IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // / < V / C/j 1.0 I.I 1^ Hi 1^ 12.2 11-25 i u 2.0 1.8 1.6 V] Va e. /y / '^^ //a # iV ^\ % ^^ />/)er Nickel.-^Nickeline.—KupfernickeL— Arseni- cal Alckel. — Of a pale coi)per-red colour. It occurs massive, has a metallic lustre, and is ex- tremely brittle ; specific gravity varying from 7 '3 to 7-5. This mineral is essentially composed of 44 per cent, of nickel and of 56 per cent, of arsenic. Its formula is the following — NiAs. 2. White Nickel {Rummelsuer^^ite, Cloanthite).—!?, an arsenical ore which has been discovered at Reichelsdorf in Hesse-Cassel, at Schneeberg in Saxony, and in the Pyrenees, France, with Kupfernickel. Its composition is the following— nickel, 28 / ; arsenic, 72/. Formula, NiAsg. 3. Nickel Glance, — Another arsenical ore, containing sulphur. It occurs in the massive state and in cubical crystals; it is of a steel-grey colour, and has been found in Sweden, in the Hartz, at Schlaming in Austria, in the Lower Pyrenees, France and in other places. Formula, NiAsS. 4. Antinionial /V/V/v7.— Contains an average of 29 per cent, nickel, found in Andreasberg. Formula, N'iSb. 5. Millerite.~\^ a sulphide of nickel, of a brass- yellow colour. Has been found in small quantities in Bohemia, Saxony, Cornwall, South Wales, Sudbury. Contains 64 per cent, of nickel. Formula, NiS. I MCKi:i. .L\n MCKi.L ORES. II ^ 6. Pentlandite. — Double sulphide of iron and nickel ; is of a bronze-yellow colour, contains from i8 to 21 per cent, of the metal, and has been found in Southern Norway. A similar mineral, containing from 10 to 12 per cent, of nickel, has been discovered in the neighbourhood of Inverary, Scotland, and is also found in the United States and Canada. The ores of Sudbury, being nickel- bearing Pyrrhotite, have to be referred to that grouj). Another sulphide of nickel, bearing bismuth, has been detected in some German mines, from which specimens of arseniate of nickel of a beautiful apple-green colour have also been produced. 7. Zaratile or Ifydrated Carbonate of Nickel. — Usually occurs as an incrustation on other minerals, nearly transparent, of a bright-green colour. Another ore of nickel of a brown or nearly black colour, containing variable quantities of sulphur, is also found in connection with ores of cobalt at La Motte Mine, Missouri, United States, America. 8. Garnierite. — Is an hydro-silicate of nickel and magnesia ; has been found in New Caledonia, where it is extensively worked. Its composition is : — Silica and gangiie matter Magnesia Oxide of nickel Oxide of iron ... Water 15 18 7 22 13 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. Another siliceous ore of nickel has been detected in Logan county, Kansas. It consists of a quartzose conglomerate from bean- size down, with much decomposed material between the I)ebbles, and the whole cemented by a more or less manganiferous limonite.* Two analyses of large samples have given the following composition : — Insoluble siliceous matter Copper Nickel Cobalt per cent. 66-36 0-025 0-258 0-072 per cent. 6304 0-033 0-260 Silicate of nickel has also been detected in the Pyrenees in a serpentinous Lherzolite by Mr. C. Frossard. * "Note on the Nickel Ore of Russell Springs, Logan County, Kansas." by Fred. P. Dewey, Washington, D. C, vol. xvii., p. 636, Traiisaclions Am. Inst. 0/ Mining Engineers. * CHAPTER II. NICKEL ORES OF NORTH AMERICA. THE ores of nickel, though numerous and found in nearly all parts of the world associated with other minerals, have been extracted but from a few districts : their principal producing centres are, till the present time. New Caledonia, and Sudbury in Canada, where the ores are sufficiently concentrated to be mined with profits. We may briefly mention that nickel has been observed in several mines of the northern continent of America. For instance, in the United States, in Colorado; in Missouri, at Mine La Motte, where it was found associated with cobalt and copper; in Nevada, in 1874, by Mr. A. 1^. Hodges junior, who discovered at Carter's copper mine, near Mason Valley, a new combination of nickel and cobalt ; in the black hills of Hakota, by Mr. Francklin R. Carpenter, as occurring in the beds of pyrrhotite, always associated with copper; in Kansas, as an ore consisting of a quartzose conglomerate ; in Orford town- ship, county of Sherbrooke, province of Quebec, as millcrite, disseminated in grains and thin threads in a 13 14 THE NICKEL ORES OE Sl7)Ei7n: rock composed of calcitc, white pyroxene and chromi- ferous garnet,* and in other serpentines and magncsian rocks of the eastern townships; in Newfoundland, at the Union Mine, Tilt Cove, as eirsenical nickel, niillerite, cloanthite, and as nickel-bearing pyrrhotite ; and more recently in New Brunswick, Canada, near St. Stephen, as nickel-carrying pyrrhotite. In Newfoundland, at 'I'ilt Cove, on the north side of the (;reat Bay of Notre Dame, which neighbourhood I visited in t888 and 1891, nickel ores have been mined during several years, at the Union Mine, where they have been found associated with copper sulphurets and iron pyrite very similar to those of the district of Sudbury. A few lines relating their geological situation and a table showing the quantity of nickel produced formerly by the Union Mine are not here out of place, and will perhaps be found interesting. The sulphuretted ores of copper, chiefly chalcopyrite associated with iron pyrite and nickel, are observed as being disseminated in grains and layers in the chloritir. slates and dioritic beds ; also concentrated in the folds and dislocations of magnesian rocks, and in white quart.: veins near the same horizon. These chloritic slates, which are very ferruginous, occur above and below the serpentine of the Quebec group of the lower silurian series. 'J'his group, says * (( Mines ct MinOraux dc la Province de Quebec," par |, Obalski, Ingr. dcs Mines dii Ciouvernenient, 1889-90. NICKEL ORES OF XORTII AMERICA. 15 Sir William Logan, " can he conveniently separated into three divisions, the middle one having proved to be rich in metalliferous deposits in its course from the Southern Atlantic States of the American Union to Canada, and through Eastern Canada to laspe. This middle division, called the Lauzon division, is the great metalliferous zone of the lower silurian in North America. It is rich in copper ores, chiefly as interstratified cupriferous slates, and is accompanied hy silver, gold, nickel, and chromium ores. The following table will show the geological position of that division : Enp^lish Complete Series. Western Kasteni Newfound- Synonyms. IJasin. Hasin. land. 12 Hudson River Hudson River • • • • • • Caradoc II Utica Ulica ■ • ■ 10 Trenton group Trenton group ... ... Caradoc(?) 9 Chazy Chazy • • • • • • « Sillery q^,^,^^^. ... Sillery Sillery Llandcilo J 7 "-^"^o" \ group 6 Levis J ... Lauzon Lauzon . . . Levis Levis ■ 5 Upper Calcifcrous . • . Upper Cal- cifcrous Trcmadoc -' 4 Lower Calcifcrous Lower Cal- Lower Cal- , cifcrous cifcrous 3 Upper Potsdam Upper Upper Potsdam Potsdam LinG:uIa J 2 Lower Potsdam Lower Lower ' Lower flags 1 Potsdam i Potsdam Potsdam I I St. John's group St. Joiin's : St. John's group group i6 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. We add a table giving the quantities of nickel produced at the Union Mine from 1869 to 1876 : Years. 1869 1S70 1871 1872 1874 1876 Production in nickel. Tons 30 88 8 233 •7 28 Total 411 Value in dollars. 7,200 S,8oo 700 2,560 9.320 1,360 2,800 32,740 (Since 1876 the mine has not supplied the market with any nickel.) The ores of Sudbury have for some time attracted the attention of geologists. They occur in large bodies of lenticular shape in the Huronian system, and consist of a mixture of chalcopyrite and magnetic iron pyrite or pyrrhotite carrying nickel ; this metal having replaced a certain proportion of iron. Chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, which are in Sudbury nickel-bearing, are both widely distributed : chalcopyrite as copper ore is mined extensively in other countries' and furnishes the greater proportion of the world's copper; its occurrence in the older crystalline rocks has been noticed in Newfoundland, Canada, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. Its composition can be represented as follows ; NICKEL ORES OF NORTH AMERIC.L 17 Cojipcr, Cii Iron, Fc Sulphur, S 34-4 35- 1 lOO'O Formula Cu^S, FcvSg. Pyrrhotitc or magnetic iron pyrite, is a monosuli)hide of iron. It occurs abundantly at the surface of the earth, and has often given rise to great mistakes when treated for the manuHicture of sulpliuric acid, instead of the iron pyrite (bisulphide of iron). Average composition : Iron, Fe Sulphur, S 60-5 39-5 Though in the mixture of chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite the amount of iron replaced by nickel is very small, the proportion of nickel contained is unusual, and highly sufficient to make these ores pay as nickel ores, when lymg m large bodies and near railway communication. The proportion of nickel has been proved to vary greatly: we found it on different occasions to be {, i, 1 1, 2, and 3 per cent., and Mr. F. Sperry gives as mean average in the ores of Copper Cliff Mine, 3 to 4 per cent, nickel, and states that a shipment to New York of 3,000 tons carried 7 per cent, copper and 3 per cent, nickel.* Mr. Jules Gamier, in a paper published in 1891, in the -Memoires de la Societe des Ingenieurs nrnV^'^T\°^ ^^'^ ^^^'^^ Commission on the Mineral Resources ol Ontario, 1890, page 104. i8 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDliURY. Civils," gives the following assays and analysis of ores of Copper Cliff Mine. Assays of Copper Cliff ores, on 139 tons : Copper, Cu .. Nickel, Ni ... Analysis of 90 tons ore : Sulphur Copper Iron Nickel Protoxide of Iron Lime Magnesia Alumina Silica ... 'Y(^'^^\ 101-027 which can be approximately written : Chalcopyritc — CuFeS^ Nickel and pyrrhotitc— NiFeyS^. Gangue 4-80 5"Oi 547 5-89 5-3 • 5-69 26717 I2-6lO 29*220 3-120 6-22 \ 4-84 2-6i V Gangue 29-36% 2-63 13-06 36-49 36-18 28-36 10103 In the " Report of the Royal Commission on Mineral Resources of Ontario, 1890," the results of nine analyses are thus published: Copper . Nickel . 4-62 1-16 5-52 1 13 4'95 i 9-98 ; 4-03 3-26 1-12 ,4-21 NICKEL ORES OF NORTH AMERICA. 19 giving an average of 6-44 per cent, of co[)pcr and 2-38 per cent, of nickel. Besides its occurrence in large bodies as nickeliferous pyrrhotite, nickel is also found in the district of Sudbury as millerite (sulphide of nickel), of which the composition and formula have been given in Chap. I. These ores are more or less associated with other minerals, such as cobalt, silver, gold, and platinum, but are generally free from arsenic. Platinum was found in 1888 at the Vermillion Mine, twenty-two miles west of Sudbury, by Mr. F. L. Sperry, who sent a small quantity of the metal-carrying material to Professor H. L. Wells, of Yale University, who upon examination proved the platinum to exist there as a new mineral, arsenide of platinum, and named it Sperrylite, after Mr. F. L. Sperry. The composition of this rare and remarkable mineral has been given by Professor Horace L. Wells, and is represented by the formula PtAsg. The following table shows the results of chemical analysis of Sperrylite : I. II. Arsenic ' Antimony Platinum Rhodium Palladium Iron Stannic Oxide Mean. 40-98 c T 52-57 072 trace 0-07 462 99-38 99-53 99-46 40-91 41*05 042 0-52 52-53 52-60 075 0-68 trace trace 0-08 007 4-69 4-54 75 122 197 104 Ratio. ■546) -004 j •267 "I •007 /■^74 550=2 = I I 20 rilE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. The crystallographic properties of Sperrylite have been given by Prof. S. L. Pcnfield.* Having described the nickel ores of Sudbury, and liaving mentioned their occurrence in the Huronian system, we must, before speaking of the mining of the ores, explain, for those not acquainted with Canadian geology, what the Huronian system is, how it lies in Canada and especially in Sudbury, and how the ores of nickel are met with in it. * "Sperrylite, a New Mineral," by Horace L. Wells; and "Crystalline Form of Sperrylite," by S. L. Penficld, Am. Journal of Science, vol. xxxvii., Jan. 1889. chaitj<:r hi. IIURONIAN SYSTEM. '^TT^IIK pre-Canibrian period of North America, to X vvhicli tlie Huronian system belongs, shows a re- markable and constant succession of crystalline stratified rocks, divided into several great groups, these rocks becoming less massive and less crystalline towards the uncrystalline sediments of the palitozoic age, of which the Cambrian period must be considered as the basis. 'I'he name of Archaean, which has been i)roposed for that system, is vague, and otherwise, as the late ])r. T. Sterry Hunt said, ?iot in accordiuice with the nomenclature adopted for the i:;reat s/^reeedi//o- divisions ; and as all pre-Ca}nl>rian }:^roups <^ive direct proofs of the existence of ori^anised /feina^s during their deposition^ it is rii:;ht to include them all under the name ake, a distance of forty-five miles. Another large area stretches from the Pic river eastward to Nottamagami Lake, and westward to Nipigon Bay. "Two extensive belts run eastward from Lake Nipigon, one of which crosses Long Lake. West of Thunder Bay, and stretching to the international Ijoundary line, there is a large area which gives off arms to the north-east and south-west, and several belts and compact and straggling areas occur between diis and the Lake-of-the- Woods basin, one of wliich follows the course of the Seine river. The Lake-of-the-Woods area, which has already been alluded to, occupies the whole breadth of the northern division of that lake. .1 28 THE NICKEL ORES OE SUDBURY. An important belt starts between Rainy Lake and I kc- of-the-\\'()ods, and numing north-eastwai has a breadtli of forty-five miles wiiere it crosses the Hne of the Canadian Pacific Raihvay. Minnietakie and Sturgeon Lakes he within this belt. Iluronian rocks occur at both ends of Lake St. Joseph and along three sections of the Albany river, between it and the commencement of the pala30zoic basin of James liay." ■'■ The Huronian system has been divided into two formations, but we must confess that it is very difficult to draw a distinct line se[)arating them. The Upper formation would include the series of the Lake-of-the Woods district, and would be the '' Keewatin " scries; the Lower formation would consist especially of dark green and grey crystalline schists, and the Upper one would chiefly contain graywacke, clay slates, argillites, felsites, quartzites, jasper conglomerates, dolomites, and serpentine ; nickel in the state of nickeliferous pyrrhotite being referred to that Upper division. Nothing has been said here on the origin of the pre-Cambrian rocks ; we refer for more information to the books and works on the subject. * " Report of the Royal Commission on the Mineral Resource of Ontario." Toronto, 1890, page 18. CHAPTER IV. SUDBURY DEPOSITS. SUDBURY, the centre of the nickel prodiUMng country of Canada, lies in Ontario, about 443 miles west of Montreal, on the Canadian Pacific Rail- way, and at about 840 feet above mean sea level/' The town is situated in a wild country composed of hills, lakes, and rivers, most of it covered formerly by dense forests of pine, now nearly all swept away by tire, and replaced by maple, red oak, and black birch. For many years the district has been thought of as being rich in minerals, and we see that, in 1846, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt informed the Canadian Government that that part of Ontario was highly metalliferous. 'I'he country rocks, as has been already said, belong to the Upper formation of the Huronian system ; they run in a general north-east and south-west direction, and dii) towards the south-east. The nickel-carrvinL^ ore- * "The Geology of Sudbury District,"' by Dr. p. 841-. 29 Robert Bell, riBlilkik 30 THE NICKLL ORES OF SUDBURY. l)odics fcjilowthc linu of stnitification ; tlicy liavc a rougli lenticular shape, and are always found near extensive dykes of diorite or greenstone, often occurring as contact de[)osits between diorite and graywackc, sometimes in the midst of the diorite or greenstone itself which forms the gangue, and is a rather (iivourablc constituent than otherwise, as it is far less refractory than the siliceous vein matter which is the ordinary gangue of coi)[)cr ores. The ore is generally low-grade, but in the midst of large pockets of that low-grade ore, pure cop[)er pyrite and highly nickeliferous pyrrhotite can be observed, and often in important quantities. The chief characteristics of the ore-bodies are : First, the red colour they give to the surface soil, colour })roduced by the decom],)Osed ferruginous salts Secondly, their extent ; Thirdly, their occurrence at certain intervals in power- ful mineralised belts which can be traced for a long distance throughout the country. " The ore-bodies," we are told by Dr. iJell, " have most probably originated primarily from a state of fusion ; their intimate association with greenstones, which are of igneous origin, would show this, as well as the fact that these greenstones themselves fuse at about the same temperature as the sulphides. But they may have been subsec^uently more or less modified by other agencies. The occurrence of crystals of feldspar, quartz, and apatite in some of the deposits, and of laminated iron pyrites S UDB UR Y DEPOSI TS. in one [)Iacc in Copi)cr Cliff mine, indicate the action of acjucoLis solution." * 'I'he ore is hard, and the pockets form hills and mounds having an axis (generally with a north-cast and south-west course) coincident in direction with the longitudinal axis of the ore-bodies. After having, in 1890, carefully insi)ected the vSudbury district and vicinity, and having then remarked that some of the ore-bodies carried copper to a great extent and others did not contain or offered only traces of the salts of that metal, we came to the conclusion that the Sudbury deposits could be divided into two classes : the first one to contain those deposits which carry copper to a certain extent, the second one to include those which do not show copper salts. The latter dei)Osits, it is true, run low in nickel, but as they are formed by extremely massive nickeliferous [)yrrhotite, they can be worked to great advantage. I'hey are especially located at the north-west of Sudbury. These ore-bodies have been divided by Dr. E. D. Peters into three classes. To the first are to be referred the deposits which are composed of extremely massive pyrrhotite, and are of enormous extent. The second class includes those which are more rocky in their nature and less extended in size, but very much richer ■-It (( Report on the Sudbury Mining Distriet, 1891," by Robert Bell, B.Sc., M.D., LL.D., p. 49! 32 THE MCKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. in copper and nickel ; and the third contains those which, as he says, form a most unusual and pleasin^ combination, being nearly as large as deposits of the first class, and as rich in nickel and copper as those of the second. CHAPTER V. SUDBURY NICKEL MINES. T^HE mining of nicke! ores began in 1886, and since ■1 that time several companies have been formed for the purpose of working the Sudbury deposits. Amongst the most important, we find : — 1. The Canadian Copper Company; 2. The Dominion Mineral Company ; 3. H. H. Vivian and Company. The Canadian Copper Company, covering in the region an area of about 10,000 acres, began operations in 1886 with a capital of $2,000,000, increased in 1889 to $2,500,000. The principal producing centres owned by that company are : " Copper Cliff," the " Evans," and " Stobie " mines. AVe will now proceed to a rapid description of these mines : and as the principal features of the ore-bodies and of the ways employed in mining are now what they were when we visited the mines, we will speak of them as they were in 1890. ^ The Copper Cliff Mine is situated in the township of Snider, on a branch road at about one mile from Copper oj 3 34 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. Cliff, a station of the Canadian Pacific Railway, at four miles south-west of Sudbury, on the Algoma line. The property was put in operation in 1886. An incline shaft reached, in 1890, the depth of nearly 600 feet with five working levels. From 1886 to 1890, the mine produced about 56,540 tons of ore, which were sent to the roasting beds, and the average amount of ore crushed per diem was 180 tons. Specimens gave as much as 15 per cent, nickel and 30 per cent, copper, but the mean average grade of ore was 3 per cent, nickel and 5 per cent, copper. The mining plant included two boilers of about 80 horse-power, supplying steam to all the machinery; an Ingersoll air compressor and accessories including Ingersoll rock drills ; one winding engine with two drums and cables; one No. 5, 15" x 9" "Blake" crusher, and sizing sieves (the crushing plant having a capacity of about 400 tons per twenty-four hours) ; one steam pump at the lower level of the mine, condensing into a tank from where it pumped water out, that tank being filled by a small pump run by compressed air ; a machine shop for repairs ; offices ; laboratory and houses for men and their families. With the idea of increasing the crushing and the roast- ing plants of the property, the Company was then going to put up a " Gates " crusher of three 18 " x 42 " open- ings, with a capacity of from 100 to 150 tons per hour. The Evans Mine, situated about a mih and a half south-west of Copper Cliff station, is connected with • SUDBURY NICKEL MINES. 35 the Algoma line by a track of half a mile in length. Here we could see a large excavation of about 200 feet in width and yo feet deep, forming the upper part of a shaft of 180 feet. The mining machinery of this mine was much like that employed at Copper Cliff, with a larger steam- producing plant. At the time of our visit, nearly 33,000 tons of ore, averaging 7 per cent, in nickel and copper, had been sent for roastin'^ The next mine visited was the Sto/>ie, three miles and a half north of Sudbury, on a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, built for the transportation of its ores and of those extracted from the Blezard Mine. This centre was opened in 1887 by two tunnels and afterwards by open cast work. The limits of the deposit had not yet been reached, and the amount of ore pro- duced then was about 16,000 tons. On account of their great fluxing qualities, these ores were mixed, at the central smelting plant of the Company, with the more refractory ones of the other mines. The output of these three mines for 1890 averaged as follows :* Copper per cent. 6-24 Copper Cliflr Mine Evans Mine Stobie Mine Average of all 2-84 1-99 4-32 Nickel per cent. 3-69 3-62 2 00 3-52 * (( Report on the Sudbury Mining District, 1891," by Robert Bell, page 5 if. TilE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. 71ie Dominion Mineral Coni/^any, next in inii)ortancc, owns, besides other valuable properties, the " Dlezard," the *' Worthington," and the " Crcan " mines. The Bkzani^ the principal mine of the Company, is situated four and a half miles north of Sudbury, in the township of Llezard. In 1890, three shafts had been sunk and 45,000 tons had been mined and taken to the roast beds. The whole mac'iinery plant had been especially well planned, and everything was similar to the installation of " Copper Cliff." The chambers where mining was conducted were lighted with electricity, and the daily product average was 180 tons. The WortJiington Mine, on the Algoma l)ranch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is about seven miles west of White Fish station. There could be seen a mound thirty feet high, and of sixty feet diameter with a small shaft in the centre. The Crean Mine, close to the " Worthington," offered a twenty feet shaft and was left as not paying. As for the average tenor in nickel of the ores mined by the Dominion Mineral Company, let us quote what Mr. George Atwood, manager of the Company, wrote to Dr. Bell, under date of March i8th, 1891 : " The ' Kies ' or Metallics of the Blezard Mine average 4 per cent, nickel, which is accompanied by about 2 per cent, copper. — The above is the result of many hundreds of assays, also of the practical working on a large scale. The nickel ore at the Worthington varies very much, SUDBL'RY NICKEL MINES. 37 v> and wc have had assays from 2 per cent, to 38 per cent, nickel. Large shipments of clean ore have gone about 9i per cent, nickel and 3 per cent, copper. We have also shipped some clean copper ore from the Worthington Mine assaying icS per cent, copper and 2| per cent, nickel." // H. Vivian and Company. — .^'everal ore-bearing mounds were seen at the "Murray" Mine, the most important property of the Company, finely located on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, two and a half miles north-west of Sudbury, i^he character- istics of the ore mined here have proved to be similar to those of the other ones, except that they carry less copper. The average p.-rcentage of ore smelted at the "Murray" Mine is as follows : Nickel Copper l'5 per cent. 075 per cent. Most of the men employed are Cornish and Welsh, and are paid at the following rate : Per month. Mining Captain ^^^^^ Assistant Captain ^^^ 100.00 Master Mechanic Teamster. .. Drill Runners Miners Labourers ... Foreman Watchman ... 45.00 Per day. S2.IO 1-75 1.60 2.00 175 38 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. Engineer Pumpman Fitter ... Fireman Blacksmith Assistant Blacksmitli Macliinist Per day, .$2.00 2.00 2.00 1.50 2.50 1-75 2.25 AVith these figures the mean average cost of mining per ton of ore can be taken at $ 2.00. Besides these opened-up mines, the three Companies here above- mentioned own large areas of land and have, in the different townships surrounding Sudbury, great quantities of ore kept in reserve for the future. Since then another company, which purchased the "Chicago Nicke^ " Mine, began in February 1891, on Lot 3, fifth concession of the township of T^rury, four and a half miles north from Worthington station, on the Algoma branch of Canadian Pacific Railway. A few thousand tons of ore have been mined, and we are told that the ore runs 7 to 8 per cent, of copper and nickel, as an average. We will not attempt to give an accurate description of the country surrounding these mines. The main important fact is, that everywhere surface indications of the existence of ore can be found, and that in many places the " Surface gossan " exposed to the sight of the visitor is sufficient to prove the existence underneath of large bodies of ore, all of them more or less nickeliferous, and which, without doubt, deserve to be tried later on. v. SUDBURY NICKEL MINES. 39 ^s- In endeavouring in the next chapter to point out the chief characteristics of the methods employed in the roasting and smelting of nickel ores at Sudbury, we will largely use the valuable works of Dr. E. D. Peters, who is deservedly known as one of the best authorities on the matter. CHAPTER VI. ROASTING AND SMELTING OF NICKEL ORES IN THE DISTRICT OF SUDBURY. J^OylST/iVG.—Thc process employed at Sudbury is the one called "Open Heaps roasting," especially resorted to where fuel is cheap, labour expensive, and no damages can be caused by sulphurous gases. Heap roasting * has been in use since the remotest time, and is still in practice in its most primitive form amon- barbarous nations. It has a great disadvantage-tha^ of not only consuming a large amount of wood, but, from the imperfect distril^ution of heat, of often pro- ducing in the interior of a pile a fused and compact mass, before other portions are sufficiently roasted. The gangue matter having been picked out as much as possible, the broken stuff classified by sieves into three different dimensions, is taken to the roast yard, Though ,n English metallurgy a distinction is made between the terms calcination and roasting, the latter one being exclu- sively applied to a special process, they are here employed as bemg synonymous. 40 ROASTING AND SMELTING. 41 il where the ground has been levelled and prepared for the construction of roasting piles. In laying out ground for roast-piles, several important points have to be considered : 1. The economy of labour ; 2. 'J'he direction of prevailing winds ; 3. Protection of roasting ground from violent winds ; 4. Protection from drifted snow ; 5. Level of roasting ground, which must be as high as the spot to which the ore is to be transported, or at least, as high as the elevator, which is to raise it to the- required level. In building a pile, the corners of the rectangular space on which it is to be erected should be indicated by stakes or stones, and the sides of the area by lines drawn on the ground to guide the workman. The first layer is formed by six inches in fine ore, which will prevent the baking and adhering to the ground of the coarse ore and make a net horizon between the worthless and the valuable stuff. This layer is overlaid by wood from one and a lialf to two feet in thickness, on which lie the coarser ore and "ragging" to a depth of about seven feet; then "fines," which cover the heap and concentrate the heat. AVith reference to Copper Cliff Mine, let us now quote what Dr. E. D. Peters says in his pai)er published in the Tnmsacfions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, vol. xviii. L.^^fc /iiXnU' %*. £^ci^v«3ab^ 42 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. " The roast-yard is nearly half a mile long and one hundred feet wide, so that the length of the piles is limited by the width of the ground. After allowing space to get round them, and for drains, about 80 feet is left for the length. They are about 40 feet wide, and as the ore is piled about 7 feet high on the wood, will hold about 800 tons. They are built in the usual manner, about 30 cords of wood being sufficient to kindle a pile. After the main l)ody of the pile is built of coarse ore, a layer of ragging or medium ore is put on, 6 inches to a foot thick, according to the supply on hand, and this is covered in the usual manner >\ No. I. No. 3. No. 2. li i| with ' fines.' By interposing a layer of rotten wood and chips between the raggings and fines, we are enabled to roast both of these smaller sizes more perfectly than is usually done. In general, we find the whole heap well enough oxidised to take it direct to the smelter without re-roasting any portion of it, which contributes materially to the economy of the operation. A heap of 800 tons burns about sixty days, if properly managed." The heap roasting method employed at ' Copper Cliff ' is an improvement on the old system, and has been introduced there by Mr. James McArthur. It has ROASTING AND SMELTING. 43 been called the ' V-method.'" Dr. E. D. Peters de- scribes it as follows : " The new method introduced at these works by the superintendent of smelting, James McArthur, may be easily understood from the ac- companying sketch, in which Nos. i and 2 represent heaps built in the ordinary manner. They are allowed to burn out about one-half, and become thoroughly cooled on the sides. Then heap No. 3 is built in the passage-way between them, being shaped like a V- A bed of wood on the bottom, and a single layer of the same on the sloping sides of the two lateral heaps, provide ample fuel to start No. 3, which not only undergoes a thorough burning itself, but also sets the unroasted sloping sides of the two adjoining heaps on fire again, and thus roasts something like 50 to 100 tons of material that ordinarily is nearly raw. This method, besides greatly lessening the percentage of un- roasted ore, also adds some 60 per cent, to the capacity of an ordinary roast-ground. For convenience in speak- ing of this new plan, we have called it the 'V-method' of heap roasting. Our best metallurgists are much pleased with the results obtained at Sudbury by this innovation." With the V-method and a roasting capacity of one hundred tons per ten hours, the costs of breaking and roasting a ton of nickel ore at Sudbury can be estimated as follows : (The weight of one cord air-dried pine being about 2000 lb. and equivalent to about 725 lb. of coal.) 44 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. Cost of breaking per ton $ per 100 tons. 2.70 0.50 0,50 0-37^ $ per ton. jC per ton. S/caiii prof/iicing platit : 1 h cord ol" wood at S i.So per cord Oil and lubricants Engineer at $2.00 per day ] wages Fireman at $1.50 ditto ... 1 1 1 .$4.07 .i .$0.0407 Labour : Two feeders at Si. 50 per day ... One helper at S0.75 per day 3.00 0.7S S3-75 -^0.0375 i 1 Repairs to Machinery and Snnffries : Wear of tools and babbit for re- newing bearings Daily repairs Joggles and plates Sundries and extras Miscellaneous, sampling, etc. ... Sinking fund to replace machinery at 10% on original cost 0.50 0.60 0.60 0.50 0.50 1.50 $0,042 » S4.20 Total cost of breaking per ton ... ^0.1202 /o 6 Average cost of roasting one ton of nickel ore at Sudbury, with a roasting plant of 100 tons per 24 hours : kOASTING AND SMELTING. 45 •S per icK) tons. Transportation to heaps Fuel, 6 cords of wood at .Si.So per cord Labour in building" and "burning heaps Removing and loading roasted ore". lo men Transportation to furnace ..'.' Oil and repairs \ Miscellaneous labour, screening, etc Renewing shovels and other tools * Repairs on gads, bars, and tools . Total At Copper Cliff, an analysis of roasted ore gave : 5-40 per cent, of copper, 2-43 per cent, of nickel, 7*92 per cent, of sulphur, 25 per cent, of iron, lime, mangnesia, etc. And the residue chiefly of hornblende. 6'///^///;/..-.— The roasted ores are smelted at the mines of the "Canadian Copper" and of the ''Dominion Mineral " Companies, in water jacket furnaces of the Herreshoff patent, made in Sherbrooke, province of Quebec, by the Jenckes Machine Co. These furnaces are elliptical, and made of rolled steel, with a water space of two inches. Their bottom is formed by a cast-iron plate protected with fire bricks, their dome is 46 THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY. of plate steel and brick-lined ; the whole being supported by four iron legs. The blast is supplied into the furnace through eleven fuyl'ns at a pressure of eight to ten ounces per square inch. For a full description let us refer the reader to the following works : Transactions of Am. Inst, of Mining; Eng. *' The Sudbury Ore Deposits," by E. D. Peters, page 278, vol. xviii. ; " Report of the Royal Commission on the Mineral Resources of Ontario, 1890," page 378 ; " Mines de Nickel, Cuivre et Platine du District de Sudbury (Canada) " per Jules Gamier, 1891 ; " Modern American Methods of Copper Smelting," by Edward Dyer Peters, junior. Usually 120 tons of ore will be smelted per day, in a furnace with charges of 1800 to 2000 lb., consisting of a mixture of ore and coke in the proportion in weight of eight of the former to one of the latter. The matte produced is bright and flows freely, at times shooting out like the discharge of a gun. Its chemical composition has been determined by Mr. F. L. Sperry. We quote here analysis made by him on February 22nd, and on March 2nd, 1889. Copper 27-06 2676 26-910 Nickel 14-44 I3^«4 14-140 Iron 31-00 31-47 31^235 Sulphur 26*90 27-00 26-950 Cobalt -27 •20 •235 Slag •92 •95 •935 Total 10059 IOO-22 100405 ROASTING AND SMELTING. 47 Taking the cost of Pennsylvania coke in Sudbury at $7-oo per ton, we can figure approximately as follows the cost of smelting into matte a ton of roasted ore in a Herreshoff water jacket furnace. Cosf of smcliurr per ton of on, based on a smelthv^ capacity of 120 tons of ore pet- 24 hours. Fuel and Supplies : — I7.{ tons of coke at .S7.00 per ton Fuel for blast and attendance Cost of pumping water for jackets Clay and sand Oil, lights ... ... ''" ■■■ Renewal of tools, pots, moulds, etc. Repairs on furnace and machinery Cost of blowing in and out Sinking fund to replace furnace Miscellaneous Total fuel and supplies Labour : — Superintendence Laboratory work Blacksmith work Lower floor labour Charging floor labour Foremen... Labourers Pur 120 tons. $120.75 23.15 10.50 1.50 7-50 4.90 4-50 8.60 450 9.00 194.90 $6.00 ••• 4.00 •■• 300 22.00 14.00 7.50 6.00 $62.50 Cost per 120 tons of Fuel supplies and labour §257.40 6% more for sundries