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Lea diagremmea suivsnts Hlustrent la m4thode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MiaracorY rbouition tbt chart (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) |4S |2£ |M US l^H ■■! 1^ Ih IK St u U£ |Z0 MtLU l£ u I 11.6 A APPLIED IIVMGE Inc 1653 Cast Mom Stre«t Rocfwttef, Htm York 14609 USA (716) 482-0300- Phon« (716) 288 - S9B9 - Fa« wiovt BOIMNTI Commission of Conservation CANADA UTTEE ON MINRUAtS r^ssr-ii^K^w ■a^^r.?' he Utilization of Som- on-Metallic Mineral Reso Sugg^ted by MKonditionls . By EUGENE HAANEL, Ph.D. Director, Mines Branch, Depariw^^ni of Mines, Ottawa Reprinted from Ae Sixth Annual Report of the Commisibn of Conservation OTTAWA- 1915 •Kors umERsmr umn OOMirS DEPiUmilOIT Commission of Conservation CANADA' COMMITTEE ON MINERALS The Utilization of Some of Our Non-Metallic Mineral Resources, Suggested by Present Conditions By EUGENE HAANEL. PhD. Director, Mines Branch. Department of Mines, Ottawa Reprinted from the Sixth Annual Report of the Commission of Conservation OTTAWA— 1915 The Utilization of Some of Our Non'Metallic Mineral Resources, Suggested by Present Conditions TTHE disturbed industrial conditions throughout the crvilized ■^ world, which the present great war has created, have l.i ought into prominence the fact that we have been, and are, dependent upon other coimtries for materials — raw or manufactured — which enter into our own manufactures, or which are necessary for our very existence. The great question which, therefore, forces itself upon us is : Can we, in a measure, turn this calamitous dislocation of trade and commerce into what will ultimately lead to the expansion of our own industries, or, possibly, develop new ones, and render us, to a larger extent, independent of outside sources for the materials re- quired for our needs ? Necessity is a great stimulant, and there is no question but that this rugged, vigorous, northern nation, inhabiting this cotmtry of g-eat resources and promise, will respond to the stimulus and emerge irom this present condition of distress more vigorous, more self-reliant, and more prosperous than ever. This, however, can not be accomplished without some sacrifices. It will, if we desire to establish new industries, be necessary to be satisfied with modest profits, : .d we require to r«>member that some of the greatest industries of he world \ave he created and put upon a solid foundation otu. after ma.iy yea. after many discouragements, and much exp Under present conditions we need captain of as captains for our soldiers, who bring into evid. the one, by tiding over the present t^istressful by defending the country against aggression. I desire to confine myself in this paper to ti* few non-metallic minerals which have hitherto large quantities, and represent an outgo of large sv ns of money, to poiiit out to what extent it may be possible for us t» ^titute those of our own resources, and to give some hints regi» mg the lines into which we might direct our activities. laborious efforts, Jiture of money, ndustry as much their paT-mism, the other, iission of those sen imported in 20* ''1 1 4 PMt, • Subfti- tate for Coal 4 COMMISSION OP CONSERVATION Consumption op Coal and Cokb The imports of coal for the year 1912 were : Anthracite 4 million tons Bituminous lO^tf " The latter increased to 13}4 million tons for the year 1913, and the total imports to 18 millions of tons in that year. The imports of coke are represented for the years 1912 and 1913, respectively, by 628,000 and 723,000 tons. Practically all of the anthracite coal is imported for domestic purposes. I have, in a previous paper delivered before this Commission, outlined how we could, to a considerable extent, decrease this very large importation of fuel by utilizing the fuel of our extensive and excellent peat bogs. The improved plant for the manufaciur. of peat fuel, erected at Alfred, Ont., by a private company employing the process demonstrated by the Mines Branch is, perhaps, the most complete and effective yet constructed. The war has stopped its operation. I need here to state, that in the event of again starting operations at Alfred next spring, the operators must bear in mind that such an industry can only succeed under most careful business management, and can only expect to pay a small but reasonable profit. Three years ago, Russia produced two milUon metric tons of peat fuel, and, for the last two years, this amount was increased to a production of seven million tons per annum. The process employed is identical with that demonstrated by the Mines Branch and carried out with improved machinery at Alfred. Peat fuel is manufactured by thirty-seven firms in central Russia ; thirty-six of these firms are manufacturers of woollen and cotton goods and glass, and manufacture their own fuel, and only one firm manufacttires peat for sale. This statement goes far tc prove that, if properly managed, the peat fuel industry could be put on a sound financial basis in Canada. The conversion of peat fuel into an industrial gas appears, how- ever, to be the most feasible and attractive method for the conversion of the latent heat energy of our peat bogs into useful heat energy. Certain of the peat bogs examined in the province of Ontario contain very large percentages of nitrogen — up to 2.6 per cent — and this can be recovered as ammonia or ammonium sulphate by means of by-product recovery producers. This ammonium sulphate is one of the most valuable fertilizers and the demand for it previous By-product! ffon PMt UTTLIZATIONOfNO N-M ETALLICMINERALS 5 to the war exceeded the productira. A ready market is, therefore, always available. So important did this sabject appear to me that a Commission, consisting cf the Chief Engineer of the Fuel Tes"' Difisi n and his assistant, was sent to Europe to investigate the.e in Je- .1 tha peat industry, with special reference to the utilization oi i,nis fuii in by-product recovery producers. The report embodying the results of this investigation is now in the press, and it is there shown that certain of the Canadian peat bogs can be profitably utiUzed for the production of industrial gas, at a cost far below that possible for town gas. In that report it is further -Lued out that such a gas distributed to surroimding towns anc* v ,; • Petroleuin (crude cm oils other than naphth*. ' ' benime, and gaaolene lighter than the former, but not less than 0.775 ip. gr.) . . 45,I5J " t COMMISSION OE CONSERVATION Coal oil and keroaene (about) 19,300,000 gallons Illuminating oils, derived whdly or in part from petrdeiun 168,290 Lubricating oils costing less than 25c. per gallon 5,157,804 " Lubncating oils, N.O.P 1,112,583 " Petroleum producte, N.O.P 5, 166,274 " The large quantity of petroleum represented by these fig\ires is almost wholly imported from the United States, Great Britain contributing but little toward our import trade of this important material. The total domestic production of petroleum for the two years 1912 and 1913 was 8,516,762 and 7,982,798 gallons, respectively. The oil-fields of Ontario practically supplied the whole of this quantity of petroleum, and while, in the past, this field has been an ixtensive producer, its output has been falling off during the last five years, instead of increasing as the requirements of the market would demand. DiMorering '^^^ ^reat need of discovering new sources of supply NewSourcM of petroleum to meet this ever-increasing demand •^ ^^ led to the employment by the Mines Branch of Mr. Clapp, one of the ablest petroleum experts of the United States, to make an investigation of the oil and gas resources of the Dominion, with special reference to the geological indications of the existence of oil in the province of Alberta. The report of this investigation is now in the press and, according to the opinion of Dr. Day, petro- leum expert of the United States Geological Survey, who read and aided in the assembling of the manuscript and extending certain portions of it, no such complete report on this subject has hitherto appeared on this continent. While the indit tions of the existence of petroleum in Alberta are promising, no large producing oil wells have as yet been developed. We have, however, in the extensive and rich oil-shale deposits of New Brunswick a source of oil which, if expl jited, would substitute large quantities of petroleum and its derivatives, now annually imported. The distillation of oil-shales in Scotland has been for many years, and is to-day, a successful and flourishing industry. Our shales are, on the average, richer than the Scotch shales, and no argument can be presented against the establishment of a similar industry in Canada. So important are these deposits and so great the need of decreasing the large amoxmt of petroleum imports, that the Govern- ment, to encourage the exploitation of these deposits, has amended ( UTILIZATION OF NON-METALLIC MINERALS 9 the Petroleum Bounty Act, and has provided for a bounty of If^ cents per gallon, or S2}4 cents per barrel containing 35 imperial gallons, on oil recovered from -^il-shales. It is quite possible, also, that the lignite deposits of the West might, upon retorting, prove an additional source of oil. The lignites of Germany, it is reported, are at present being utilized in this manner. It should be borne in mind that the recovery of oil from the oil-shales and lignites is accompanied by the production of ammonia recovered as ammonium sulphate, for which there is always a ready market. Progress op Ceramic Industries In the great expansion and development of commercial activities, so apparent in the Donunion of Canada prior to the war, and which must, after its cessation, be even more vigorously prosecuted, the subject of ceramics is necessarily of great importance. The commercial value of clay products in Canada may be esti- mated from the following figures, collected through the statistical division of the Mines Branch. The clay products mentioned were manufactured in Canada during the years 1912 and 1913: Production Production in 1912 in 1913 Bnck, common | 7,010,375 $3,917,373 pressed 1,609,854 1,458,733 paving 85,989 75,669 ornamental 8,595 15,423 Fire-clay and fire-clay products. . . . 125,585 142,738 Fire-proofing 448,853 461,387 Pottery. 43,955 53,533 Sewer pipe 884,641 1,035,906 Z^: 357,862 338,552 Kaolin 160 5,000 Total value $10,575,869 $9,504,314 During the year 1905, the importation of clay products amotmted in value to $2,501,206. and it has increased to $6,760,762 for the year 1913, equal to nearly 170 per cent. For the year 1912 we utilized clay products valued at $17,149,659, yet the returns show that we imported 38 per cent of these products. This simple statement shows tiiat in 1913 we sent out of Canada for these products alone $6,760,000, which, if it had been held in our own country, would have meant the investment of a large amount 'A capital, and would have given employment to a large number of men. BntoitatiM ^* "*"''' "°* 1^* concluded from this statement that ^Eiuudiaa this very large importation, which is constantly ^* increasing, is due to lack of raw materials at home. Reports on the location and character of the clay deposits of Mani- . 10 COMMISSION OP CONSERVATION toba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia have been issued by the Geological Survey. New deposits are constantly being discovered and specimens are being sent to our laboratories, with the request that we state what use can be made of the deposit. To merely send the owner of the deposit a chemical analysis of his clay does not answer his query, since chemical analysis is only a preliminary, though neccssaiy, step in ascertaining the fitness or unfitness of a clay for any special clay product. Before a soimd opinion can be arrived at, as to whether a specimen of clay is the proper material for the manufacture of tiles, bricks, terra cotta, sewer pipe, or other clay products, the specimen requires to be submitted to a physical examination regarding the character of the product as it comes frcm the muffle. It is during this investigation that the problem, in mptij cases, admits of solution, of how a clay otherwise vmfit may, by special treatment, be rendered suitable for the manufacture of a commercial product. To enable the Mines Branch to furnish this complete information regarding clays submitted by prospective operators of clay deposits, provision has been made for the establishment of a ceramic division in the Mines Brpjich, with a properly trained and experienced ceramic engineer in charge. The completion and equipment of the ceramic laboratory begun last year, is under way. Through the activities of this division, intelligent assistance will be given tn the manu- facturers of clay products, and it is expected that this course will lead materially to decrease the large imports of clay products into Canada. Bituminous Sands of Alberta The existence of deposits of bituminous sands in the McMurray district of Northern Alberta has been known for many years. The absence of transportation facilities has, however, prevented the utilization and even the prospecting of these deposits. Anticipating the building of the Alberta and Great Waterways railway into Northern Alberta, a preliminary examination of the deposits was undertaken by the Mines Branch in 1913 and continued in 1914. Meanwhile, the construction of the railway, which will open up and render available these deposits, is being rushed, and its completion is expected in 1916. The investigation made revealed the fact that the tonnage of bituminous sands in the McMurray area is very large, and, although much of the material is low grade and, in some cases, the overburden so heavy that mining by open-cut is impracticable, it is found that some 20 per cent of the material, representing many millions of tons, may be considered as of commercial value. UTILIZATION OP NON-METALLIC MINERALS 11 Bituminous sands have for a number of years been used i;\ the construction of various classes of pavements ;n the United States. The principal soiirces of supply, at the present tL-i>e, are in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and California. The extent to which the material has been used appears to have been largely detem^-i^d by the fixing of freight rates. The greater part of the bituminous sand used at the present time in California for paving purposes comes from the Santa Cruz quarries, and is, in many respects, similar to the Alberta g material. The bitumen contained in the McMurray rock is, how- ever, much softer. It is believed that, with proper manipulation, I such as heating, and the addition of a hardening flux, the penetration of the bitumen can be reduced to meet the requirements of standard specifications for its successful employment in the laying of pavements in substitution for imported asphalt. UMofTar Before the Mines Branch felt justified in making oS^'steteg ^^ recommendation regarding the utilization of the tar sands of Alberta for road construction, it was important to ascertain the success or failure which attended attempts in this direction in the United States. Enquiries were, therefore, sent to a number of municipal engineers, who have had actual experience with this class of rock in California. The following are the answers received : Mr. Walter M. Frickstad, Assistant Superintendent of Streets, Oakland, Cal., wrote, in part, as follows : "The sandstone used in Oakland is all from the Spnta Cruz quarry Smce 1911, we have used this material in the con- struction of about one and one-half miles of street with uniformly satisfactory results The first street constructed with this material in Oakland was built about twenty-two years ago, and is in excellent condition to-day. This street has had a steady stream of light traffic, but is not a portion of a thoroughfare. Another street laid in 1898 has carried a reasonably heavy traffic from the time of its construction, ind is now one of our main business streets. The pavement of this street had no repairs until last year, when about 2 j'i per cent of the surface was renewed. Additional repairs are now beinp made to about the same amount " Mr. E\c>-i A. Garland, City Engineer of SanU Barbara, Cal., wrote as fc : "In ansvv.r to your communication relative to the bituminous « deposits in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, would say that in my opinion an excellent pavement can be made from this' material if it IS property treated In short, I would say that, from my ob- « scrvation and experience, I believe, with proper treatment, as good " a pavemtnt can be made with the material from natural depr sits of 12 COMMISSION OP CONSERVATION bituminous lime rock or sandstone as can be laid with the use of refined asphalt." Mr. M. M. O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer, San Francisco, Cal., wrote as follows : "In reply to your letter of Jan. 4, 1914, regarding bituminous rock pavemeiiLS laid in San Francisco, will say that I find them very satisfactory. We have some streets of this material that have been down many years which are still in an excellent condition " In view of the fact that the bitumen contained in B^S^ RMds *^® *^ sands of Alberta is softer than the bitumen of the California material, arrangements have been made by the Mines Branch for the laying of an experimental pave- ment in the city of Edmonton with the Alberta material, the city government having agreed to construct the concrete foundation. Upward of 60 tons of suitable material has been assembled in the McMurray district for transportation to Edmonton, and it is expected that work will be begun in the laying of the pavement early this summer. The City Commissioner stated in his letter to the Department offering the co-operation of the city, "that if this work is successfully carried out it will be of greater value to the city of Edmonton and Alberta generally than the bringing in of half a dozen industries. At the present time," he goes onto say, "we are absolutely suffering from the lack of cheap pavement and from the lack of good road-material, whereby the farmers may haul their products to the city on well built roads. The solution of this problem will be worth mUlions of dollars ..." At the present time, all asphaltic paving materials used in Canada are imported from foreign countries. In 1913-14 t^o value of these imports reached a total of nearly $900,000, and the con- sumption is rapidly increasing. The value of a cheap and satisfactory paving material in Western Canada would be very great. The bituminous s^nds may also serve as a source of pure bitumen, which may be extracted either by disulphide of carbon, the lighter petroleum distillates, or by the use of hot water and steam. Among the many uses to which this extracted bitumen may be applied may be mentioned : floorincs for many classes of bmldings, such as mills, hospitals, schools, skating rinks ; for foundations which require to absorb vibrations and jars, as in electric power plants ; for lining and damp courses for cellars, reservoirs, etc. ; for insulation of pipes ; and as a sotirce of asphaltic oils. Utetfor Tar Sands UTIL. nON OF NON-METALLIC MINERALS 13 Attempts in this direction have been made for the past twenty years in the United States. No industry, however, has been estab> lished and no extracting plant is now in operation. The cause for the failures is not far to seek. In California extracted bitumen, at $12.00 per ton, can not compete with petroleum residuum at $6.50 to $9.00 per ton. In Alberta, however, bitumen extracted at $12.00 could compete with imported refined asphalt, costing $27.00 to $34.00 per ton, delivered. Before such an industry, however, is attempted, all available information of the results of many years' serious and often costly experimentation in the United States should be consulted. Feldspar as a Possible Source of Potash The extensive potash deposits near Stassfurt and Magdeburg have enabled Germany to control the world's market of this impor- tant material, which enters into the composition of fertilizers, soap, glass, matches, colours, and is extensively employed in the photo- graphic and chemical industries. In 1913, the United States im- ported some fifteen million dollars' worth of potash salts, 85 per cent of which was u-,'^ in the fertilizer industry. Canada imported, in 1910, potash s: uj :o tb«5 value of $267,214, besides cyanide of potassium i u of sodium for i. . tallurgical purposes, valued at *62,410 The impor< '.i o* • ^t>i salts during the fiscal year ending iwaiCx M. .' aa '. $524,514, and of cyanide of potassium and oi i,of the Canadian. In some other cases, however, it is due to the fact that the domestic products are not always prepared in the form most suitable for the purposes for which they are required. Thus for example, the want of proper grading of the mica by the small • of this material in Canada, has done much to replace the Ca mica by the properly graded mica of India, every consignm which is uniform in quality. In some instances, certain minerals were imported, whk*' produced in the coimtry, of excellent quality, and often qtut^ at hand. Binoxide of manganese, for example, exists ia a Scotia, and has been mined to some extent, yet varnish manida it- ers, who use this material as an oxidizer, have gone abroad lor ..Mir supply. While the report points out to the producers the market and opportunities for extending it as well as the quality of mineral required for the various uses, the investigation has furnished ,« with information which is of great service for office use. It not o- ; . aids materially in determining the lines along which the departmental investigations are most urgently required, but furnishes m «t-sh data with which to reply to numerous letters of enquiry fror wner» ^f mineral lands and producers of minerals seeking a mar*, i, as weli as from those in search of a supply of mineral for some special purpose. Since the beginning of the war these letters of enquiry have been coming to the Mines Branch in increased volume. Our Department is now in a position to give not only a prompt reply regarding the requirements of the market, but can frequently put the enquirer into direct touch with the consumer or producer, as the case may be, of the mineral in question. Field Work of ^^ * ^^^ '^^^ °* **^® information obtained Miaet Branch ^^°^ t^s investigation, it has been possible to arrange the programme of field work for the present year and for the coming year with a view to obtaining such informa- tion as is now most required by the country. Our resources of 18 COMMISSION OP CONSBJ VATION barytes, fluor-spar, pyroltaite, talc, tripoUte, limestones and sands are now under investigation. Large quantities of these are being imported, while our resources are being drawn upon only to a slight extent. In the case of limestones and sands, the immediate need of devoting our attention to their investigation is not apparent until one realizes the immense quantities consumed, and the multi- tude of varieties and grades which the consumers require. Our objective is to discover sources of supply of such varieties as are not at present obtainable in Canada, and to secure data which \rill enable us to point out to the consumers the localities from which they may obtain such grades of raaterial as are best suited to their needs. The work on barytes and i rolusite is indeed timely, since the war has cut off the principal sources of supply. Monocnidu ^1*® activity of the Mines Branch in aid of the onMinenlt mineral industry has, however, gone further than simply to furnish information as to what minerals the manufacturers may obtain from domestic sources, and where the miner may find a market for his product. Monographs on the dif- fereri Csijiadian mineral" have been pubUshed, which, in addition to this information, deal with the methods of mining to be employed for the different, minerals, and describes the class of machinery re- quired \o prepare the mineral for the market or the smelter. In many cases the mineral as it comes from the mine is not marketable, either because it is too low in grade to stand the trans- portation charges, or it contains deleterious ingredients, which require removal before the product becomes acceptable to the con- sumer. In other cases, an ore contains two or more valuable miner- als. It becomes necessary then to separate the minerals for further successful treatment. In many cases this can be effected by mechan- ical means. The processes of solving thsse various problems require to be suited to each case, and necessitate the use of special machiner" Ore Dresiing ^° ^^^ *^® ™'^^'" '" solving the problem of how Ubontory to prepare his ore for the buyer most effectively and economically, and give him the necessary in- formation of what machinery to install and what costs are involved, the Mines Branch has installed in Ottawa, the Dominion of Canada Ore Dressing and Metallurgical Laboratory. This laboratory is fully equipped with ore dressing machinery of the most modem design, and is furnished with a complete assay depart- ment for the making of all necessary chemical determinations. UTILIZATION OP NON-METALLIC MINERALS 19 Apart from the Universities, there are no laboratories in Canada m which ore dressing may be carried out on a commercial scale, such as IS required for the proper elucidation of ore dressing problems. The Universities mamtain their laboratories primarily for educational purposes, and cannot be expected to oflfer fadlities and an expert *l** ^?1°' *'^^*' *° *^® """•* ^^^ he presents his numerous, and often difficult, problems in mineral separation. The testing work in the Mines Branch laboratory is carried out free of charge when th^ mineral is of Canadian origin. The miner IS required to pay all ore transportation charges, and is required to furnish not less than two hundred pounds of ore for a small scale test, and not less than five tons for a large scale test. The reports of all tests are incorporated in the publications of the Mmes Branch, but single copies are given to the owners of the samples when the tests are completed, to enable him to make use of the information immediately. The laboratories are, of necessity, under the control and direction of officials of the Mines Branch. However. arranRements may be made for engineers or other competent persons to supervise such experiments as they are interested in. With the assistance of our laboratory and staflf. mine owners can determine the pos- sibilities of milling their ores and select the most advantageous methods of concentration. They will be enabled to make close approximations of the value of the concentrated products which with a determination of their mining and milling costs, will put them m possession of facts concerning the actual value of their ores in the ground. Problems ^^ the non-metallic division of minerals there are sJS '""'y problems that might be studied with advantage to existing conditions. The concentration of barite. fluor-spar, and chromite ; the washing, classification and sizing of sands for various purposes, and the crushing and cleaning of quartz for the manufacture of glass, are but a few examples of the work that the laboratory is equipped to carry out. All problems in the concentration and purification of minerals bear a certain direct definite relation to the value of mineral deposits and. indirectly, a definite relation to the wealth of the community in which the deposit is situated. Ore deposits are valued according to the amount of merchantable mineral they will yield from approved methods of extraction. If existing methods of extraction can be improved to yield a higher percentage of recovery, at less cost than the value of such additional output, then existing methods should be discarded, and better methods substituted. 'm 90 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION It 1, not expectrf that th«e laboratories of the Department will «ffect any radical change in existing methods of ore dressing But If the miner wiU make inteUigent use of this opportunity for the «»ntific mve«igation of his ore dressing problems we predict a «eaA^ mc«aain« effort to increase the efficiency of present methods, and the general betterment of conditions affecting the exploitation of mimng prospects. «■»""" As it U the aim of the Mines Branch to cooperate with and assist I^.rir 7 Tf ""^^ " ***« Department of Agriculture assists the farmer. I have thought it appropriate to show briefly S- r"*«T^ *•»« preparation made in the organization of the Mmes Branch and equipment of its laboratories to enable the Department to render efficient aid to the mineral industry, and to such manufacturers as depend upon it. May I, in conclusion, state it as my opinion that the efforts being made to know more of our resources and to know them more in detail should not, at i»esent, be relaxed, but very greatly increased, so as to render us. as far as possible, independent of outside sources