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THE

NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY

(CANADA)

/•

TIIK

NICKEL ORES

S U D B U R Y

(CANADA)

JOHN I). FROSSARD, ESQ, B.Sc, M.E

MFMiiiR \mkrh:.\s iNSTirrii; or mining i;n(.inm;ks

LONDON
(JKORGE PHILIP .^^ SON, 32, FLEET STREK'l'

LIVFRPOOL: 45 ro sr, SOIJJH CASTLK STRKF.T '

1893

M// rii;/i/s rcFtrved},

PREFACE.

OEVERAL very good works have been written

*^ on the subject, and what can be called the

nickel country of Ontario has been described in

different mining and scientific papers ; but now that

the importance of nickel is growing every day, and

that the demand for it is constantly increasing, a few

words more, relating the conditions and the working

of nickel ores of Sudbury, will perhaps be found

interesting; and even if these lines do not add to

the knowledge already acquired by those who have

to deal with nickel, it will remind them that there

is a literature on the subject, and that men of

science and learning have Titten things which

are worth reading.

In writing these pages, very valuable information
was derived from the following books, reviews and

I'REFAC i:.

papers : " Guide du GOologuc dans les Pyrenees
Centrales," par E. Frossard, 1858; "Elements of
Metallurgy," by T. Arthur Phillips, 1874; "Chemical
and Geological Essays," by Th. Sterry Hunt, 1878 ;
" Geological Survey of Newfoundland," by Alexander
Murray and James P. Ilowley, 1881 ; "Report of
the Royal Commission on the Mineral Resources of
Ontario, 1890;" " Report on the Sudbury Mining
District," by Robert Bell, B.Sc, M.D., LL.I).,
1890; "Modern American Methods of Copper
Smelting," by Edward Dyer Peters, jun., 4th ed.,
1892; Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute;
transactions of the American Institute of Mining
Engineers; American J our) ml of Sciciur ; " Me-
moires de la Societe des Ingenieurs Civils;" Bulletin
dc la Societe Ge'ologique de France ; Engineering and
Mining Journal, New York ; Canadian Mining
Review; and in many instances integral parts of
these works have been quoted.

JOHN 1). FROSSARD.

135, Shooter's II ill Ruad,
Blackheath, S.E.

CONTENTS.

- ~ it ■■■•■

PREi ACL

• • a ■

PAGt

CHAPTER I.
On Nickel and Nickel Ores .

CHAPTER n.
Nickel Ores oi North America

CHAPTER HI.

Huronian System

• • •

CHAPTER IV.

Sudbury Deposits

CHAPTER V.
Sudbury Nickel Mines

• • • •

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

rA<-;K

Roasting and Smkltino oi- Nickkl Ores in

THE District of Suuuurv ... 40

CHAPTER VH.

Uses of Nickel

4»
V

THE NICKEL ORES OE SEDBrRV,

CANADA.

CHAPTER I.

NICKEL AND NICKEL ORES.

WE learn that in tlic middle ages nickel was
discovered in the cobalt mines of Thuringia,
Germany, where it was supposed to be a kind of silver.
When it was found that the metal contained no silver at
all, people thought that malicious gnomes had trans-
formed the precious metal into a vile composition, and
accordingly it was left useless in the dumps of the mines.

The metal was separated in its pure state for the first
time in 1751, by Cronstedt, a Swedish mineralogist, who
produced it from an arseniuret of nickel.

Though specimens of native nickel have been obtained
from the Erzgebirge, and though it forms 5 to 10 per cent,
of meteoric stones, the pure metal is not to be found in
nature, and is produced from its ores.

It is hard and ductile, lakes a good polish, and is
white in colour, with a shade of light grey.

Tin: NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

The ores of nickel arc generally yellow when anhy-
drous, and green when hydrated. Their solutions are
light green, and their soluble normal salts redden the
litmus paper, and are decomposed at red heat.

The principal ores are : —

{ . C<>/>/)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.

MCKi:i. .L\n MCKi.L ORES.

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

7
22

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

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.

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

Llandcilo J

7 "-^"^o" \ group
6 Levis J

...

Lauzon

. . .

Levis

■

5 Upper Calcifcrous

. • .

Upper Cal-
cifcrous

Trcmadoc -'

4 Lower Calcifcrous

Lower Cal-

Lower Cal- ,

cifcrous

3 Upper Potsdam

Upper

Potsdam

LinG:uIa J

2 Lower Potsdam

Lower

Lower '

Lower

flags 1

Potsdam i

Potsdam

I St. John's group

St. Joiin's :

St. John's

group

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

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

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.

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.

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 :

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

0-08

007

4-69

4-54

75
122

197

104

Ratio.

■546)
-004 j
•267 "I
•007 /■^74

550=2

= I I

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 <f eozoic.-'' In the
" Report of the Royal Commission on the Mineral Re-
sources of Ontario, 1890," we read : "The pre-Cambrian
period in Canada has been represented as extending
from the region of the great lakes in the form of two

* " Les Divisions du Systeme Eozoiqiic dc rAmerique du Nord,"
par T. Sterry Hunt. Liege, 1885.

THE NICKFL ORFS OF SUDBURY.

arms, one stretching north-eastward to the Atlantic coast
of the Labrador peninsula, anrl the other north-westward
to the Arctic sea, east of the Mackenzie river, the
intervening space being filled up with palaeozoic rocks.
I'urther light on the subject has however shown that
the geographical outline of these rocks takes the form,
approximately, of an immense ellipse which includes
the north-eastern part of the continent, IJaffin Land,
(ireenland , and many of the islands of the frozen sea.
It comprises the whole of the Labrador peninsula,
measuring a thousand miles each way. On the other
side its boundary runs, with a westward curve, from Lake
Winnipeg to Coronation (rulf, another thousand miles,
with a spur towards the mouth of the Mackenzie river."

The following is a table showing in ascending order
the divisions of the pre-Cambrian period, as given by
Dr. T. Sterry Hunt :

9. Cambrian .,
8. Keweenian
7. Taconian .
6. Mental ban

Palaeozoic
Undetermined

5. Upper Formation^ _. . r-

_ ,. ^ Huronian System

4. Lower formation )

3. Arvonian

2. Norian

I. Laurentian, Lower Laursntian

i Upper Laurentian 1 Laurentian

C System

" Eozoic age

As the rocks belonging to the Huronian system are
very similar to those of the formation which lie under-
neath, before entering into more details referring to the
Huronian strata we will speak of the Laurentian

IIUROMAN SYSTFM 23

Norian, and Arvonian groups, taking them in ascending
order.

Loiver LaurentiiVt. —'V\\c Lower Laurentian formation
is chiefly composed of gneisses, wliich sometimes may he
called granitic or syenitic. True gneiss is defined to
consist of (juartz, feldspar, and mica ; hut the gneisses
of the Laurentian strata often contain hornhlcnde in
large proportion. Let us (piote here what the " Report
of die Royal Commission on the Mineral Resources
of Ontario, 1890," says, regarding gneisses of Lower
Laurentian formation : " Lower Laurentian gneisses offer
reddish and greyish colours, from very light to very dark
shades, de[)ending partly on the colours and partly on
the proportions of the different constituents. The
feldspar (orthoclase) is white, grey, and red, or sometimes
yellowish or greenish ; the quartz is white to grey, and
the mica and hornblende black, or very dark green or
brown. These rocks are generally distinctly foliated,
or show a lamination or parallelism in the arrangement
of their constituent minerals, easily traceable by their
colours. When these are very distinct and the layers
continuous and close together, the rock in cross-section
is described as ribboned • where the layers are further
apart it is called banded. But the bars are often broken
into a series of tapering dashes which pass below or
above each other or with an interlocking or dovetail
arrangement, or the bars may be connected by thin
streaks or rows of dots."

Dykes of greenstones or trap cut in some districts the

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

Laurcntian rocks. These dykes affect to a great extent
the geographical features of the country. Those wliich
have become decomposed or have yielded to glacial
action give rise to rivers and narrow lakes, ^vhich lie on
their course. Falls and ra])ids, on the contrary, can he
observed where hard dykes cross the courses of streams.

Veins of two classes cut the lower and upper forma-
tions ; but with the exception of those which contain
calcs[)ar as gangue and arc apt to carry iron pyrites,
blende, galena, and copper, no mineral of any value
occurs in ('anada in the Lower Laurcntian formation.

Upper Lauren f inn. — The Upper Laurcntian, divided
by Hunt into Norian and Arvonian, is much more
limited in geographical extent than the Lower formation.
It is chiefly composed of series of Labradorite and
Anorthosite rocks, and contains different metnllic ores
in paying quantities : for instance, iron ore, graphite,
apatite arc commonly found in that formation, with
pyroxene and hypersthene rocks. — As we have said, the
Upper Laurcntian has been divided into two ; the first
and the oldest division received the name of Norian
and is characterised by a group of gneissoid rocks,
which appear to be identical with the Norwegian norites,
and which are composed in great proportion of plagio-
clase feldspars, chiefly labradorite, with a little pyroxene
or hyperstnene and often titcmic iron. The Norian
group lies unconformably on the Lower Laurcntian,
and has a thickness varying from three thousand to four
thousand yards.

1 1
t

// URONIA N S YS TEM.

In some districts a variety of stratified rock, chiefly
composed of petrosilex and quartziferous porphyry, lies
between the Norian and the Huronian. As the rocks of
that group are very similar to tliose of the Arvonian
of "W^'ales, it has received the same name, [rnd is the
Arvonian of Canada, forming the upper i)art of the Upper
Laurentian.

JJitrouian. — In his " Chemical and (ieological Essays,"
1878, j). 269, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt says : "The crystalline
strata to which the name of the Huronian series has
been given by the ' (Ieological Survey of Canada,'
have sometimes been called Cambrian, from their resem-
blance to certain crystalline rocks in yVnglescy, which
have been imagined to be altered Cambrian. The
typical Cambrian rocks of Wales, down to their base,
are, however, uncr) stall ine sediments, and, as pointed
out by Dr. Digsby in 1863, are not to be confounded
with the Huronian, which he regarded as equivalent to
the second division of the so-called azoic rocks of
Norway, the " Urschiefer " or primitive schists, which in
that country rest unconformably on the primitive gneiss
(Urgneiss), and are in their turn overlaid unconform-
ably by the fossiliferous Cambrian strata. This second
or intermediate series in Norway is characterised by
curites, micaceous, chloritic, and hornblendic schists,
with diorites, steatites, and dark-coloured serpentines ;
generally associated with chrome, and abounds in ores
of coi)per, nickel, and iron. In its mineralogical and
lithological characters, the Urschiefer corresponds with

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

what wc have designated the second series of crystaUine
schists. It is in Norway divided into a lower or
quartzose division — marked by a predominance of
quartzites, conglomerates, and more massive rocks — and
an u[)pur and more schistose division."

These lines describe exactly what the Huronian
system is in Canada, and give all the needed details
relating the characteristics of the rocks. We will now,
in a few words, try to point out what are the distinctive
characteristics of the Huronian and of the Laurentian
rocks, and will show that, though the rocks of both series
are much alike, there are differential characters which a
geologist cannot fail to notice.

The Huronian system differs essentially from the
Laurentian series by the frequent occurrence of schistose
rocks and of conglomerates carrying fragments of ancient
gneisses, and by its rocks, which are fine-grained and
schistose, and of dark green and grey colours, while
those of the Laurentian are of lighter shade, massive,
and coarsely crystalline. It covers a large area in North
America, has been observed in Newfoundland by A.
Murray, and pointed out by him in the reports of the
Geological Survey of that country.

In Canada the areas covered by Huronian rocks are
mentioned by Dr. R. Bell in the "Report of the Royal
Commission on the Mineral Resources of Ontario," and
we quote here what is said by Dr. ]3ell : " The greatest
of all our Huronian areas forms a wide belt extending
from the south-eastern extremity of Lake Sui)eiior

H URONIAN S YS TEM.

eastward along the north shore of T.akc Huron, from
which it runs north-eastward, widening out till it occupies
the whole country between Lake Teniiscaming and the
head waters of the Montreal river, a breadth of one
hundred miles. Beyond this, it stretches north-westward
across all the branches of the INIoose river, northward
beyond Lake Abittibi, and north-eastward almost to the
southern extremity of Lake Mistassini, a distance of
over 600 miles from the outlet of Lake Superior. The
Huronian area along the (iround-hog river and Mattagami
lake on its course appears to be more or less com-
pletely separated from the great area above described.
The next important Huronian district lies around
Michipicoten at the north-east angle of Lake Superior,
running for sixty miles west and twenty miles south of
that point, and extending inland to Dog I>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.

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-.

Robert Bell,

riBlilkik

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

SUDBURY NICKEL MINES.

^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.

ROASTING AND SMELTING.

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^

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.

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.

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.)

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 ...

.$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

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.

•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

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.

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 <? 5/ 4^

Total per 120 tons ... '"' ^}''^^

Per ton ' . ■■ "72.84

2.27

Total labour

THE NICKEL C'Eb OF SUDBURY.

Water jacket furnaces, as we have already said, are
used ))y the "Canadian Copper" and the "Dominion
Mineral" Companies; fl. H. Vivian & Co. employ
furnaces of the English pattern similar to those in use
in Swansea.

Summing up the expenses of mining, roasting, and
smelting nickel ores in Sudbury, we can represent by
the following table the usual cost of extraction and of
treatment of these ores in ordinary circumstances with
competent management and skilled labour: —

Mining
Breaking
Roasting
vSmclting

Total

Tcr ton.

cr ton.

6-. cf.

$2.00

8 4

0.12

0.71

2.27

9 3i

$S-io

£^ I 2i

Matte Rejlning. — The matte produced has to be
refined, and at Sudbury, as Dr. Peters says : —

" It becomes a question of calculation whether it will
pay better to ship the matte at about a grade of 25 per
cent., as it is produced from the furnace, or to con-
centrate it on the spot by a second series of roasting
and smelting operations. The matte is enriched by
roasting and re-smelting it in a water jacket or other fur-
nace with other flux to take up the iron. It is a question
to be determined by circumstances, w^hether the roasting
should be executed in heaps, as with the ore, or whether

ROASTING AND SMELTING.

it should he crushed and calcinated in a few hours in
calcining furnaces. Heap roasting of matte takes ahout
as long as the ore, because it has to be re-roasted
two or three times, as it does not roast freely like the
ore. But as there is only about one-sixth .so much
to handle as of the raw ore, the expense of ore per
ton is not heavy. A matte of about 50 to 60 per cent,
of nickel is i)roduced by the so-called concentration
smelting." *

The ancient treatment of this matte has been
described in every well-known metallurgical book ; it is
slow and expensive. Dr. Peters tells us that "Efforts
arc being made to improve upon it, and one of the
principal nickel-smelting companies at Sudbury is erect-
ing a plant to Bessemerise this rich sulphide of copper
and nickel.

" According to the laws of chemical affinity, as modi-
fied by the high temperature employed, we know th U the
iron still remaining in the matte ought to oxidise first,
forming with silica a slag that may be poured off. Next
the nickel should oxidise and slag away, leaving behind
the pure copper.

" But whether such accurate results will be reached
in practice seems to me rather doubtful.
, "In the Bessemerising process, as applied to iron, the

* " Modern American Methods of Copper Smelting," by Edward
Dyer Peters, junior, M.E., M.D. (fourth edition), New York 1802
P- 295.

THE NICKEL ORES OE SUDBURY.

entire mass of metal remains homogeneous throughout
the operation, the impurities l)eing gradually oxidised
until it is all converted into steel. And the total amount
of the impurities is only 5 or 4 per cent., so that the
mass of fluid metal operated upon is not perceptibly
lessened.

'* But in Bessemerising a mixture of the sulphides of
iron, copper, and nickel, the number of different chemical
compounds having differing specific gravities and tend-
ing each to form its separate stratum in die converter,
is too great to even enumerate. As soon as sufficient
sulphur is removed to correspond to the iron present,
we shall have a layer of oxide of iron (combined with
silica from the converter lining) on top, while below the
sulphides of nickel and copper will remain comparatively
unaltered. Then may come a period when we have the
same silicate of iron on top, followed by a little silicate
or oxide of nickel, whilst some metallic nickel has formed
and sunk to the bottom, and the rest of the nickel, in
its original condition r *" sulphide, forms a stratum below
the unaltered sulpb' ^opper.

" These react" id products increase in number and

complexity as the operation advances ; and remembering
the great difficulties encountered in Bessemerising even
so simple a substance as copper matte, one cannot help
feeling some curiosity as to the practical success of this
operation.

" That nickel and copper can be rapidly reduced from
the condition of a matte to that of separate metals,

ROASTIXG AND SAfELTING.

the author has convinced himself. Hut business con-
siderations prevent the further elucidation of this
subject."

And further :

"It must be evident to every one familiar with the
nicts, that the commercial electrolysis of copper on the
one hand, and an electrolytic deposition of nickel in our
nickel-plating establishment on the other hand, point
out a path to follow that is too plain to be neglected.

" And as our chemists find no difficulty in precipitating
with the electric current chemically pure copper from
a solution containing both copper and nickel, and then,
by slightly altering the conditions, precipitating all the
nickel in absolute purity from the same solution and
with the same current, it would seem that our refiners
might reasonably expect to effect the same results on
a commercial scale, especially as there is practically no
loss of acid in the operation.

" Nor can I see any reason why nearly all our metallic
nickel should be offered to the trade in little cubes less
than an inch square. Of course this peculiar form has
resulted ^rom the practice of the nickel refiners to reduce
the oxide of nickel obtained by the methods now in use
to metallic nickel. Being mixed with rye meal, as a
reducing agent, it is formed into these little cubes, and
a number of these packed in crucibles are exposed to
a sufficient heat to reduce the nickel to a metal without
fusing it. This makes a small porous fragment of metal
suitable for solution in acids, and where nickel is to be

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

used in some minute (luantities. But it adds materially
to the expense of refining, and tliere is really no more
reason why nickel should be so treated than copper or
iron.

" Although the fusion point of nickel is rather high,
yet a sufficient temperature tr pake nickel pour as readily
as copper, is obtained without difficulty in metallurgical
practice, an i there is little doubt that before long nickel
will be refined in bulk and cast into suitable ingots, as
is copper or lead.

" Indeed, at Vivian & Co.'s nickel works in England,
a small reverberatory, heated by gas, has been in use
fox- several years for refining nickel, some 2000 pounds
being refined at a charge ; and the superb display of
solid nickel articles and ingots made by Joseph Wharton,
of Philadelphia, shows that he experiences no difficulty
in melting and casting nickel like other metals." *

* "Modern American Methods of Copper Smelting," by Edward
Dyer Peters, jun., M.E., M.D., fourth edition, pp. 295-298. New
York, 1892.

CHAPTER Vll.

USES OF NICKEL.

THE uses of nickel were formerly very limited. The
metal was employed only for the preparation of
white alloy composed of copper, nickel, and zinc, and
known as German silver.

Now it enters into the composition of some of the
coinage of Belgium, Switzerland, and United States of
America, and is also used for the manufacture of arti-
ficial ultramarine.

AVithout doubt the discovery of the practical manu-
facture and use of alloys of nickel and steel, made
simultaneously in England by Mr. T. F. Hall of Sheffield
and in France by Mr. Marbeau, has to a great extent
changed the prospects of the nickel trade, and is the
very one to offer the greatest future for nickel-producing
centres and nickel works.

Mr. Riley, who a few years ago visited France for
the purpose of studying the process of manufacture of
steel and nickel alloys, and the certainty with which
products could be obtained from the crucible, read in
May 1889, at the meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute,

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

a very interesting paper on alloys of nickel and steel, in
which he says : " The alloy can be made in any good
open-hearth furnace working at a fairly good heat. The
charge can be made in as short a time as an ordinary
' scrap ' charge of steel — say about seven hours. Its
working demands no extraordinary care ; in fact, not so
much as is required in working many other kinds of
charges, the composition of the resulting steel being
easily and definitely controlled. No special arrange-
ments are required for casting ; the ordir ^ry ladles and
moulds being sufficient. If the charge is properly worked
nearly all the nickel will be found in the steel — almost
none is lost in the slag, being in this respect widely
different from charges of chrome steel.

" The steel is steady in the mould ; it is more fluid and
thinner than ordinary steel, it sets more rapidly, and it
appears to be thoroughly homogeneous. The ingots are
clean and smooth in appearance on the outside, but
those richest in nickel are a little more ' piped ' than
are ingots of ordinary mild steel. There is less liquation
of the metalloids in these ingots, so that liability to
serious troubles from this cause is much reduced. Any
scrap produced in the subsequent operations of hammer-
ing, rolling, shearing, etc., can be remelted in making
another charge without loss of nickel. The importance
of this fact will be at once appreciated, especially by
users of articles made of this metal, seeing that scraps
and old articles will have a value for remelting in pro-
portion with their contents of nickel.

I «

USES OF NICKEL.

" No extraordinary care is required when reheating the
ingots for hammering or rolling. They will stand quite
as much heat as ingots having equal contents of carbon
but no nickel, except perhaps in the case of steel con-
taining over 25 per cent, of nickel, when the heat should
be kept a little lower and more care taken in forging.

" If the steel has been properly made and is of correct
composition it will hammer and roll well, whether it
contains little or much nickel ; but it is possible to make
it of such poor quality in other respects that it will crack
badly in working, as is the case with ordinary steel."*

In order to procure a definite idea of the utility of
alloys of nickel, steel, and iron, Mr. Riley made different
mechanical tests; and we learn from him that, as
chemically pure iron is practically unknown, and as the
presence of very small quantities of carbon, silicon,
sulphur, and phosphorus in varying proportions produce
marked changes in the qualities of iron, with the view
of estimating correctly the influence of the addition of
nickel, the percentage of each of these elements was
kept constant in all the tests he made. " The contents
of nickel in the iron varied from i to 49-4 per cent., the
carbon from 29 to 90 per cent., and the manganese from
0*23 to 0-85 per cent.

" With 2 per cent, nickel, 0*90 per cent, carbon, and
0-50 per cent, manganese, the alloys were too hard to
machine with musket steel, but they made a fine tool

* Journal 0/ ihe Iron and Steel Inatitutc, No i, 1889, p. 46.

5^^

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

when tempered at dull red in boiling water ; while with
lo per cent, nickel and 50 per cent, each of carbon and
of manganese it was too hard to machine, but made a
good cutting tool when tempered in a cold air blast."*

At the new nickel works of Brooklyn, near Cleveland,
U.S.A., which have been erected under the direction
of Mr. Jules Gamier, the well-known French engineer,
and where the Canadian Copper Company brings its ores
from Sudbury, different tests have lately been made on
nickel steel to determine the relative (|uality of steel,
with and without the addition of nickel. These tests
prove that : —

" I. Nickel steel has on an average a higher limit of
elasticity of 11,400 lb. per square inch, or nearly 31 /.

((

2. Nickel steel has an ultimate tensile strength
greater by 10,400 lb. per square inch, or an increase of
20%.

" 3. The ductility is not reduced by the presence of
nickel, "t

The different uses to which these alluys may be
practically applied are indicated in Mr. Riley's paper
already quoted.

" It requires no powerful imagination to conjure up
a most bewildering number of applications for which
they are available. I find some difficulty in not becoming
enthusiastic on the point, for in the wide range of

* " Rc^ t of the Royal Commission on the Mineral Resources
of Ontario,'' 1890, page 384.

t Engineering and Mining Journai, February 25, 1S93.

USES OF NICKEL.

properties or qualities possessed !)y these alloys it really
seems as if any conceivable demand could be met and
satisfied.

" Of the richer alloys I do not intend to speak at any
length, but would just remark that in the immense field
covered by what are termed the "Metal Trades," in-
numerable applications will be found for which they are
suitable. Some specimens of these applications are
before you.

"Of the 25 per cent, nickel steel I would remark that
with its peculiar properties of high b. s., great ductility,
and comparatively low e. 1., it is extremely well adapted
for all operations involving considerable deformation —
for instance, for deep stamping and flanging—whilst its
non-corrodibility will render it invaluable for a great
number of purposes.

"This quality of non-corrodibility, considered together
with its strength both elastic and ultimate when
unannealed, will render it specially useful in all cases
where the cost of metal is of minor importance when
contrasted with the cost of labour to be expended upon
it, or its use for special purposes : illustrations of these
may be found in all small and special type boilers, in
locomotive and other fire-boxes, and in the hulls of
torpedo and other similar vessels where lightness and
strength with non-corrodibility are of vital importance.

" In the region between 25 per cent, and say 5 per
cent, nickel we have an abundance of possibilities as yet
comparatively unknown, in which I e.xpect will be found

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

materials for toolstecl equal if not superior to anything
at present known.

" But it is when we get to the alloys of 5 per cent,
and under that, that I feel most interested and think
most of you will sympathise with that feeling.

" I have already incidentally referred to the advantages
the marine engineer will obtain by the use of the
qualities for the shaft and other forgings used in his
structures. I would now point to the suitability of
these lower alloys to the other portions of his work. It
is well known— it has been frequently stated by my friend
Mr. Parker and others— that the recent advances in
marine engineering, rendered possible by the use of
high-pressed steam, could not have been effected if it
had not been that a metal superior to wrought iron was
put at the engineer's disposal. Conceive, then, of the
possibilities now presented when a metal like No. 6
in the table No. i, is at his disposal, having when
annealed an ultimate strength of 30 per cent, and elastic
limit of 60 or 70 per cent, higher than those of mild
steel, with a nearly equal ductility, and the valuable
quality added of less liability to corrosion. He may at
once greatly reduce his scantlings for pressures and get
rid of many difficulties of construction, or he may avail
himself of the increased strength to provide for still
higher pressures.

" It will also be seen that these metals are equally
important to the shipbuilder and to the civil engineer.
This is strongly brought out in considering the immense

USES OF NICKEL.

advantage to be derived from their use in large
structures. Think for a moment of this in connection
with the erection of the Forth Bridge or of the ..iffel
tower. If the engineers of those stupendous structures
had had at their disposal a metal of 40 tons strength
and 28 tons elastic limit, instead of 30 tons strength
and 17 tons elastic limit in the one case and say 22 tons
strength and 14 to 16 elastic limit in the other, how
many difficulties would have been reduced in magnitude
as the weight of materials was reduced; the Forth
Bridge would have become even more light and airy,
and the tower more net-like and graceful than they are
at present.

"Then as regards the requirement of the military
engineer, I am inclined to state firmly that there have not
yet been placed at his disposal materials so well adapted
to his purposes— whether of armour or of armament — as
those I have now brought under your notice.

" In what may be called their natural condition these
alloys have many properties which will commend them
for these purposes, and when the best method of treat-
ment, be it hardening or tempering, has been arrived
at, I believe that their qualities for armour will be
unsurpassed." *

Nickel armour-plates have ])cen manufoctured by
Messrs. Schneider c\: Co. of " Le Creuzot," France, and
have been tested in different countries.

Journal of the Iron au I Stcdiustitutc, No. i, 1889.

■91

THE NICKEL ORES OF SUDBURY.

\ I

Mr. Hall has produced similar armour-plates which,
tested by the ]3ritish Admiralty, gave results 75 per cent,
above any similar ones obtained from tests of armour-
plates in England.

" At the present time, Mr. Hall has under course of
manufacture breech-loading ordnance-cannons and pro
jectiles of nickel steel for the English AVar Office, and he
has already applied the same material in the produc-
tion of rifles and sporting-gun barrels, boiler-tubes for
torpedo boats, telephone and telegraph-wire. When it
is considered that nickel-steel can be made in various
tempers, giving tensile strain of 107 tons per square inch,
with an elongation of 7 per cent., and 50 tons tensile
strength with an elongation of 45 per cent., it is im-
possible to foresee to what uses this remarkable material
may not be put ; and now that the various patents and
interests owned by Messrs. T. E. Hall, of Sheffield, W.
H. Marbeau, of Paris, William H. Schneider, of Le
Creuzot, and T. Riley, of Glasgow, have been associated,
their joint labours promise to give rapid development to
this interesting alloy. AVorks have already been erected
by this association in Erance for the special manufacture
of ferro-nickel, and will shortl/ be followed by others in
England and in the United States." *

A few years ago the cost of nickel was considered as
a great objection to its extensive use, but, as it was then

'* " British Contributions to the MetaUurgy of Iron and Steel "
by Sir James Kitson, Bart., Leeds, England. Transactions Am. Inst,
of M. E., vol. xix.

USES OF NICKEL.

6 1

said by Sir James Kitson, " a metal which gave a tensile
strain of 50 tons with an elongation of 50 per cent., was
sure to make its way if the claims which Mr. Riley had
made were justified by experience." At the present date
Mr. Riley's claims have all been proved by actual
experience.

The alloy of nickel and steel is now known as being
not only practical but useful, and its uses become more
and more numerous.

The future of nickel mines is thus full of brilliant
promises ; and as the nickel field of Sudbury is beyond
doubt the largest known to-day, the time of a large
prosperity for the i)rovince of Ontario, and specially for
the district of Sudl)ury, is not far from us.

Finis.