PROSPECTUS 
 
 REPORTS AND STATISTICS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ALPHA GOLD MINING COMPANY 
 
 OF 
 
 MOUNT UNIACKE, NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 LIMITED LIABILITY. 
 
 CAPITAL STOCK, $100,000. 
 IN 100,000 SHABES OF $1 EACH. 
 
 TO BE ORGANIZED UNDER A CHARTER FROM THE LEGISLATURE 
 
 OF NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 HEAD OFFICE-OTTA^V^A. 
 
 1868. 
 

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 ] 'l') 
 
 ,1' C ■ ■"■; 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 <■■ i,.:. 
 
 .: . PAGE. 
 
 1 . Prospectus 3 
 
 2. Report of Alex. Heatherington, Esq., Mining Engineer.. . 7 
 
 3. do Will. Barnes, Esq., ^^^^^ ^ ^^^ .... 15 
 
 4. do Charles Robb, Esq., sP - ^^ • v^v >i , , ^ ^ 17 
 
 5. Nova Scotia Gold Statistics , , . . 2 i 
 
 ^. Extract from the Mining Gazette 23 
 
 7. do '' Toronto Globe, .n.m^'. /t . .I'l 22 
 
 8. do Halifax Citizen 23 
 
 9. Conclusion , , 24 
 
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 PROSPECTUS. 
 
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 The Uniacke Gold District is situated in the County of Hants, 
 Province of Nova Scotia. The village is three miles north of the 
 Uniacke Station of the Windsor and Halifax Railway, which 
 is 18 miles distant from Windsor and 26 from Halifax. Jt 
 may be reached either by the line of steamers from Boston and 
 Portland to St. John (New Brunswick), and thence to Windsor, 
 and from Windsor to Uniacke Station by rail ; or by steamers 
 from New York, Boston and Portland to Halifax, and thence by 
 rail. 
 
 The progress of the district has been rapid, and from the last 
 Official Returns it would appear that the total yield of gold in July, 
 1867, was 95 oz. 7 dwtg. ; in August, 149 oz., 11 dv/ts., 4 grs. ; and 
 in September, 268 oz., 6 dwts. These figures taken from the 
 published records of the Mines Department, are based upon 
 sworn Quarterly Returns. And it may here be noted that under 
 the Mining Laws of Nova Scotia every Lessee is required to make 
 Quarterly Returns under oath, of the number of days' work per- 
 formed on each area, the amount of quartz raised, the amount 
 crushed, the mill to which the quartz was sent, the date when 
 sent, and the yield of gold from such crushing ; the object being 
 to ascertain that the royalty of 3 per cent, is properly accounted 
 for. But an additional safeguard is found in the sworn returns 
 sent in quarterly by every licensed mill-owner, shewing the fol- 
 lowing particulars, viz : date of crushing, owner of quartz, from 
 what areas obtained, the weight in tons, the yield of gold, 
 (in the smelted and also the unsmelted condition,) and the amount 
 of royalty payable. The books of every licensed mill (and none 
 can work without a Crown License) must at all times be open to 
 the inspection of the resident Deputy Commissioner of the district. 
 
 The property consists of 88 areas, of three quarters of an acre 
 each, held under Deeds, duly registered, from the legal representa- 
 tives of the Uniacke Estate, and under Mining Leases issued by 
 the Crown, for a period of 21 years, on payment of the Royalty of 
 3 per cent., and renewable on the provisions of the Mining Laws 
 of the Province being complied with. These 88 areas, or 66 
 
arros, are described as areas, numbers 120, 121 ; 124, 125, 126, 
 127, 128 ; 153, 154; 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162 ; 178, 179, 180, 
 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189 ; 192, 193, 194, 195 ; 
 211, 212, 213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,222; 225,226, 
 227, 228 ; 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 
 255 ; 258, 259, 260, 261 ; 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 
 285, 286, 287, 288 ; 320, 321 ; 353, 354 ; 386, 387 ; 553, 554 ; 
 586, 587, 588 ; 621, 622 in Block III ; and as will be ween by Mr. 
 Heatherington's Report, 45 gold-bearing lodes have already been 
 traced across the property. 
 
 There is an Eight Stamp Mill on the property, driven by an 
 engine of fourteen horse-power, wliich can be kept fully and 
 profitably employed with customs crushing,* so soon as the pro- 
 posed new Twelve Stamp Mill of the Alpha Company at Hibbert's 
 Lake is completed. The Timber on the 88 areas is valuable, 
 (see Reports of Messrs. Barnes and Heatherington,) and will afford 
 the necessary fuel for several years. 
 
 The Proprietors of this extensive and valuable property, held 
 as aforesaid, offer for sale to Canadian Capitalists : 
 
 CAPITAL STOCK, $100,000, u ■ V 
 
 la 100,000 Shares of One Dollar each^ 
 
 of which the Proprietors retain thirty thousand (30,000) shares 
 in part payment, arl offer seventy thousand (70,000) shares for 
 sale, of the par value of one dollar per share. Ten cents per 
 share, amounting to $10,000, to form the Working Capital, which 
 sum, from the experience of other Companies in Nova Scotia, 
 having similar amounts of Capital Stock, has been found ample 
 for the profitable working of the Mines. 
 
 ^ TERMS : 
 
 1. Instalment of one fifth of shares paid when signing, and the 
 balance in four equal payments, at 2, 4, 6 and 8 months. 
 
 2. One half of the ten cents per share for Working Capital 
 Fund^ in 1 month, and the other half in 5 months. 
 
 3. No subscription for less than 600 shares will be received, 
 and a discount will be given on large subscriptions, as below, 
 viz : 
 
 ^ The only other mills in the District are those of the Uniacke Company 
 of Boston and the Montreal Company, and each of them is constantly req aired 
 for the work of the Company to which it belongs. 
 
Subscriptions for amounts from 5,000 to 3,500 shares, at .75 
 per sharo, and Working Capital, total, .85 per share. 
 
 Subscriptions for amounts of 3,000 to 1,500 shares, at .80 per 
 share, and Working Capital, total, .90 per share. 
 
 Subscriptions for amount of 1,000 and 500 shares, at .85 per 
 share, and Working Capital, total, .95 per share. 
 
 4. A deduction of five cents per share, if all cash paid when 
 • subscribing. , « ^ 
 
 Applications for shares to be made to 
 
 . ^m .»ri^v4 J3J a^r'. oi.M. WILLIAM WADE, Esq., 
 '■^nl ^^ iu> -^ i^^ , ,.0 . t ; Manager Ontario Bank, 
 
 i { fi ;* i ,'..,, U-: ;, , >K Agent lor the Proprietors. 
 
 Or to '■^' ^■-'^^^-'(■i'i'^'H-,^'-^^ 
 
 ' ^> JOHN C. T. COCHRANE, Esq., 
 
 , Provisional Secretary and Treasurer 
 V , : of Working Capital. 
 
 Dated, Ottawa, 12th February, 1863. 
 
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 REPORT 
 
 1 r'i 
 
 ■ ,< * f 
 
 BY 
 
 ALEXANDER HEATIIEllINGTON, Esq., ,, 
 Mining Engineer. 
 
 i^Vi...; 
 
 
 
 Mount Uniacke, as the Uniacke Gold District is more familiarly 
 called, is in the townsliip of Uniacke, Hants County, Province of 
 Nova Scotia, and is situated between twenty and thirty miles 
 north-west of Halifax, and three miles from the Mount Uniacke 
 Station on the Windsor Branch Railroad. 
 
 A considerable portion of the field belonged to the estate of the 
 late Honorable Richard J. Uniacke, and but for the discovery of 
 Gold would have been only valuable for its growth of timber. 
 
 It is the highest mining district in the Province, being about 5G0 
 feet above the sea-level. 
 
 Professor Campbell, the geologist who w^as commissioned by 
 the Nova Scotia Government to report upon the direction and 
 probable extent of the quartz zone of the Province, in h'S report 
 of 25th February, 1863, recommended immediate exploration in 
 this locality and expressed his opinion, very emphatically, with 
 regard to its auriferous character. These valuable hints, how- 
 ever, were not acted upon until the 18th of June, 1865, 
 when Daniel Macintosh, and John and Charles Simms, through 
 accident, in traversing the woods, came upon quartz boulders 
 in that part of the field where the Uniacke Gold Mining 
 Company's claims (see Plan) are now laid off', which they broke 
 up with a hammer and found upon examination to contain several 
 " sights " of Gold. Panther search by the same individuals led to 
 the discovery of solid quartz veins, all gold-bearing, and through 
 the specimens obtained from these, which were brought up to town 
 to the Mines Department Office, the district was formally recognized 
 and gazetted. 
 
 The owner of the land, however, asked such an exorbitant price 
 that active mining operations were retarded until the spring of 
 1866, but so great was the interest by that time awakened for the 
 
(li^tr'u'l, tliiit, Jiccordini,' to tliL' Chief Commissioner's Report for the 
 sarrn; year, " hefon^ midsummer there was already ocei]|)ied, under 
 leas(!s and prospeetintj licences, a larger tract in Uniacke, than in 
 anil othrr Gold Field in the Province." Under direction of the 
 Government a road was laid out from the Railway station to near 
 the eastern lin(M)f the tract cover(>d by mining applications, and 
 so rai)id was the growth of the district that, although in Decem- 
 ber, 18GC, it contained but two log huts, it can now boast of over 
 /ifty substantial planked houses, a post-olHce, school-house, and 
 hotel ; and a mining population of about two hundred souls. In 
 fact, it seems in every way likely to verify the Commissioner's 
 prediction of bidding fair to equal in productiveness the mines of 
 any other district in the Province. 
 
 Although Gold mining in Nova Scotia may be considered in its 
 infancy only, yet, the results from this Province compare very 
 fiivorably with those of Victoria in Australia where chiefly trained 
 miners, skilful millmen, the very best machinery and mostapproved 
 gold-saving appliances are to be found ; and as the mere assertion 
 would hardly be accepted as a proof without fiijures, I beg to cite 
 the oilicial returns from bolh countries : ' ' - ■ ' ' 
 
 '*,j ,., , Annual Average 2}er Miner. Average per Ton. •• 
 
 Nova Victoria Nova Victoria ■ 
 
 Scotia. Australia. 1" < Scotia. Australia. ■' '"' ' 
 
 ' " $ cts. $ cts. Oz. Dwt. Gr. Oz. Dwt. Gr. ' '^'r •- 
 
 1862 29100 339 26 1 3 2 _ — — .. 45 
 
 1863 319 28 352 30 18 10 _ _ — 
 
 1864 494 36 370 44 1 20 10 6.9 , 
 
 1865 747 76 37104 1 3 6 11 17.4 '•'' 
 
 1866 742 56 402 06 17 13 10 16.2 
 
 i ■ . , , ., — ^— _— » v» ■■ 
 
 Mean, 519 00 363 02, / 10 3 10 21 
 
 Nor is the increased yield the sole advantage of quartz minirtg 
 in this Province, for wages and other expenses which afl'ect the 
 cost of production are here much cheaper than in Australia, and 
 where works are carried on in an economical and proper manner, 
 the profits, consequently, must be much larger. 
 
 The property upon which I have the honor to report is destined, 
 I believe, to prove the latter statement, for its late proprietors 
 merely through mismanagement, want of foresight, and disagree- 
 ments among themselves, failed to reap those benefits which under 
 proper control it is bound to yield. 
 
 On reference to the accompanying Plan, it will be seen that the 
 Alpha claims are situated in the western half of Block III and 
 selected in such a way as to intercept the best known lodes on the 
 
9 
 
 IJniackc Gold Minint,' Go's, nnd the Monlrcnl Gold Mining CoV. 
 areas, as well «ms tlic rrmarliably rich lodes on llie Hall and Maca- 
 lister, and the Mahan and DouII properties, which are all being 
 worked. 
 
 The tract, too, is sufliciently extensive to allow of unrestrained 
 operations, and there is no fear, as has been too often the case 
 with mining properties in this and other fields, that on arriving at 
 a very productive imrt of the lode, it could not be followed with- 
 out encroaching upon neighboring ground. Here, there is a width 
 of more than a thousand feet along the lodes, and as the richest yel 
 discovered are now opened within a few areas of the western 
 boundary, th(n-e is material and scope for working them to advan- 
 tage for several years. 
 
 Another advantage which this property possess is the valuable 
 water privilege on Ilibberl's Lake, from which cheap motive 
 power will be derived ; the diflereiice in the cost of reduction by 
 water being nearly one dollar per ton or about one half less, than 
 by steam. 
 
 The Government Report for 1866, defines the quartz lodes of 
 Uniaeke as '' numerous, of good workable thickness, and very 
 rich in gold." . . * 
 
 On this properly only five areas have been developed — the 
 parties to whom the original allotment was made having liad no 
 practical experience in mining, and like many others who have 
 entered into the business, cramped themselves at the commence- 
 ment, — but even those partial developments prove the existence 
 oi forty five gold bearing quartz lodes, and I am quite confident 
 that further exploration?, particuhnr/y lovmrds the southern limits 
 of the Alpha tract will result in very important discoveries. 
 
 A portion of the ground being covered with snow and ice on 
 the occasion of my last visit, it was impossible to examine the 
 whole of the lodes on the exploited claims ; but, on a former tour 
 of inspection in collecting material for my Guide to the Gold 
 Fields — which will be shortly issued under official auspices — 
 I spent some time on the same property, and was then struck 
 with the number and distinctness of its intersecting quartz veins. 
 The course of the lodes is much the same as in other parts of the 
 Province, namely, from East to West, but the dip is variable, 
 many lodes being quite perpendicular while others vary from 20° 
 South to the same angle North. 
 
 The country rock is slate, whin, and slate and whin together. 
 The widest lode on the Alpha claims (which I measured myself, 
 when there) runs within a wall of slate and can therefore be 
 worked very easily, for even the slate itself is auriferous. 
 
10 
 
 There are four shafts on the developed areas : one, six ; one, 
 fifteen ; one, forty ; and one fifty-five feet in depth. I could not, 
 on the occasion of either visit, descend the latter as they have 
 been filled with water since the heavy rains in September ; but 
 the lode on which they are sunk is perfectly distin^^t, measures 3 
 to 4 inches in width, dips slightly to the south and yielded nearly 
 two ounces and a half per ton from its last crushings in August 
 of the present year. 
 
 The excavation of 15 feet is on a lode 10 inches in width, and 
 the trench of 6 feet is 400 feet in length across a slate — enclosed 
 lode 8 inches wide. 
 
 The Commissioner's Returns for 1866 give but the results of 
 three months crushing, the average per ton of 2240 lbs. for that 
 period being as high as 2oz., |7 dwts., 5 grs. The annual rate 
 per man was only ^342.65 on account of the number of hands 
 employed in making roads and in prospecting, and what in 
 miners' phraseology is termed " dead " work, 
 
 I have been to the pains of procuring some of the actual returns 
 of quartz crushed from the Alpha property. They are as follows : 
 
 Date. 
 
 1866. 
 16 Oct 
 
 Quartz ( 
 
 Tons. 
 3 
 
 jrushe 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 10 . 
 
 3 . 
 
 17 . 
 
 1 . 
 5 . 
 15 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 d. Gol 
 
 Oz. 
 
 ... 28 
 ... 1 
 ... 22 
 
 ... 10 
 ... 2 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 . . . . 10 
 
 .... 1 
 .... 1 
 
 .... 
 ... 
 .... 
 .... 
 .... 9 
 
 d Yield. 
 
 Dwt. Gr 
 19 
 
 10 Nov 
 
 21 Dec 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 7 9 
 
 1867. 
 
 22 Feb 
 
 IMay 
 
 3 " 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 18 18 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 3 " 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 13 " 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 14 " 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 14 " 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 14 '' 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 22 " 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 22 " 
 
 2 
 
 12 16 
 
 23 " 
 
 1 
 
 2 2J 
 
 27 Aug 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 • 
 
 32 
 
 11 
 
 90 
 
 2 16 
 
 Average, 2 ozs., 15 dwts., 9 grs. per ton. 
 
 I further append a report of custom crushings at the Alpha Mill 
 which shows the general character of the quartz from the sur- 
 
n 
 
 rounding claims, and tliat the maximum yield has been as high as 
 fourteen and a half ounces to the ton. 
 
 Date. 
 
 1867. 
 
 6 Sept 
 
 20 " 
 
 For whom. 
 
 Name. 
 .. J. McKenzie 
 
 Quartz ci 
 
 Tons. 
 4 
 
 'ushed. 
 
 Cwt. • 
 
 10 .... 
 .... 
 
 
 
 .... 
 .... 
 .... 
 
 
 Gold Yi< 
 
 Oz. Dwt. 
 
 1 1 
 32 10 
 
 4 4 
 29 
 
 3 10 
 
 7 12 
 
 8 14 
 
 Ad. 
 
 Gr. 
 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 21 " 
 24 " 
 24 " 
 
 28 " 
 
 Jno. Woodruff. 
 
 Do 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 W. Hall «fc Co 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 " 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 James McKenzie . . , 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 10 .... 
 
 86 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 4 Oct-, 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 .... 
 10 .... 
 
 2 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 19 
 
 7 
 12 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 5 '* 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 12 " 
 10 " 
 
 Do 
 
 Mr, Loomer 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 19 " 
 
 J. Dowell 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 10 .... 
 
 34 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 6 Nov. 
 
 13 
 
 10 . . . . 
 
 
 
 .... 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 .... 
 .... 
 
 10 .... 
 .... 
 
 
 20 
 9 
 
 26 
 
 41 
 2 
 
 14 
 7 
 
 13 
 3 
 7 
 1 
 
 10 
 17 
 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 11 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 6 " 
 6 *' 
 
 Wm. Hall 
 
 Jacob Dowell 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 6 '• 
 
 7 " 
 
 Jno. Woodruff. . . . . 
 Do. 
 
 19 
 
 3 
 
 
 12 
 
 9 " 
 16 " 
 
 J. Dowell 
 
 Do 
 
 17 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 22 " 
 
 27 " 
 
 28 " 
 28 " 
 
 L. Burkner 
 
 J. Dowell 
 
 J. Woodruff. 
 
 J. Dowell 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 157 
 
 
 
 147 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 Tliese returns have the more value as they are copied from the 
 sworn statements submitted by the mill-master and mine owners 
 to the government. 
 
 The occasional stoppages were not owing to any defects in the 
 machinery of the mill, but to difficulties and disagreements among 
 the late proprietors. 
 
 The disparity in the results of several crushings is explained 
 by the fact that, much of the quartz was crushed merely for expe- 
 riment's sake. There are only two other mills in the district, and 
 they are fully employed in reducing the ore from the properties to 
 which they belong, namely, the Uniacke of Boston, and the 
 Montreal Gold Mining Companies ; and thus the custom crushing 
 
12 
 
 had to be performed by llie Alpha Mill, and much quartz that ex- 
 perienced miners would have rejected was sent by novices — who 
 always flock to a new district — to be crushed '"just for a trial," 
 as they would say. 
 
 The gold occurs in grains and spangles, and sometimes in 
 crystals ; but as a rule is very evenly distributed. It is associated 
 with arsenical pyrites, iron pyrites, galena, zinc blende and small 
 quantities of copper. 
 
 The stamp mill on your ^jroperty is driven by steam, the water 
 for which is supplied from a well-built dam, close to the mill 
 house, 200 x 150 feet in diameter and 8 to 10 feet deep. The 
 mill house and contents are insured for three thousand dollars. 
 
 The mill house is built of pine wood and contains sleeping 
 apartments for the superintendent and his men. The house will 
 require shingling if the mill is to be used during the winter. 
 
 The engine is compact and in good order, of fourteen horse 
 power, and drives eight stamps but has room for eight more with- 
 out altering the seize of the building. 
 
 The stamps, including rods, weigh 525 lbs. each, drop 10 inches, 
 and strike seventy-five times in a minute when driven at full 
 speed. They are capable of crushing eight tons of ore of ordinary 
 quality in twenty-four hours, or one ton per stamp ; but the amount 
 crushed as well as the yield of gold varies greatly in experimental 
 crushings. 
 
 The shoes and dies are of iron, and newly fitted, but I would 
 recommend the adoption of steel shoes and dies as they last from 
 five to six times as long as iron, and do not cost more than twice 
 as much. 
 
 The average net earnings of the mill, when in full operation, for 
 24 hours, and employed at custom crushing at ^3 per ton, are esti- 
 mated at $50 per week, of six working days. 
 
 The areas under consideration contain some of the best timber 
 on the Uniacke estate, and it is conveyed to the Alpha Company 
 direct, by Mr. Mason, the original lessee, who had purchased the 
 right of cutting all the timber on the land some years prior to the 
 gold discovery. The value of the w^ood alone, supposing it can 
 only be used for fuel, is great, as for that purpose there is a supply 
 for three or four years; but much of it can be applied to better uses. 
 
 There is an outstanding contract for cutting, sawing and deliver- 
 ing wood at the mill, and as green wood is not of any use for 
 firing, it would be well to let the contract run for the winter, even 
 if the mill should be shut down, as the Company will then have a 
 good supply of seasoned fuel ready at hand in the Spring.* 
 
 * This arrangement has been made, and sufficient wood for nearly a year's 
 consumption wUl be delivered at the mill during the winter. 
 
13 
 
 One shafi-honse covers the two shafts already referred to, and 
 the machinery, tools and appliances belonging to the same and 
 to the mill, are enumerated in the inventory annexed to this 
 Report. 
 
 i'here are two wooden dwelling houses on the property, belong- 
 ing to the miners, but the occupants merely own the materials of 
 which the houses are built and are not actual tenants of the soil. 
 
 It will hardly be considered foreign to the subject here to remark, 
 that, on the day of the acquisition of these claims by the present 
 proprietors, three areas — only one of which is developed — being not 
 one twentieth the size or value of the Alpha property, were sold for 
 four thousand dollars, cash, to a gentleman already largely and for a 
 long time engaged in mining entreprises in this Province, and 
 whose investment in Uniacke is in itself a proof of the importance 
 now being attached to the district ; and further that the Montreal 
 Company now working so successfully on areas adjacent to yours 
 paid forty thousand dollars fo* a block of only twenty-one claims. 
 
 The Alpha property being in the centre of the field, and sur- 
 rounded by some of the favorite mines, is, for these reasons valuable, 
 apart from its expected productiveness. It was styled the 'Alpha' 
 from having been the first that was worked and the first to produce 
 any results; and by whatever name it may hereafter be distin- 
 guished, I may safely predict that, under efficient management, it 
 will rank as the 'Alpha', too, in position and prosperity. 
 
 ALEXANDER HEATHERINGTON, 
 
 Author of Cosmopolite's Statistical 
 Reviews f and Guide to the Gold Fields of 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 Halifax, N. S. 28th November, 18G7. 
 
 Inventory of tools^ Sfc.^ on the premises. 
 
 12 Picks. 
 
 6 Shovels. 
 
 4 Crowbars. 
 24 Drills. 
 
 2 Rock-tubi?. 
 
 3 Striking-hammers. 
 2 Windlasses. 
 
14 
 
 1 S melting-furnace. 
 
 1 Heating-stove. 
 
 1 Anvil. 
 
 1 Pr. bellows. 
 
 1 Grindstone. 
 
 1 Set shoes and dies. 
 
 I Smith's vice. 
 
 1 Office clock. V 
 3 Bars of iron. 
 
 2 Oilers. 
 
 1 Pr. gold scales. 
 1 Platform scale. 
 200 Fire bricks. 
 
 1 Barrel fire clay, and innumerable sundries. 
 
 
REPORT 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BARNES, Esq., 
 
 ■ , Mining Engineer a nd Geologist . 
 
 if'-.nhiH]^'. - — ■ — 
 
 . ' ' Nkw Glasgqw, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, 
 
 ' f 2nd January, 1868. 
 
 The results of my notes and observations on the Mount Uniacke 
 Gold District, obtained whilst surveying and laying out the areas 
 there, on behalf of the Provincial Government, are embodied in 
 the following Report : 
 
 The district itself only came into notice early in the year 1866, 
 when many licences to prospect were applied for, and I received 
 instructions from the Department of Mines to proceed to the 
 ground and lay them oft'. 
 
 The results of the early labors of the explorers soon caused the 
 locality to come into public notice, and before the month of 
 October, 1866, a larger area was held here by the numerous 
 applicants than in any of the older and proclaimed Gold Fields. 
 
 The Uniacke District is of easy access by railway from Halifax, 
 from which it is distant but 26 miles, 23 of which are by rail to 
 the Uniacke Station, and three by a very passable road recently 
 constructed at Government expense. 
 
 During my frequent official visits to the district, I have had 
 opportunities of examining nearly the whole limits within which 
 gold has been found. The numerous and well-defined quartz 
 leads are undoubtedly as promising in their appearance, thickness 
 and yield as those in any other known Gold Field in the Province 
 with which I am acquainted. * 
 
 The productive lodes themselves appear to be confined within 
 a limit of 1.200 yards, and are of an unparalleled width, as com- 
 pared with other localities. The strata at Mount Uniacke are 
 similar in all other respects to those in the older recognized 
 
16 
 
 districts, consisting of bands of clay slate and indaialed sand- 
 stone or quartzite, locally krown as " whin," standing ai a 
 very high angle. 
 
 The centre of this auriferous belt passes through your areas in 
 Block No. 3, or about the range of lols 185 to 284, and both north 
 and south — dipping lodes exist on each side. 
 
 On lot 186 there is a remarkably productive lead. Its yield 
 from the surface where it was exposed being about 10 oz. per ton. 
 Vou have no doubt a copy of tlie official return, and therefore I 
 need not enumerate them. 
 
 The position of the Alpha Company's lots is such that whilst 
 stretching from north to south entirely across the productive belt, 
 there is a sufficient breadth of area to command an extent of 
 ground on each lead that is or "may be discovered, to insure an 
 ample run on such, and to justify extensive workings on the 
 numerous lodes. 
 
 A cross trench, runnings from lot 186 to lot 181, was carried on 
 by the original owners, and upwards of twenty-seven lodes passed 
 over, varying from an inch to three feet, but I am not aware that 
 any practical test has been given to any of these. 
 
 The strata for mining purposes is decidedly favorable, being 
 dry and free from fissures, whereby deep workings in other 
 localities are so often encumbered with water. 
 
 Timber of large size and excellent quality is on the spot, it 
 being one unbroken forest, except where small clearings have 
 been made around the works of the Uniacke and Montreal Com- 
 panies, which are now successfully and profitably pushing on their 
 works on three lodes that pass into your areas. 
 
 Three steam crushing mills are already on the ground. One 
 of them is owned by the Uniacke, one by the Montreal and 
 the third by the Alpha Company. This latter mill will suffice for 
 giving a fair and practicable test of the several leads on the 
 land, and until the permanent shafts and workings are in such a 
 state of advancement as to justify the erection of more extensive 
 and perfect crushing and reducing apparatus. 
 
 In conclusion 1 can but express my full conviction of the pro- 
 perty containing all the features likely to lead to a successful 
 issue. 
 
 • WM. BARNES, 
 
 Mining: Engineer, 
 
EEPORT 
 
 DY 
 
 CHARLES R O B B , Esq., 
 
 Mining Engineer. 
 
 96, St. Francois Xavier Street. 
 
 Montreal, \st February, 1868. 
 
 Having been requested to state the facts which have come 
 under my observation, and the opinions which I have been led to 
 form relative to the value of the property of the Alpha Gold 
 Mining Company, situated in Uniacke Gold District, Hauls 
 County, Nova Scotia, I beg to submit the following remarks. I 
 may premise that I have had frequent occasion to visit this district 
 in a professional capacity, and to note its distinctive geological 
 and topographical features, and productiveness at several points : 
 
 The results of extensive and more or less systematic mining 
 operations during the last eight years, have fully established the 
 reputation of the Gold Fields of JVova Scotia, as among the most 
 productive in the world ; while the facility of access and cheap- 
 ness of labour in the Province, are most important advantages as 
 compared with most other gold-producing countries. In fact, it 
 is now proved that, with judiciously selected locations, and 
 ordinary prudence and economy in the management, gold mining 
 in Nova Scotia is a legtimate," and, in many instances, highly 
 lucrative business ; and in proportion as it has been, from year 
 to year, more extensively and systematically prosecuted, it has 
 been shewn to be attended with less of the hazardous, uncertain 
 and speculative character usually attributed to all mining enter- 
 prizes. 
 
 The property of the Alpha Gold Mining Company, as indicated 
 by the accompanying maps, is situated near the centre of. the 
 Uniacke Gold District, about three miles north-east from Mount 
 Uniacke Station, on the Halifax and Windsor Railway, distant 2Q 
 
18 
 
 miles from Halifax. The gold-bearing rocks of Nova Scotia — 
 consisting of an altered clay-slate or quartzite, with associated 
 bands of micaceous or talcose slate and embedded veins of 
 quartz — are brought to the surface along certain lines of geological 
 elevation, six of which have been recognized running nearly 
 parallel to each other and to the Atlantic Coast. The Uniacke 
 Gold District lies upon the most northerly of these anticlinals, 
 being the same on which the Renfrew District is also situated, 
 from 10 to 12 miles to the east of the former. Although very 
 recently developed, both districts rank among the best in the 
 Province. In illustration of the productiveness of the Renfrew 
 District, I may mention that one Company alone (the Ophir) 
 which has been in operation a little under two years, has been 
 successful to an astonishing and almost incredible degree. The 
 value of gold mined by that Company between February, 1866, 
 and September, 1867, amounts to over «J180,000 ; and aftfjr paying 
 current expenses and for the erection of a nev;^ 24 stamp mill, as 
 well as for several additional areas, gave in the above space of 
 time, a net profit of <J100,000. 
 
 The Uniacke District, which, as I have before remarked, lies in 
 the same geological position at no great distance apart, and 
 characterized by similar mineral conditions with the Renfrew, — 
 ahhough less extensively and systematically developed at any 
 one point, promises to be at least equally productive. The esti- 
 mation in which it is held, is sufficiently evinced by the fiict that 
 according to the official report, within one year after it had been 
 proclaimed as a gold district, a greater number of areas were 
 occupied for mining purposes than in any other district in the 
 province. 
 
 The distinctive features by which the Uniacke gold district is 
 characterised, and the special advantages which it enjoys, as com- 
 pared with most other districts in the province, may be briefly 
 stated as follows : The extraordinary number, thickness, prox- 
 imity and regularity of the auriferous quartz leads ; their vertical 
 attitude, and general occurrence under such circumstances as are 
 most conducive to economical working, their exposure, for the 
 most part naturally at the surface, or with such a slight covering 
 of soil as greatly to facilitate the work of exploration ; their com- 
 parative freedom from water; their richness in all the other 
 metallic ores and minerals usually associated with the gold, and, I 
 may add, (although this is not to be Tmderstood as a distinctive 
 feature,) their established productiveness of the precious metal, 
 both in nuggets, fine gold, and pyritous, in such proportion as to 
 leave no doubt, in most instances of a highly remunerative 
 lesult. 
 
19 
 
 During the past year great activity has prevailed in the district 
 in exploring and testing various h)cations, chielly hy individuals 
 or small preliminary associations ; hut al.^o in a few instances by 
 joint slock companies: and the almost uniform success which has 
 attended these operations, has caused the,.Yalue of |)roperties 
 rapidly and steadily to increase. As yet no gi-e at depth has been 
 attained in the workings, and there are only three crushing and 
 amalgamating mills in the district, and these arranged in a some- 
 what rude and experimental manner. Consequently it may be 
 said that no test on a scale of sufficient magnitude or importance 
 has yet been made upon any of the properties fully to establish 
 their average productiveness. With such appliances as are avail- 
 able, however, the actual results of crushing are in the highest 
 degree encouraging, reaching, in one instance, (and that from 
 quartz raised on the Alpha Company's property,) as high as 13^ 
 ounces to the ton, and the average from the whole district being 
 from I of an ounce to 1 J^ ounces to the ton from leads of unusual 
 thickness. When it is considered that, in ordinary circumstances, 
 ^ an ounce to the ton is regarded as yielding a fair working profit, 
 such results alfbrd the strongest inducements for a liberal invest- 
 ment of capital in the further development of this district. 
 
 The property of the Alpha Gold Mining Company is very exten- 
 sive, comprising not fewer than 88 areas, for the most part in one 
 block, each area being about three-quarters of an acre in super- 
 ficies. It is situated, as before remarked, towards the centre of 
 the district, and — extending entirely across the gold bearing band 
 — must be intersected by all the known auriferous veins of the 
 locality, the most important of which will have a run varying 
 from 1050 to 750 feet in linear extent on the property. Towards the 
 middle of the block the veins are unusually numerous ; explora- 
 tions on adjoining properties having revealed the existence of at 
 least twenty gold bearing leads, varying from two feet in thick- 
 ness downwards, in a width of 750 feet. The nurr.ber of veins 
 actually discovered on the Alpha Company's property is stated 
 upon good authority to be not fewer than 45; and when fully 
 explored this number will undoubtedly be greatly increased. The 
 name given to the property has been adopted from the fact that it 
 was the first in the district which has been worked with any 
 degree of system, and contains the first stamp mill erected in 
 Uniacke. 
 
 Five of the areas, lying towards the centre of the block, and 
 near the mill, have been well developed by exploratory work ; 
 and on one, a shaft has been sunk to a depth of 55 feet. The 
 average of the crush ings has been 2 J ounces to the ton ; but in 
 some instances this average has been greatly exceeded. In 
 2* 
 
20 
 
 October, ISGO*, 3.^ tons of qnartz yielded 28oz. lOdwt., and in 
 December, 18G6, 4.^ tons yielded 22oz. 7dwt. 9 grs., but in these 
 exceptional cases the vein was thin and the rock unusually hard, 
 and I mention them rather for the purpose of drawing attention to 
 the undou])ted value of the property generally, than of the particu- 
 lar vein which has yielded such rich results. The south part of the 
 property which is as yet i^nexplored, will be found to be inter- 
 sected by a set of thick veins which at the distance of half a mile 
 to the west have yielded in the proportion of 3 ounces to the ton, 
 and at some intermediate points results approximating to this. 
 
 There is already, as before remarked, a good steam stamp mill 
 erected and in operation on the property. It is situated on area 
 218, and commands a never-failing supply of water from a brock 
 traversing the property and fed by a small lake. The present 
 capacity of the mill is eight stamps, but the building is erected, 
 and the engine power adapted for double this number of stamps. 
 The present stamps weigh 525 lbs. each head. The property in- 
 cludes, as will be seen liy the map, seven areas near the lake 
 above referred to, where it is proposed to erect another stamp mill 
 of 12 heads. 
 
 The greater part of the property is heavily timbered with spruce, 
 hemlock and birch, and will afford within itself for many years an 
 abundant supply of fuel, and of such timber as may be required 
 for mining purposes. 
 
 Considering the great extent, the favourable position, and actual 
 developments made upon this property, the possession of a mill 
 already in operation within itself, and the abundant supply of 
 wood and water, I know of no property more eligible or better 
 adapted to form the basis of extensive and profitable gold mining 
 operations in this or any other district in the Province of Nova 
 Scotia. 
 
 CHARLES ROBB, 
 Mining Geohpst^ 8{C, 
 
 :> 
 
 r^ 
 
NOVA SCOTIA GOLD STATISTICS. 
 
 Tho foUowinfT, extracted from the columns of llic Montreal 
 Gazette of 25th September, 1867, contains much valuable inform- 
 ation as shewing the products of the Gold Districts up to 30th 
 Sept., 1866. 
 
 "The mineral resources of Nova Scotia are beginning to receive the atten- 
 tion of Europeans. The London Mining Journal, the first authority among 
 the publications of the world on mining matters, has of late devoted several 
 columns to the subject, and from its Paris correspondent publishea the fol- 
 lowing with regard to 
 
 ** Nova Scotian Gold Statistics.— To cnarare the portion of tho Nova Scotian exhibition 
 " representing hor auriferous resources to be readily appreciated, tho local Government 
 " have adopted the very excellent statistical table of Mr. A. Hcatheri igton, and a tetraglot 
 " —English, French, German and Spanish— edition of it, with a suitable introduction, has 
 " now been issued, for the benefit of visitors to the Exhibition. It is remarked that the 
 " mineral resources of Nova Scotia are destined to secure for her a prominent position 
 " among nations, but without some publicity and demonstration by figures, it would bo 
 " hopeless to expect recognition by foreigners of these resources or their importance. Tho 
 " small guilt pyramid and the few, though rich, specimens of auriferous quartz sent to 
 « Paris bi't imperfectly represent the capabilities of Nova Scotia as a gold-producing 
 " country, whilst she also possesses mines of coal, iron, and other minerals ; and, unlike 
 " some of the other rich mineral districts on the American continent, she is free from pes- 
 •' tilential diseases, from poisonous reptiles, from wild animiils, and from treacherous 
 " Indians. The subjoined table shows the yield of gold from 18C2tol866, both inclusive, 
 ' for the several districts : — 
 
 No. of days Quartz Gold obtained. Maximum 
 
 Pictrict. labour. raised. yield pr. ton. Valuer 
 
 cwts. oz dwtgr ozdwt gr (Sterling.) 
 
 Waverlcy 379,496 980,055 33,314 12 21 22 15 20 £137,978 
 
 Shorbrooke 131,794 247,070 18,001 4 13 23 10 9 74,555 
 
 Wine Harbour 99,866 287,514 12,651 19 20 73 18 9 52,400 . 
 
 Renfrew 96,928 174,483 9,697 19 17 9 18 40,166 
 
 Isaac's Harbour 89,856 92,746 6,406 1 20 9 11 5 26,532 
 
 Oldham ' 97,838 131,124 6,107 14 1 116 2 21 21,154 
 
 Tangier 115,060 74,232 2,907 9 46 10 9 7 12,042 
 
 Montague 68,588 33,742 2,819 1 16 6 2 11 11,676 
 
 Ovens 10,426 3,042 442 8 6 2 4 20 1,832 
 
 Divers 11,882 9,320 357 3 11 12 1,479 
 
 Lawrencetown 3,120 1,970 139 17 12 10 1 14 679 
 
 Uniacke 1,326 2,170 72 16 9 10 302 
 
 Country Harbour 936 480 40 5 10 13 166 
 
 Total 1,107,106 2,038,947 91,968 10 16 116 2 21 £380,861 
 
 In connection with the foregoing it may be remarked that, under the 
 Mining Laws of Nova Scotia, reliable data are at all times procurable from the 
 office of the Chief Commissioner of Mines at Halifax, shewing from sworn 
 
returns the actual working in every district. LeaseoR nn»l liconsotl mill 
 owners nro nliko renuircd to make (juarterly returns under oath, to the end 
 that the areas may be actually worked and not taken up for purposes of 
 speculation, and that the royalty of three per cent may bo properly aocomited 
 for and collecte<l. Thus every lessee is bound to state the numl)or of djiy's 
 work performed on each area — the amount of quartz raised — the amount 
 crushed — the mill to which tlie quartz was sent — the date when sent — and the 
 yield of gold from such crushing ; and, at the same time, each licensed mill 
 owner must shew, from entries in the Mill Book (and this book is at all times 
 open to the inspection of the resident Deputy Commissioner of the District) 
 the following particulars, viz: — Date of crushing, owner of quartz, from what 
 areas, the receipt in tons — the yield of gold (smelted so much, unsmelted so 
 much) — and the amount of royalty payable. 
 
 .If 
 
 Extract from the Mining Gazette. ' 
 
 A 
 
 Gold mining in Nova Scotia has become such an important 
 branch of industry, that a journal, specially devoted to mining in- 
 telligence, has recently been established in Halifax, under the 
 name of The Mining Gazette, and in the January number will be 
 found the following item relating to Uniacke : — 
 
 " The Hall, Doull, McQuarrie, Uniacke, Montreal Go's., and West Lake 
 Mines, are still yielding good ore. Seventeen tons from the Hall Lode gave 21 
 oz., 8 dwts. ; the Doull and McQuarrie Lode steadily averages over an ounce. 
 
 ' ich is not so bod for a three feet vein. Since the arrest of the pedlars and 
 dismissal of suspected hands, the Hall and Macintosh (Uniacke Co. of Boston) 
 Mines, have been yielding from half an ouce to an ounce per ton more than 
 before." 
 
 This extract, however, requires explanation, since, owing to the compara- 
 tive newness of the Uniacke Gold District there are at present only two 
 regularly organized Companies, viz. : the Montreal Company and the Uniacke 
 Compant/, of Boston, — the other mines being worked by individuals, and 
 called after the respective owners. 
 
 With the view, moreover, of putting a stop to the system of pilfering above 
 alluded to (so common in all gold mining countries) the Legislature, at its last 
 Session, passed an Act imposing severe penalties on the purchase of gold at 
 the mine, and throwing upon the party charged, either with selling specimens 
 and nuggets or with having them m his possession, the onus of proof that he 
 was lawfully possessed. This reversal of the ordinary rule in regard to proof of 
 larceny has been found to operate beneficially, and it is believed t.hat it will 
 afford the most ample protection to proprietors. 
 
 Extract from The Toronto Globe. 
 
 The Gold Fields of Kova Scotia. 
 
 ' ' Our readers have heard a good deal, One way and another, of the gold fields 
 of Nova Scotia, and now, when we are having gold fields of our own opened 
 up, and are, besides, politically one with the Lower Provinces, it may be aa 
 
23 
 
 well to tnko a sompwhat gonoral view of what our fricn<l« in NovaSi'otia have 
 he«Mi doing, and what may ho tlie charactoi- and extent of their gold regions. 
 
 "It is about six years Kince gold was first discovered in any ni)i)re('iable 
 quantity in Nova iSootia, ami for a good while after the discoveiy was made, 
 v(>ry little comparatively was done in developing that source of national 
 wealth whicli had come to liglit. 
 
 *' (ji-ndually, liowever, the matter has 1)een making progress. Tlioso who 
 engaged in mining found that it paid, and their success always attracted 
 more to make trial in the same field. It may seem someting like exaggern- 
 tion, and yet we believe it is quite correct to say that, considering the extent 
 of the gold producing ares, the quantity of quartz mined, and the number of 
 men employed. Nova Scotian gold fields, wrought imperfectly as they have 
 been, are the most productive in the world. The rate of development lias 
 been slow, but now most of the difficulties seem to have been got over. 
 Practical men are coming into the field, skill and cai)ital are being applied 
 more and more freely, and the result, we have no doubt, will be a great" addition 
 to the wealth and population of our sister province. In 1866 the yield of 
 gold in Nova Scotia was 25,454 ounces, and it appears that for the present 
 year, not less than 30,000 ounces will have been turned out. This would 
 give about $600,000, already, almost one half of the value of the yearly yield 
 of coal in the same country. Since 1862, about 120,000 ounces of gold or 
 four tons and a half, have been secured, amounting in value to nearly two 
 millions and a half of dollars, and all this simply as a beginning. 
 ;,' "From a book entitled ''Goldfields in Nova Scotia," very recently published 
 in Halifax, (if indeed it bo published yet, for our Nova Scotian contemporary 
 the Halifax Evening Express, prints extracts from advanced sheets), we learn 
 that in Sherbrooke district, the average yield to each of the mii ers engaged, 
 was in 1862, $561.95, while in 1867, that average had risen to $i,669 20. 
 
 " There has been as much as one hundred and seventeen ounces of gold got 
 from a ton of quartz, while the average yield over all hp.s been one ounce 
 and ;.!\ree grains. 
 
 " This is far above what either California or Australia can show. 
 
 ** We are glad that capital and skill are being applied so extensively in Nova 
 Scotia to the development of such som-ces of national wealth, and also, that 
 the same thing can be increasingly said of our own Province and our own 
 gold fields. Speculation in this, as in everything else, may be carried to 
 foolish lengths ; but now that it is an unquestionable fact that there is gold 
 in paying quantities both m Nova Scotia and Ontario, to specify no others, it 
 would be a reflection upon the spirit and entreprise of the people of the 
 Dominion, if no eflbrt commensurate with its importance, should be made to 
 turn tills fact to profitable account. 
 
 " We shall always bo glad to give publicity to everything which tells of the 
 advancement of Nova Scotia in the development of her large and valuable 
 natural resom-ces ; and that without the slightest eye to her becoming in this 
 way, a more -aluable subject for the supposed plundering propensities of us 
 cormorants of Ontario."— (??o6c, 21ih December, 1867. 
 
 Extract trom the Halifax Citizen. 
 
 1230 PEE I)AY.--qne of the richest yields of gold ever obtained from a quartz 
 mine, was brought into town on the 28th instant, from a new mine at Mount 
 Uniacke. A lot of fifteen tons of quartz, from a lead six feet thick, opened 
 
24 
 
 last fall, yielded the large amount of 235 ounces, or nearly sixteen ounces per 
 ton. When it is considered that a three inch lead, yielding three ounces to 
 the ton, is considered a good investment, the enormous value of such a pro- 
 perty as this must be app irent. The quartz from which the gold was obtained 
 was the product of three men's labor from Christmas until the 25th instant, 
 and, together with between |200 and $300 worth of specimens picked out of 
 the rock while mining, gives a net yield of about $230 per day lor each man 
 employed — Halifax Ciiizen, ^Oih Jannari/, 18G8. 
 
 COxNCLUSION. 
 
 A careful examination of the data submitted cannot fall to im- 
 press everyone with the fact that gold mining in Nova Scolia is 
 far removed from the popular idea of a mere speculation, and that 
 it is a regularly established and legitimately conducted business, 
 as much so as the production of flour or lumber in Ontario; and 
 that being surrounded by the safeguards of official inspection, of 
 sworn quarterly returns from both lessees and mill-owners, and of 
 annual reports from the chief commissioners to the Legislature, as 
 well as from having stood the successful test of the past five years 
 working, it oflers a safe and profitable investment for Canadian 
 capital. 
 
 The comparatively low rate of wages (varying from ^1 to ^1 . 25, 
 per day, according to the season of the year, with an exceptional 
 rate of $1.60 to a few skilled men, in each mine,) together with 
 the moderate charges for fuel, working material, &c., all combine 
 to render labour more productive than in any other known gold 
 field. The working capital required is also by comparison much 
 less. Thus, a stamp mill which elsewhere would cost from 
 $8,000 to $12,000 and even $15,000 can be readily procured, 
 complete in every respect, for $5,000. And again, owing to the 
 small amount of surface soil, shafts can be opened in the solid 
 rock at distances varying, in Mount Uniacke, from 3 to 12 feet 
 from the ground level, while the ore extracted in sinking to the 
 depth required for drifting almost invariably yields a fair profit 
 over the cost of sinking and cribbing. 
 
 An important fact to be borne in mind also, is, that Nova Scotia 
 gold is admitted to be purer than any other, and that in London 
 it commands £4 4s., stg. per ounce, and is much sought after by 
 goldsmiths and jewellers. In Halifax the bars are bought freely 
 by the banks at the rale of $19.75 per ounce, while in Philadel- 
 phia they are exchanged at $20 an ounce in gold coin. 
 
'>-'•;' M: 
 
 
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