region in numerous localities copper occurs, while on the testimony of 
 Mr. J. B. Tyrrell 1 , »the most interesting, and probably the most extensive copper deposits in Canada 
 are contained in the Keweenawan traps and sandstones which extend along south of the Arctic 
 \Coast from Coppermine River eastward to Bathurst Inlet«. 
 
 In British Columbia the productive copper mining area is steadily expanding; and in addition 
 to the new Portland Canal region in the extreme north, where the development of deposits of unusual 
 size was recently inaugurated, promising new copperbearing areas have been discovered in the 
 Skeena River valley country. And so this enumeration might be continued, but, perhaps, for 
 present purposes enough has been said to indicate the illimitable potentialities of the mineral industry 
 of the Dominion. 
 
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT. 
 
 Until within the last few years a very considerable proportion of the capital invested in the 
 development of Canadian mines originated from the United States, and in a much lesser degree 
 from Great Britain. Recentty, however, Canadians themselves have engaged largely in mining 
 undertakings, and there is now no longer difficulty in securing capital locally for the prosecution 
 of any meritorious venture. At the same time foreign capital invested in the development of the 
 mineral resources of the country is both welcomed and encouraged. There can be no doubt that 
 there are many excellent opportunities for such investment at the present time; but a successful 
 issue will necessarily be also dependent on the exercise of ordinary business-like discretion on the 
 part of investors themselves. Such a remark might easily appear to be unsuperfluous were it not 
 explained that fully seventy-five per cent, of the failures of foreign mining companies operating 
 in the Canadian field, are ascribable to faults of judgment or business administration. 
 
 1 Minerals and Ores of Northern Canada, Jour. Can. Mining Institute, Vol. XI, page 357. 
 
Probably the best returns on foreign capital investment may be expected by means of the 
 organization of »development« or »prospecting« syndicates employing thoroughly qualified men, 
 preferably Canadians, to take charge of operations. This plan, it is interesting to note, has already 
 been most successfully adopted by a group of German investors, who have recently devoted effort 
 to securing mineral properties, but more especially coal areas in Canada. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In submitting this paper, the writer is aware of its many short-comings, and would disarm 
 deserved criticism by apologizing in advance. He has merely attempted to present a hasty survey 
 of a wide subject from information largely compiled from various sources, official and otherwise; 
 but in any event believed to be reliable. The result is necessarily fragmentary. It is, however, 
 hoped that such information as is here afforded may serve to stimulate interest and occasion further 
 enquiry concerning the mineral resources of Canada.