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Lorsque le document eet trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est filmA A parv de I'engle supArleur geuche, de geuche A droite, et de haut en bee, en prenent le nombre d'imagee nAceeeaire. Les diegremmes suivants illustrent le mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 4» W-r P;- '■''''■ 73vri?T»r7?H»ri5?5^wrr^FrTrviSi TfWSfr^' i04- TBB jUjjERAL DEVELQPMESI OF ST B GILPIN. Jm^Am^^-' ^^^'' „„ IimMOTO* OF MWttf i^«""" ■■u Juki 8W, I8»i. ft BXOBMT fW)M «■ mtfttwrfiov : ri:..- 411 Rights of Pubtloation or Translation are Reserved by The Federated Institution of Mining Engineers. THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OP NOVA SOOTIA. By B. aiLPIN, JUN.. A.M., F.G.S., F.R.S.C, Inbpeotob of Mines, Lbotcbeb on Minikq at D^lhousie Univebsitt, etc. The minerals which have hitherto received any attention in Nova Scotia are coal, iron, and gold. The list of those hitherto left neglected is mnch longer. The reason for the comparatively slight interest taken by Nova Scotians in the development of their mineral resources may be foand in the fact that the lumber, farming, fishing, and similar industries have proved most attractive to people possessing comparatively small capital. A very brief account of the chief geological features of Nova Scotia may advantageously preface these notes on the mineral deposits. The Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia proper is occupied by pre- Cambrian measures, surrounding large masses and dykes of granite, considered as formed at the close of the Devonian period. In Cumber- land, Pictou, and Antigonish counties there is a band of rocks, not yet worked out in detail, but believed to contain measui'es referred to the various horizons up to the Devonian. Between this range and the coast-rocks are areas of Devonian age, while great part of the counties of Antigonish and Guysboro is also Devonian. North of this range is a large tract of Oarboniferous, which also occurs in connexion with the Devonian. In Cape Breton, the northern part of the island is Lanrentian, comprising felsites, gneisses, granitoid rocks, and limestones. Similar rocks are found in the southern and western parts uf the island. In Richmond county, there are lai^e areas uf Devonian rocks. Limited ar of Lower Silurian are fbnnd on the southern shore. The rest of t. island is underlaid by the several divisions of the Car)x)nifercus : these generally irest, without any intervening measures, directly on the Lanrentian rocks, which form the hill-ranges. Without referring to the fact that some of the upper beds of the Oarboniferous in Picton, t THE MINERAL DBVBLOPMEXT OF NOVA SOOTIA. ' Colchester, and Cumberland counties are provisionally classified as Permo-Oarboniferous, the only "recent" rocks in Nova Scotia are repre- sented by a few narrow bands of Triasaic sandstones around the shores of the Bay of Pundy. The Carboniferous are divided into five groups, the Upper, the Middle or productive, the Millstone Grit, the Marine Limestone, and the Lower Carboniferous. In the upper division there are a few seams known, not of economic value. In the productive group, having an average thickness of about 5,000 feet, the chief coal industry is carried on. Tliere are three dis- tricts, Sydney, in Cape Breton county, Pictou, in the county of the same name, and Springhill, in the county of Cumberland. These districts will be referred to in greater detail. The Millstone Grit series, as a rule, immediately surrounds the basins of productive measures. It holds seams of coal which have been worked in the Sydney district, and is known to contain seams at many other points. So far, ttiese seams have received little attention in the presence of the larger seams of the true coal horizon, but there is every reason to believe that they will prove an important source of coal in the future, and widely extend the limits at present considered productive. The Marine Limestone formation is distinguished in Nova Scotia by enormous deposits of limestone, gypsum, and marl, and holds many springs of saliferous water, and beds of iron ore, etc. The Lower Carboniferous measures are often composed of conglomerates, or contain thick beds of bituminous shale. So far as the author knows, they have not yielded beds of workable coal. ;, = ' ' Coal-fields. The Sydney coal-field is situated on the Atlantic, on the eastern shore of Cape Breton, and extends about 82 miles along the shore and about 6 miles inland. This area forms the western rim of a great basin extend- ing out under the Atlantic. Fortunately, nearly all the seams can be followed in their subaqueous extension. It has been estimated that, with- in 3 miles of the shore, to a depth of 4,000 feet, adopting the calculations of the Royal Commission on the duration of Great Britain's coal supply, there are available 2,000,000,000 tons of submarine coal. The coal-field presents itself as the outcrop of three subordinate basins, the upper seams in which, enter the land, swing round, and again enter the sea to re-appear on the land. THE MINBRAL DEVBLOPMBMT OF NOVA SCOTIA. Btr»ta and Goal Ft. In*. 3 806 6 S 190 12 1 379 8 235 3 78 4 75 8 95 4 6 340 4 9 The following section taken in the centre of the district will show the relative positions of the seams, and the thickness of the intervening strata : — SeMDS. Seam A Strata Carr seam Strata Barasois seam .. - . Strata Victoria seam Strata •Seam D Strata North head seam Strata Lingan main seam Strata SeamG Strata • Seam H These seams, except at two limited points, lie at low angles from 5 to 8 degs., and are almost entirely free from faults. These seams are those included by the Geological Survey as in the pro- ductive measures ; there are, however, numerous workable seams lying below them. The lowest near the town of Sydney has nearly 4 feet of coal, and is distant about 8 miles from the outcrop of the lowest seam given in the above section. The fact that the fossils of the horizon yield- ing the seam near Sydney are referred by Sir William Dawson to the productive group, and not to the Millstone Grit, affords reasonable grounds for belief that future explorations will give the Sydney coal-field an area several times larger than that now assigned to it. The coals of this district are lituminous and coking. They yield' from 9,000 to 11,000 cubic feet of from 14'75 to 16 candle-power gas. Tests made of them in beehive ovens show that they make in their crude state a good coke, and that with preparation they would give a coke at least equal to any made on this side of the Atlantic. They are extensively used for domestic purposes, and for locomotive and marine steam-raising. The following average of analyses will serve to show their character : — Moisture • • • 0-75 Volatile combustible matter ... ... 37-26 Fixed carbon (•* ... 58-74 • •• 3-25 100-00 There are at present two companies operating in this field — the General Mining Association of London and tLe Dominion Coal Co. of Boston, the former owning 2S square miles, and the latter 76. There 4 THB MINERAL DBVBLOPMENT OF NOVA BOOTIA. are other large tracts of coal-land yet undeveloped. The operations of the former are entirely submarine. Two shafts were sunk to the Sydney six feet seam, close to the mouth of Sydney harbour, and protected from the salt water by iron tubing. The workings are (juite dry, and about one-third of the coal is taken out by the pillar-and-stoop method, and brought to the shaft by a system of tail-rope haulage. The output last year was 208,18) tons. The Dominion Company are working seven mines, the deepest being about 600 feet, reached by a slope in a seam dipping at an angle of 2)5 degs. The methods of working are capable of improvement, as miich coal is left. At present mechunical cutters, IngersoU, Harrison, and Jeffrey's (electrical), are being introduced. Mechanical ventilation is being substituted for furnaces, and little diflBculty is experienced in venti- lation, as gas is not given off in dangerous amounts. The output of the mines of this company was 762,588 tons in 1898, and will be largely increased this season. There are large tracts of coal-bearing land at River Inhabitants, Port Hood, Mabou, Broad Cove, and Margaree in the island of Cape Breton, but hitherto they have received little attention. In Nova Scotia proper, coal-seams are known at Pomquet, Hallowell, Stewiacke, Debert, and other points, but developments have been effected only in the Springhill and Pictou districts. In the latter place there are two companies operating, tbe Intercolonial and the Acadia. The output last year of the former was 208,098 tons, and of the latter 244,769 tons. The seams in the Pictou district occur as a long narrow synclinal about 12 miles in length and 4 miles in greatest width, having dips up to 40 degs. The following section shows the relative position of the principal seams : — Seams. ' Main seam Strata Deep seam... Strata Third seam Strata Purvis seam Strata Fleming seam Strata McOregor seam Strata ... Stellar seam Strata Seam A Strata ... Seam Btnta and OoaL Ft. Ini. 84 7 148 22 11 106 5 7 113 3 6 130 3 B 4 8 12 211 6 15 11 187 6 10 THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OF NOVA SCOTLA. The following average of analyses from the paper already referred to will show the general composition of the seams of this district : — Moisture 1'19 Volatile combustible matter 29*10 Fixed carbon 60*68 Ash 9-84 100-26 The coals are used largely for steam purposes, for iron working, and an excellent coke is furnished by several of them. The seams are entered by slopes following their inclinations ; levels are driven at intervals of 400 to GOO feet, and bord-and-pillar work carried on to the rise. Where the pitch of the seam permits, a gate-road is driven up on the full pitch of the seam, and bords turned right and left. By means of a platform and a loaded box running on wheels and connected by a rope passing round a drum provided with a brake, the platform and loaded coal-tub overpowers the balance-box and carries the loaded tub down to the level. The empty tub and platform are raised in turn by the weighted box. This permits of rapid handling of boxes at angles too great to allow of horse roads. At heavier angles the coal is run to the levels in shoots. Longwall work is adopted in the thinner seams, the shoots being opened out as the face advances inward, and lengthened as it advances upwards. In the Pictou district careful attention is necessarily directed to the ventilation, as the seams give off much gas, and the " back balance " system of working requires ample air-supplies. Marr^aut and Mueseler safety-lamps are found most satisfactory, and the use of gunpowder is greatly restricted. Roburite and a dynamite magnesian (local) explosive are found satis&ctory substitutes. In Cumberland county the coal-field is believed to cover an area of about 480 square miles. The coal-measures outcrop on the shores of Cumberland basin, run eastward into the land for about 18 miles, and outcrop again before they enter upon the return outcrop, running west- ward to the sea-shore. The northern outcrop has been systematically worked on the shore at the Joggins mines with a present annual output of about 80,000 tons, on a seam yielding about 6 feet of coal. The remainder of this side of the basin has not yet received much attention, but will, as the demand for coal increases, become more fully worked. The principal operations in this district are at the apex of the basin ; as at Springhill where the Cumberland Railway and Cual Company are engaged in mining three valuable seams of coal. THB MINKRAL DBVSLOPMBNT OF NOVA BOOTIA. At this point tho following approximate section is presented, with the proviso that the coai*bearing horizon has not yet been Bystematically prospected : — A seam ... Strata B seam ... Strata Maiu scam Strata Soath scam Strata Seam Strato ... Seam Strata ... Btnta and Co*l Ft. Ina. 13 106 6 130 11 80 11 100 2 6 190 4 176 2 9 These seams, dipping at angles of from 10 to 85 degs., are entered by slopes to a depth of 4,000 feet, and worked by shoots and " balances," and, in the case of thinner parts of the seams, by longwall. The extraction of pillars has been carried on systematically and with unusual success. As a certain amount of gas is evolved in these mines, no explosive is used in getting the coal. The ventilation is provided for by blow-down fans with numerous outlets. The general composition of the coals of this district is about as follows: — Moisture Volatile combustible matter Fixed carbon Ash ... 1-46 33-69 6936 660 100-00 They are very extensively used as a locomotive fuel, and for coke and domestic purposes. .„ , . ^ The following figures will serve to show the markets supplied by Nova Scotian coal. They are for the year 1892, as the returns for 1898 are issued only to the end of September, a change having been made in the fiscal year of the province. If it be borne in mind that the produc- tion of 1898 was 2,229,715 tons distributed in the same proportion, they will answer for the calendar year 1898. V \ THB MINBRAL DRVRliOPMRNT OP NOVA gOOTIA. Coal.— Salrh. MMnat. Qu«rt«r. 2Dd Quwtar. 3rd QttArtw. 4Ui Qu»rt«r. ism. Ymt 18»1. Noya Scotia — Lamlsalea Seaborne TotaU New Bninswick Nowfou ''and Prince Edward Island Quebec West Indies United States Other countries Totals 1891 88,061 12,006 73,666 68,146 77,876 94,606 109,636 100,092 349,128 274,860 360,742 278,995 100,067 40,162 2,431 116 43,012 418 609 141,712 67,626 21,806 15,066 264,048 534 2,086 172,481 61,297 26,486 22,049 323,692 1,166 4,918 209,728 66,466 44,278 19,408 116,286 731 6,321 623,978 214,560 94,999 66,638 746,037 2,849 13,883 639,737 229,316 108,617 67,473 776,286 4,086 25,431 186.8C5 220,658 502,825 484,319 612,088 709,470 461,216 436,498 1,762.934 1,849,946 1,849,946 Coal.— Qenebal Statehent. UM. Produce. Sold. OolUery Con- lumptioD. 1st Quarter 2nd „ 3rd „ 4th „ Totals 1891 317,606 643,980 686,622 485,673 186,806 502,826 612,088 461,216 35,480 49,766 48,981 40,866 1,932,780 2,044,784 1,752,934 1,849,946 175,092 174,983 V/..,M^:s'.i. ."!t\i The development of the coal resources of Nova Scotia began over a century ago, but it is only during the past ten years that, it has shown signs of a steady and satisfactory growth. The home market and that of the adjoining colonies have drawn their supplies from Nova Scotia at reasonable prices, coal selling, for instance, at Montreal for 2*68 dollars per ton of run-of-mine coal. It is anticipated that the increased facilities now available for mining and transporting coal will enable the owners of provincial coal to gain a foothold in the New England markets, which now consume annually about 6,000,000 tons of soft coal. The increasing manufacture of steel and iron in the province is also an assistance. With these steadily growing outlets, the future of coal-mining in Nova Scotia is at present most^ encouraging. THB MINBBAL DEVELOPMENT OP NOVA SCOTIA. Gold-mines. As already noted, the gold-fields occupy the Atlaut'') coast of the province. The age of the strata, iu a paper read by the author before the American Institute of Mining Engineers, was referred to as equivalent to the Lower Cambrian or Longmynd series of Europe. The numerous ')0sse8 and dykes of granite which intersect the gold-fields can be deter- .iiined as of an age not earlier than the Lower Carboniferous. They need not be further mentioned here, as they seem to exert no influence on the auriferous values of the rocks they intersect. The auriferous horizon comprises two divisions, the upper containing dark pyritous slates, with beds of quartzite, and carrying veins of quaitz usually small and irregular, but often showing gold. The lower division presents alternations of compact quartzites, frequeixtly felspathic, but rarely calcareous, with argillaceous slates, someLxmes magnesian or chloritic, and includes numerous quartz-veins. The thickness of the lower group has been estimated at about 10,000 feet, that of the upper at over 4,000 feet. Estimates have placed the area of these rocks, after deducting the granitic masses, at about 3,000 square miles. This g''eat mass of sedi- ments has been folded in undulations having an ea&u-and-west course. These foldings have in some cases been carried far enough to cause over- turn dips. This force, actings at right angles to the coast-line, haa been followed by transverse foldings. At points where the overlying pyritous slates have been denuded, the crests of these anticlinals present the lower or quartzite series, usually with vertical or heavy dips. The auriferous quartz-bodies follow the course of the beds of the lower series as they run in their divergent dips, and as they sometimes sweep round the ends of the anticlinals. The quartz-bodies, at first sight, present the appearance of beds contemporaneous with the strata surrounding them. A closer study, however, would classify them as veins ; thus they are found to pinch out, and the fracture to continue, to pass from one stratum to another, to show banded structure, to throw out feeders, to hold inclusions of slate, horses, etc. Their formation may perhaps be most readily explained by supposing that the strata, consolidated and metamorphosed, opened along Unes of least resistance during the process of folding, and that these openings, more or leas affected by water, were filled with quartz, etc. There are abundant traces of subsequent faulting, etc., with and without vein- filling. In some cases these true veins are auriferous, but the bulk of the gold has come from the strata-veins. THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OF NOVA BCOTIA. The thickness of the veins at present worked varies from 2 inches to 12 feet. The usual width is from 5 to 10 inches. The horizontal exten- sion varies from a few hundred feet to over 2 miles, and workings have been carried to a vertical depth of nearly 600 feet. The minerals usually associated with the gold are sulphides and arsenides of iron, galena, blende, copper pyrites, oxide of iron, copper glance, molybdenite, etc., none of these, however, occurring in quantities of economic importance. The gold occurs in the veins in pay streaks. Their forms and incUnation are irregular, their horizontal dimensions varying from 50 to 300 feet, and their depth varying up to 500 feet. In addition there are beds of elates carrying numerous irregular veinlets of quartz, which are crushed for a yield of from 3 to 6 dwts. per ton. It will probably be found in the future that these low-grade deposits will prove more certainly p'jfitable than the thinner (if richer) quartz-veins. Hitherto alluvial mining has received little attention in Nova Scotia, although there are many places that should repay search. In many of the mining districts it has proved profitable to run the surface-ground through a mill. The veins are almost invariably opened by shafts sunk on the dip of the vein. Shafts are sunk from 80 to 200 feet apart, and at a depth of say 50 feet stopes are commenced directly from the shaft, which is pro- tected by blocks of the vein or closely-packed scaffolds. The work is done by underhand stoping, usually with two men to a drill, dynamite or powder being the explosive used according to the hardness of the rock. The ore is thrown to the level and harrowed to the nearest shaft. The hoisting is usually by means of friction-gear from an engine placed at a central point. It is customary to make the " cutting in " in the hanging wall, and to leave the vein standing until it is bared to give stone enough for a crushing. This prevents waste of the vein matter, and it is less exposed to the miners. Mining in these rocks usually presents few diflSculties. The strata are hard and firm, and readily handled by timber, etc. These properties naturally ensure little leakage of water, and the pumping power is usually small, except where the location of the mine permits the ingress of surface water. The quartz is broken to suitable size by hand or by a rock- breaker, and fed, often automatically, to the stamps. The mills here are usually small : two or three batteries of five stamps each. The stamps weigh from 600 to 800 lbs., and run at from 80 to 50 drops a minute, but a quicker speed has be^n sncoessfnlly tried at some of the mills. The gold is amalgamated in the batteries without plates. The tailings are passed over plates, and in some cases vanners are employed to take out the sulphides. 10 THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OP NOVA SCOTIA. The output of the mines, according to the returns received from the mills, has varied between 15,000 and 26,000 ounces a year, employing about 400 miners. The following general statement for the year 1892 includes the various districts, their yields, etc.: — Gold.— Gbnebal Statement fob the Year 1892. 1 Days' _; Tons Yield of Gold Total Yield DUteiok. « 1 Labour, 3 Cnubed. per Ton. of Oold. Oz. Dwts. 0>« Oc. DwU. On. Tangier, Mooreland 2 3,172 2 311 6 15 103 8 Oldham 2 17,032 2 2,269 1 7 9 3,093 13 2 Caribou, Moose River ... 4 14,309 4 7,189 6 11 2,335 16 10 Stormoiit 2 18,094 1 3,625 13 18 2,482 11 2 Salmon River 1 11,702 1 4,220 4 22 1,042 10 Sherbrooke S 4,470 2 893 4 179 8 20 Montague 1 6,640 1 1,716 1 6 15 2.201 10 Malaga 2 .7,772 2 2,720 19 12 2,656 6 14 Waverley 2 9,057 1 .8,154 5 17 906 11 Uniacke 8 12,006 2 786 2 18 12 2,300 14 Lake Catcha 2 6,284 2 2,467 8 11 1,046 18 16 Fifteen Mile Stream 2 7,825 1 2,412 12 13 1,236 17 Unproclaimed and other districts Totals 4 3,398 » 800 10 7 412 13 30 120,761 24 32,552 — 19,998 3 18 Iron Ores. The early attempts at iron smelting in Nova Scotia proved unsuccessful, but about the year 1870 two blast-furnaces were built at Londonderry, in Colchester county, and have been running since on forge and foundry pig. About a year ago the New Glasgow Iron and Coal Company built a furnace at Ferrona, in Pictou county, and are turning out an excellent Bessemer pig used at the local steel-works. A charcoal furnace plant has also been erected in Pictou county, and will shortly be in operation. The output of iron ore for the year 1893 was 102,000 tons. The ores of the province are magnetites and red haematites in Laurentian gneisses, limestones, etc.; bedded magnetites and red haematites, and veins of brown haematite and specular iron-ore in Devonian and Silurian strata; spathic, blackband, red and brown haematite in Carboniferous measures. Contact-deposits of red and brown haematite are frequently met at the junction of the Carboniferous with all the older measures. In Cape Breton there are numerous known outcrops of iron ore, but as yet no work has been done on them beyond a few trenches. At Why- hogomah, on the Bras d'Or lake, explorations have exposed nine beds of red haematite and magnetite connected with Laurentian limestoneB. These |iM THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OF NOVA SOOTIA. n deposits vary in thinkness from 8 to 9 feet. A bed of red haematite associated with similar strata, and from 4 to 14 feet thick, has been traced for several miles near E ist Bay. Specular ores have been found near St. Peter's. Among other localities for iron-ores are Loch Lomond, Ainslie, Cheticarap, Big Pond, and Loran, but little is known about them. Many of the Cape Breton deposits are good enough for Bessemer purposes, and they are all within easy distance of shipping. No doubt before long attempts will be made to smelt these ores with the coals of the Sydney coal-field, which yield an admirable coke. Tn Guysboro' county several large deposits of specular ore, reported to be fit for steel making, have been partially tested. The test cargoes were satisfectory, but the expense of building 12 miles of railway to the harbour of Guysboro' caused the abandonment of the undertaking. At Arisaig, in Antigonish county, about twelve deposits of red haematite are found in pre-Silurian measures. The ores are in some cases bedded, and in other instances appear to be connected with dioritic dykes. The deposits are from 2 to 24 feet in thickness. The quality i*- good, and a few trial-cargoes taken to the Ferrona furnace in Pictou county proved to be available, with local brown haematites, for steel for the local works. The next noticeable district is on the East river of Pictou county, close to the Pictou coal-field. Here Devonian strata hold veins of brown haematite and specular ore with ankerite, etc., while Silurian measures hold bedded ores of red haematite comparable with the Clinton ores of the United States. At the junction of these horizons with the Carboniferous and in the latter are red and brown haematites, in places manganiferous, and spathose and carbonate ores. The extent of these ores is very great, and has not yet been clearly defined. The New Glasgow Iron, Coal, and Railway Company have built a railway for 13 miles up the East river from the Intercolonial Railway at Hopewell, and it passes close to several large deposits of brown haematite and Kmestone which they are mining and smelting at their furnace near the Intercolonial Railway. The brown haematite is also smelted at a charcoal-furnace at Bridgeville on the branch railway. The furnace of the New Glasgow Company yields about 85 tons a day of a good grade of Bessemer pig, which is used by the local steel works. As yet mining in Pictou county has been confined to the contact deposits. The brown haematite, accompanied by clay, and at some points by ores of manganese, occurs in irregular beds and veins between the CarboniferooB and older strata. The ores seem never to be wanting, and are sometimes present in several bodies, the thickness of which varies 12 THE MINBBAL DBVBLOPMKNT OF NOVA SCOTIA. from 3 to 25 feet. The deposits appear persistent in depth, and have so for been proved to a depth of 600 feet. On Sutherland river there are several beds of spathic ore up to 12 feet in thickness. Haematites, specu- lar iron, bog ores, etc., are found at various other points in the county. In Colchester county there is an extensive development of brown haeme ':ite in a vein in Devonian strata associated with specular ore, ochre, ankerite, and other carbonates of lime, iron, and magnesia. Operations have been carried on here for a number of years by the Londonderry Iron Company. There are two furnaces of about 90 tons capacity each. The furnace charges are a mixture of ankerite and spathic ores with local brown haematite and a compact red haematite from Annapolis county. The product is a foundry iron of good quality, largely used in Montreal. Passing to Nictaux, in AnnapoUs county, there is a large iron ore field. Its limits have not yet been ascertained with precision, but it appears to be about 5 by 8 miles. The strata are considered to be of Devonian age, and have been in places largely acted upon by granitic masses ; hence the ores, which are bedded, are more or less magnetic. The Torbrook Iron Ore Company are mining about 85,000 tons a year from a 6 feet bed situate near the eastern end of the district. Some explorations have been made in the remainder of the district, showing beds of from 8 to 12 feet in thickness. The amount of ore here must be very large. Some of the ores of this district are phosphoric and siliceous, but a large number are of good quality. A similar but smaller area is found about 40 miles to the westward at Clementsport. In addition to these deposits, there are a great many other points where ores of good quality and of workable dimensions are known, viz., Pugwash, Grand Lake, Brookfield, Goschen, Selma, Clifton, etc. Table bhowinq Composition op Iron Orbs. Oontenta. Whyhogo- mah. Baat Bay. Baat River. East Elver. Baat River. London- derry. Nictaux. « * » « t t « Metallic iron 56 00 59-52 54-36 64-41 59-50 57-85 5911 Silica 10'04 513 19-43 3-68 214 479 14-97 Sulphur 0-14 — 0-29 0-16 0-02 0-07 0-09 Phosphorus ... trace — 010 0-04 trace 0-06 0-17 Lime — — 2-44 1-27 0-49 0-16 2-70 Magnesia ... 2-19 — 0-98 0-43 019 010 0-41 Alumina 6-86 0-07 0-45 0-21 0-69 0-56 6-68 Water 129 — — 10-77 10-71 Titanic acid... — — — trace ^_ Manganese ... ■^ ^^ "— — 0-38 0-26 -^ •BedhnmaUtM. f Brown hnmaUtea. THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT OF NOVA SCOTIA. 18 Pig Iron Hade. OieOluurged. Flux Charged. Ton*. TOIM. Tona. Londonderry ... 23,474 ... 56,390 ... 13,500 Ferrona ... ... 22,600 ... 44,866 ... 12,890 Bridgeville 498t ... 963 124 Pio iBoy Statibtics, 1893. FuelOhwied. Tont.* 34,840 30,846 68,220 Otheb Minerals. Oypmm. — In the Carboniferous marine limestone series of Nova Scotia gypsum forms one of the most prominent natural features. It outcrops at many places in the northern and eastern parts of Nova Scotia, and in the island of Cape Breton. The mineral occurs as hard and soft gypsum in every variety of form and purity. Owing to facilities for shipment, the greatest development of gypsum mining has been eflFected in the vicinity of Windsor, Hants county. The annual export from this district is about 150,000 tons, valued at about one dollar a ton. The mineral is taken from open quarries, trammed a few yards to the wharves, and shipped to the United States, where it is ground and largely used for agricultural purposes, and a small amount appliel to builders' use. Numerous deposits are worked on a small scale in other parts of the province, for export to Montreal, for a basis for fertilizers, and for building purposes. The total annual production varies from 145,000 to 170,000 tons. The gypsum is accom- panied by crystals o' salt and saline springs, salts of magnesia, free sulphur, borates, etc., but these minerals have not yet received any attention. Antimony. — Some yea.'S ago an antimony ore mine was opened and worked ai Rawdon, in Hants county. After several years the low price obtainabh for the product and legal troubles led to the closing of the mine. The ore was of good quality and in places decidedly auriferous. Prom researches made by the writer there would appear to be good grounds for expecting workable deposits of this ore over a considerable tract. Barytes. — Barytes is found at a number of places, and has been worked for an annual yield of a few hundred tons, principally for local paint works. Among the best known localities may be mentioned Five Islands, River John, Gay's River, Stewiacke, and Loch Lomond. Carbonate of strontium is reported from several points. Limestone. — Limestone is very abundant. In the Carboniferous strata it is usually compact, often fossiliferous, and laminated. It is quarried for lime, building purposes, and for fluxes for the iron furnaces. Considerable amounts are exported to be burned in Prince Edward's Island, which is destitute of this mineral. The limestone of the Laurentian series is usually metamorphosed into marble. As yet the stone has not been used to any extent for structural purposes, although often very beantifol. In * Chwooal bni. t OhaMoal piff. 14 THB MINBRAL DEVELOPMENT OP NOVA 8C0TU. the event of the removal of the duties on marble entering the United States a good market would be opened there. These limestones are some- times magnesian, and have been used for furnace lining, the purer beds have been extensively used for lime. Manganese. — The ores of this metal most frequently met with are pyro- lusite, manganite, and wad. They are very frequently observed, and have been worked at several localities. At Tenny Cape, Hants county, pyrolusite occurs as pockets and veins in limestone said to be of Lower Carboniferous age. A small annual shipment has been maintained for a number of years. The ore is very pure and is, the author believes, used by glass makers in the United States. Similar ores have been worked on a limited scale at Loch Lomond, Cape Breton county, where one deposit appa- rently forms a bed, and the other occurs in sheets and nodules in a soft sandstone. Near Truro, it occurs under similar conditions. Manganite has not, the author believes, yet been found in workable quantity, nor has any attention been paid to the wad ores. As the indications of manganese are very widespread in the province, it is confidently anticipated that large deposits will be found. Lead. — Galena occurs at many places in connexion with the Carbon- iferous limestones, disseminated or segregated in small veins. In the Stewiacke valley, at Pembroke and Smithfield, however, the lead bodies are large and important. The low price of lead has discouraged all attempts to open these mines, but it is anticipated that the construction of a railway (projected across the district they occur in) will allow of the starting of works to supply the home market, which is a very large one, and principally dependent on English sources. As a rule the silver per- centages of the Nova Scotia ores are not high, the highest the author has seen being about 100 ounces to the ton from Smithfield. Copper. — The copper ores of Nova Scotia have hitherto received little attention, beyond attempts by local parties to open the more promising deposits. The Upper Carboniferous measures, extending through Pictou, Col- chester, and Cumberland counties, show at numerous points sandstones containing copper ore, frequently of high grade, but hitherto the deposits have proved too irregular for systematic mining. In the county of Antigonish, in Devonian strata associated with dioritic dykes, some copper-pyrites deposits have been developed enough to show good promise. The distance of the ores from shipping and the price of copper has, how- ever, discouraged farther work. In the island of Cape Breton the traces of copper are widespread, and promise that some day Cape Breton will prove, like its neighbour New- TRT! MIMTBRAL nB7Kr,0PMBNT OP NOVA POOTIA. 10 fonndland, the seat of an important copper-raining industry. The felsites, etc., of Laurentiun age, seem to be the principal copper-containing rocks. At Ooxheath, near Sydney, the Eastern Development Co., of Boston, are gradually developing a property wliich promises to become an import- ant copper producer. This locality being close to iron ore, limestone, and coal, and on tide water, is unusually well situated to form the site of an important centre for smelting the copper ore, not only of Cape Breton, but of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, etc. The commencement of copper smelting at this point will undoubtedly direct the attention of prospec. ""s to the numerous signs of copper ore in Cape Breton, and the supply of ore in large amounts can be safely calculated on. The brief reference which the author has given above covers all the minerals of Nova Scotia, that have hitherto received any attention. There are in addition ores of molybdenum, zinc, nickel and cobalt, pyrites, graphite, asbestos, etc., but they are known almost entirely from samples, and no attempt has been made to test any of the deposits. Building-stone, ochres, infusorial earth, clays, etc., abound, and are used to a small exteni; for local requirements. The building-stones embrace grey and red granites, syenites, li-eestone, marbles, etc., of excel- lent quality, and usually in the vicinity of shipment. The Government of the province retains gold, silver, iron, coal, lead, copper, tin, and precious stones, and allows the other minerals to pass in fee in the Crown land grants. Leases are given for periods of forty to eighty years, on the usual conditions, subject to a royalty of 2 per cent, in the case of gold and silver, of from 10 to 12 J cents per long ton on coal sold, and of 5 cents per long ton of iron ore sold or smelted. A special department of the Government is charged with the care of the leases, etc., and a special registration is established free of cost. Prom these brief remarks it will be seen that a promising development has been made in coal, iron, and gold, enough to show the extent and value of these three resources. All other minerals appear to have been hitherto practically ignored. This may be due to the absence of men accustomed to seek and utilize them, as well as to the lack of interest manifested by the inhabitants of the province, who devote their attention more especially to lumbering, farming, and fishing. The widespread indications of mineral wealth warrant the hope that their appropriate development will take plaoe at an early date. m