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Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames es required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre filmds d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant Ie nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. ita lure. : !X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 GEOLOGICAL SUKVLV OF CANADA. a. M. DAWSON, CM. C, LL.D., F.ll.S., UiuKcron. DESCKJnUVL .NOTL ON THK SYDNEY COAL FIELD CAPH BRinON, NOVA SCOTIA TO ACCOMPANY A I^EVISEI) EDITION OV THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE COAL FIELD H«iiaa Sheets I'llJ, I? I , li-', N'.S., Summarized /rom t/if Reports n/tlie denUxjiral Survfy uf Cttnnda, n-ilh ! f//« additiun of later ubner rations, '■' 1)V HUGH FLETCHER, U.A. ,,lj;> '■V ^4{,»,.'v< OTTAWA I'RIXTP:!) by S. K. DAWSON, PRINTEU TO Till-: CiUKEN'fl MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1900 No. 685. "^ / ,'~> .;-)., c- ''--'• '-■^u GKOLOCUCAL rSURYt:Y OK CANADA O. M. DAWSON, C.M.O., LL.D., F.U.S., Dikeciok. DESCKU^TJ VE NOTE ON THB SYDNEY COAL FIELD CAPK BRETON. NOVA SCOTIA TO ACCOMPANY A REVISED EDITION OF THE OEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE COAL FIELD Heins SheetB 133, ir^4, 130 N.H,, Sunntiarized Jrom the Reports of the (ieoloijical Hurvi'y of Canada, ivith the addition of later observatioiui, BY HUU H FLETCHER, R.A. OTTAWA PRINTED BY S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1900 • No. 085. n • • » ! •• ' , • • • • • < • t • • • i . » • • t • t " * It* • « • > • » - • • • •"■ • • » » i DESCRIPTIVE NOTE ON THE SYDNEY COAL FIELD The district covered bv tho three luapsliectH numbered 133, 134 and 135, comprises part of the counties of Cape Hreton and Victoria in the province of Nova Scotia, embracing the whole known area of the productive measures of the Sydney coal-field, together with a large area of the underlying rocks. The sheets above enumerated take the place of the maps of the Sydney coal-field previously issued with the Reports of Progress for 1874-75 and 187r)-76. The part relating to the Coal Measures has been largely taken from surveys niadr by Proffssor J. P. Lesley, in 18G2 and ]tiG3, by Mr. B. S. Lyman in 180."), by Mr. Richard Brown, prior to 1873, by the Dominion Coal Company in 1895, from surveys made for the (geological Survey by Mr. Charles llobb and Mr. Hugh Fletcher, and from other sources, as stated in the Geological Survey Reports. The coast-lines are generally from the admiralty charts. In this district, west of Sydney River, the contour of the ground occupied by rocks older than the Coal Measures is unusually diversified, and its connection with the geological structure is so plain that it can- not be overlooked. Four parallel ridges, the Coxheath, Boisdale, Boularderie and St. Ann hills, divided from one another by deep valleys and indentations of the sea, run from south-west to north east and give much variety to the scenery. The height above the sea of the Coxheath and Boularderie ranges seldom exceeds 550 feet, while the Boisdale Hills have in places an elevation of 890 feet, and the St. Ann Hills of 1045 feet. The central axes of the two latter, as well as that of the Coxheath Hills, consists of .syenitic and fels- pathic rocks, flanked by Cambrian and Carboniferous strata. The lat- ter are found in the valleys, but the denudation to which they have bpen subjected has been so great that they now lie only in small patches on the hills. Brooks are numerous, and their general direction corresponds with that of the hills and longer estuaries. Those that flow northward are the largest, but none are navigable for any great distance from the sea. Those flowing east and west, are short moun- r 4 (iKOLOniCAL Hl'llVKV OK < ANAHA. tain tcirrfntH, wliidi cut deeply into th«! .sycnitic rotks, nuulcrinp the land riij,'t,'«'(l iiiid unlit tor rultiviition. l'irtuirs(|Ut' ;,'icnn unti f,'or^na are fornifxl in both cises by the erosion ot'tlH't'riiii)leC'ail)()niferous conglom- erate. The distriljution of the various yeoloyical tormiitionH accords with tiio direction . ( 'iuhonifiTdiits LiiiR'Htoltf Sorii'H li. .Millstone (Jiit (■ 7. ( 'iKil .Mi'iinuriH I ■ C«rlH)niferoulemlt> and Hometiini's mica in addition to folspar In tlif Ciipfi iMupliiii district, red syenite and gnuiite are intimately associated and allprnali- with line yrairu'd ;,'n('isses and tVlsiles. 2. (JKoiKiK HivKK Limkstonj: Skiiikh.* On the south-oast«'rn^'sl(i|)t>.s of the I?oiHdale anil St. Ann hills, there runs a narrow /oih; of rucks, st'ldoin rxi'eediny half a mile in width, consisting of highly crystalline limestone and dolomi'e, iMmtaining serpentine, tolc, asi)eHtu-i, mica, tremolite, graphite, galena, ha-matite, magnetite and,other minerals : associated with felsite, syenite, diorite, mica schist, <|uarlzite and (juart/.ose conglomerate, of various cohnirs, hut chietly bluish, assigned by .Mr. Hartley to the Laurentian. This formation inchuh's the marble of (Jeorge liiver, of Marble Mountain and Eskasoni and the great bed of white dolomite (|uarried at New Campbellton, an analysis of which is (juoted on page 15. .3. Bai{A("iiois Si.atks and otiii'.k Rocks — Camukiax.* The rocks in Cape Breton described as I/iwer Silurian in the earlier Reports, comprise beds, referable, on the evidence of their fossils as deter- mined by Dr. G. F. Matthew, to horizons from that of the Etcheminiaii to that of the Lingula Flags. In the area to which these nia{)s refer, the^ arc chielly of the age of tin; i^ingula i'lags series. ( >n St. Andrew Channel they comprise reddish, greenish, purple, bluish and gray .slate, argillite, (pmrlzite, sandstone, conglomerate and limestone ; while black, bluish and gray graphitic slaty argillite, cont; Ining Dii-tyninnnu mrialf and other fossils extends up along McLeod Brook. 4. The CAHitOMFKHOUS CoNfJt.OMKHATE S|;niKS.* By Mr. Richard Rrown. this formation wiis separated from the Car- boniferous and correlated with the Devonian or Uld Red Sandstone of England. Tt generally Hanks the nietamorphic hills which form the axes of the anticlines and from which its j)ebbles have obviously been derived. Its thickness is variable. On Watson Brook it seems to * Reports of J'rojrrcss, (Irol. Siirv. Can.. 1870-71. pp. 4 5; 1S73-74. pp. 174. 252 to '2G2 ; 1875.7t., pp. 381 t.. 388 ; 187U-77 p. 42(>. * Ki'iMjrts of Progresi-, (Jfol. Surv. Can., 1^75-70, pji. 38S to 393 ; 1870-77, pp. 428 to 437. (iEOLOOICAIv 8UUVKY OF CANADA. have a thickness of about 252') feet, while on St. Andrew Cliannel the CarhoniferouH I.iinoNtone lies directly upon Caniluian shites and aHmlatones. This formation presents the napect of a friahle indian red or hrick- red, rarely green, conglomerate and Hand.stone, the cjinstituents of which range from blocks three feet in diumeter downward and exhil)it great dillerences in conipoHition according to the locality in which they are found. The most common niatri.x is itself a fine conglomtrate or coarse grit, possessing very little coherency ; not unfreciuently, how- ever, it consists of calcsp-ir, and more rar^'ly of luematiteand (juurtzite or chert. The coarser lieds greatly prednminale, but alternate con- stantly with lenticular or persistent bands of reddish, coarse- and fine- grained, jointed, friable sandstone, sometimes mottled \Nith green and traversed l)y streaks of white calcspar, or with red and green marl, ineluding an occasional layer of impure limestone. In general, but not invariably, the conglomerate is liner at the top than towards the base of tho formation. A few obscure fucoids wore the only fossils diseovered, although many of the finer beds seem to be well adapted for their preservation. \ 5. The Carhonikkkous Limkstonk Sehiks. The general characters of these rocks are given in the Reports for 187;^, l-'^Tl and l.S7.:>, with detiiiled sections of them on many of the streams. They consist of thick beds of red and gray argillaceous shale, sometimes calcareous, approaching in character to marls, and fre- (|Uently without any trace of lamination or bedding ; these beds often being eopiously charged with noilulea of limestone and argillaceous iron ore. With them are associated numerous beds of limestone, con- cretionary, laminated and compact, and generally dark-gray or almost black, and fetid ; sometimes gypsiferous and containing traces of gal- ena and copper pyrites, and occasionally holding marine fossils of the ordinary Lower Carboniferous forms. Beds of gypsum, and of red and gray micaceous sandstone, generally slightly calcareous and often beautifully ripple-marked, are also of fre'pi- dodendron, ami the scales, teeth, spines and coprolites of fishes, with I •Report? of Progress, (jteol. Surv. Can., 1872-7;^, l>. 239; 1873-74, p. 173; 187-1-75, p. lil'.t : 1875-7(>, p. 304 ; lf^7f.-7:, i'. 437. SYONKY COAL FIKLD. 7 Naiaditr.m. It has a Stigmaria under-day. The point on which the town of Sydney stands is composed of thu red aandututies, luarh and thin bedded liine.stones of the upper part of thin formation. 6. TiiK MiM,sTONE Grit. if The rocks overlying the C.irlioiiiferous LimeHlone .scries, inter- mediate between tliese and the productive Coal .Measure.s, and tlius occupying a position analoj{nus to that of the Millstone (Srit of the Engli.sh coil fields, are well ex})os('d in the natural sfclions ailnrded by Sydney Harbour, the (Ireat Hras d'Or and other parts oi the coiuit. They consist, on Sydr y '^arbour, of a great series of safidstone beds, generally very coarse and ainicfst conglomerate in character, and deeply stained with peroxide of iron ; but sometimes «)f a bluish-gray colour, finely grained, evenly bedded and llaggy, with occasional patches (but apparently no continuous beds) of argillaceous shale and coal. Some of the sandstone beds, contain great (juantities of obtcure and frag- mentary vegetable fossils, such as Siyillaria, Stiynidria, Lppuioderidron^ Cordaites and (Jalainiti',^. The shales also contain plant remains. In one bed or thin patch of carbonaceous shale were observed teeth, scale.s, spines and coprolites of tishes. The Millstone Grit formation is here dis- tinguished from those underlying and overlying it by the absence of calcareous strata ; false bedding is prevalent, and it is ditKcult to arrive at any just or accurate estimate of its total thickness. In the eastern section of the field, however, where the same form- ation is very extensively developed, it is much thicker; and while still preserving the same character and the same relations to the overlying and underlying rocks, includes thicker and more regular beds of argillaceous shale, with .seams of coal, one of which at least is of work- able dimensions and quality. In this respect the remarkably perfect section afforded by the clifl's at the western side of Mira Biy* is more closely allied than in the western district to the typical series of rocks of t his division in the Joggins section, as described by Sir William Logan, from which, however, it difl'ers in the general absence of calcareous beds. There can be no doubt that the materials of which the Millstone (Srit rocks are compo.sed have been derived chiefly from the disinte- gration of the underlying rocks, which may have been either the Lower Carboniferous sandstones, shales and conglomerates, or the older crystalline rocks from which these have in their turn been derived. This fact is very strikingly manifested on the shores of the Great Bras d'Or, where some beds of the Millstone (Jrit are found to be largely ' Reijort of Progress, GpoI. Surv. Can., 1874-187."), !>. 170. 8 OK0L0(!ICAL SUKVEY OF CANADA. composed of fuigular fragments from the syenite of St. Ann Hills in the immediate vicinity ; while at other places, more remote from such crystalline masses, the ingredients consist entirely of the com- minuted fnij'ments of rocks of the Lower Carboniferous. 7. TnK Coal Mkasuuks.* The line of demarcation between tin Millstone Grit and the so-called productive measures is a somewhat , itrary one ; and, from some points of view, the distinction may be regarded more as a matter of convenience for the purj)ose of description than as one of geological im- portance. The southern limit of the productive measures is very frequently indicated by the occurrence of great angular blocks of coarse sandstone profusely scattered over the surface, and derived from the .sandstone beds of the Millstone Grit. The whole .series corres[)Onds very closely, both in geological position and in composition, with Division iso. 4 of Sir William Logan's Joggins section, the upper part of the section in the Sydney coal-field b(ung, however, cut oft by the sea. Tiie land area occupied by the productive Coal Measures in the eastern or Sydney coal-lield, may be estimated at 200 .squaie miles, being about 32 mi'es in length from north-west to south-east by about six miles in widili. Tt is limited on three sides l)y the Atlantic Ocean ; and towards the south-west by the outcrop of the subjacent Lower Carboniferous rocks. This area forms the soutiiern extremity of an exttinsive trough or basin, which is for the most part hidden under the waters of the ocean, and which has been corrugated by num- erous subordinate folds, bringing the same coal-.seams repeatedly to tlie surface along the north-east coast r' the island, under the most favourable conditions and circumstances for their extraction and sh'.pment. The whole coast is deeply indented by bays and channels approxim- ately coinciding with the axes of these folds, and affording in the sca- clifts numerous natural sections of the strata and exposures of the coal- seams. Some of these bays also constitute excellent harbours, one of which — Sydney Harbour — situated towards the centre of the district, ranks among the finest and most commodious on the Atlantic coast of North America. The cliiFs are generally from thirty to eighty feet high, standing perpendicularly, or freijuently overhanging the sea. The country inland is of a gently rolling character, the maximum height being about 2.")0 feet. \ I Rf ports of Progress, (ieol. Surv. Can., 1872-73, p. 239; 1873-74. p. 177; 1874-75, p. 193, also Summary Reports for 1893, 189G and 1897. mmmm SYONEV COAL FIKLD. 9 \ \ Such naturiil advantages, combined with its highly favourable geographical position, point to this district ap probably the most im- portant in the Dominion for the aupjjly of fuel to steamships navigating thn Atlantic. During the few months of winter, when the more northerly harl)ours are closed or obstructed by ice, an outlet is afforded ijy the railway connecting many of the collieries with Jvouis- burg, a line harbour, open and safe for shipping at almost any season. The aggregate thickness of coal in vv(jikal)le seams, outcropping on the shore, and for the most part exposed in the Ijays and cliffs, is from forty to iifty feet ; the seams vary from three to nine feet in thickness. They generally dip at a very low angle, and appear to be very little affected by faults or disturbances. As the strata all dip seaward, much of the co.al will be available in the submarine as well as in the land areas. From experience at the Sydney mines it has been fully established that, with due caution and care, these submarine areas may be worked to a laige extent. The coal is of the bituminous or 'soft' variety, with comparatively little diversity in the quality of the different seams ; all of which yield a fuel exceedingly well adapted for general purposes, while that of some of them is specially applicable to the manufacture of g.as. As compared with the Pictou coal, it is characterizetl on the whole, by a gr.'ater proportion of combustible matter and a smaller proportion of ash ; but on the other hand it usually contains a greater amount of sulphur. The rocks of this district are affected by three anticlinal and four synclinal folds, approximately parallel to one another, the latter named respectively the Cow Bay, Glace Bay, Sydney Harbour and I>ias dOr l)asins. The several folds are, as already stated, marked by the occurrence of bays and channels running in a direction nearly parallel to their axes. The subdivisions are thus geographically, as well as geologically, well marked. The strata associated with the coal-seams may be described under the following heads; — (1.) Argillaceous shale; (2.) Arenaceous shale ; (3.) l{ed and green marl; (4.) Sandstone: (5.) Under-day; (0.) Limestone; (7.) Jilnek shale ; (8.) Coal. Detailed sections of the alternations of these beds in the various basins are given in the Report for 187-1-75. 1. Aryillaceous Shalea. — These strata, together with the arenaceous shales (2) into which ihey pass by insensible gradations, and red and 10 (iEOLOOICAL SUR\KV OP CANADA. green marls (3), from which they differ chiefly in colour and in the general absence of lamination in the marls, constitute upwards of one half of the total thickness of the measures. They no doubt originally consisted of fine mud, with more or less sand intermixed, and are of a gray or bluish-gray colour. Some of the beds contain much iron- pyiites ; and nearly all ara charged M'ith argillaceous ironstone, son.e- tiraes in thin, regular layers, but gonenilly in spherical or ellijisoidal nodi, les or concretions. They generally contain a great variety of fossil plants, chielly ferns ; the mi st delicate and fragile fronds and stems of the.se being often beautifully preserved. Many trunks of erect and piostrate SiyiUarhr, in some cases with their Stiginaria roots attached and penetrating the coal seams^ are found in the shales ; and the.se appear to be confined to no particular horizons. The largest observed trunk was nearly five feet in diameter; but the usual size, is from two to three feet, the bark being converted into coaly matter. Some of the beds are very copiously charged with a small bivalve shell of the genus Xaiaditen associated with plant remains. The argillaceous shales are not always persistent, but often become arenaceous and .sometimes pass into sandstone. Occasionally tiie change is so sudden as to give to the beds the appearance of being faulted. 3. Bed and (iree^i Marls. — Although not in all cases strictly correct, this term is convenient as designating a set of strata having a tendency to disintegrate into clay or mud on exposure to the air. Beds of this nature, of considerable thickness, are distributed throughout all parts of the Carbon if eious series, but they contain few fossils. 4. Safidstoues. — The sandstone beds constitute the most prominent, thickest and most persistent members of this series of strata. They are very numerous and are distril)uted throughout all parts of the f ormition, generally overlying every coal seam, with an interval of a few feet of urgillaeeoas shale, but sometimes actually forming the roof of the seain. In colour they are gray, yellowish and greenish, usually coarse and pebbly, especially towards theii- base, where, for a limited thickness, they sometimes assume the character of conglomerates. False-beflding is very prevalent in the thicker and coarser grained strata, which are usually of considerable thickness, up to forty or fifty feet. Such beds are generally charged with casts of plants, Calamitfs, Cordaites, Lf.pidodendron and SigiUaria — and with much carbonized vegetable n.atter. Some of the thinner layers are highly calcareous. 5. Undcr-days. — The roots and innumerable rootlets of Stignuiria ficoideK constitute the most distinctive feature of these beds, which are. i i aYDNEY COAL FIELD. n f % for the most part, highly argilhiceous or siliceous, often constituting good fire-clays. Tiiey are generally full of ironstone nodules and merge by insensible gradations into the beds upon which they rest. These under-olays occur innnediately below every coal-seam and bed containing carbonaceous matter. 6. lAmestone. — In the lower part of the Coal Measures, beds of black bituminous limestone, of which then: aro about sixteen, varying in thickness from half an inch to two feet, afford valuable evidence in the identification of the several coal-seams at distant intervals. They abound in remains of shells and ganoid fishes and in some instances show a well marked cone-in-cone structure, the cones being at least an inch in diameter. 7. Carbonaceuiis Sltalu^. — heds of this nature niay be regarded as impure coals, intermixed with numerous thin layers of shale. Many of these workable coal-seams inclose layers of such shale, and also sometimes pyritous bands. Such beds are sometimes of the nature of cannel, being compact, with eonchoidal fracture, containing more or less calcareous matter and passing into bituminous limestone, charged with the fossil forms peculiar to the limestones. More fitHjuently, however, the carbonaceous shales are soft and laminated, entirely made up of the matted leaves of Cordaites^ converted into mineral charcoal. There are two highly characteristic and very persistent beds of calcare- ous bituminous shale,overlying two adjacent coal seams, which serve as a most valuable guide in tracing the structure of the whole field. These beds appear to be composed entirely of Xaiadites, distributed unifonnly and packed closely in layers in the planes of the bedding, giving the shales, when broken, a corrugated appearance. 8. Coal. — In taking a general view of the mode of occurrence of the coal-seams in this field, it appears that, although local variations are neither few nor small, their similarity of conditions and persistency over great areas is very remarkable. The disturbances which the strata have undergone are not of such a nature or amount as to occasion any great uncertainty in reganl to the eijuivalency of the various seanis at different points. In a few instances the coal-seams are split by the gradual thickening of their clay partings. In some cases, seams whi^h are of workable thickness and good (juality at one place become from similar causes unworkable at no great distance. In other instances the continuity (;f tlie seam is interrupted at intervals by masses of rock similar to that overlying the coal. Taking the average of all the sections measured, the total number of seams in the productive measures is twenty-four, of which six are 1: GEOIiOOICAL SUUVEV OF CANADA. three feet or upwards in thickness, and tlie total average thickness of coa! may be stated at forty-six feet. SUBOKDINATK BaSINS I.\ THK CoAIi FlKLD. These have aheady been enumerated and their structure will be readily understood by reference to the maps. A few note"' may, how- ever, br useful. The Cote Bay Basin. — On the north side of this basin the strata dip at a low angle. On the south side the angle of inclination is 35" to 42°. Tiie entire series of strata (which does not, however, include the upper portion of the ))roductive measures d(;vel(iped in otluM- parts of the held) is exposed within a distance of thiee miles and a iialf measured along the north si ie of the bay. The average breadth of the basin at the shore, between the outcrops of the lowest seam, does not exceed two miles and one-third, and it terminates at a point less than nine miles from the shore. Two seams, the Blockhouse and the McAulay, have been wfirked in this basin, but at present, the land area being under the control of the Dominion Coal Compan}', no coal is being extracted, although a shaft is being suidi by the Newcastle Syndicate to win the coal in the submarine area on the ^Ic.Vulay .seam and test the lower seams. The large seam of the Neville pits, near the western end of the basin, correlated with the McAulay senm tm the map, is by others supposed to be the Mcllnry, and further explorations are perhaps necessary to put this point) beyond dispute. The Tracy seam in the Mdlstone Grit, lias heen worked to a small extent in this basin on the shore of Mira Bay, and has been opened but not worked at several points to the westward. The Glace Bay Basin. — The anticlinal axis .separating the Cow Bay and Clace Bay basins, skiits the shore at Cape Percy. The latter presents a striking contrast to that of Cow Bay, being widp, with uniformly gentle dips on both sides : and embraces, in addition to the beds exposed in that of Cow Hay, GIO feet of strata overlying the highest of these, and including the Hub seam, the highest workable coal-seam in t^he series in this district. Four other seams have also been worked in this basin : but the operations of the Dominion Coal Company are at present confined principally to the Piielan .'seam. The attitude of all the .seams in the Glace Bay basin (extending for a length of about twenty miles), as ascertained by care- ful measurement and recorded on the map, is a striking proof of the general regularity of deposit and the absence of faults which char- acterizps this district. SYDNEY COAL FIELD. 13 The Sydney Ilarhoar Basin. — In the further extension of the Coal Measures westward, the next basin which comes under notice includes the Lin;^an, Low Point and Sydney mines districts, and txtends from Indian Bay and Bridgeport Basin as far as Point Aconi, embracing all the coal seams in the Held. An anticlinal axis, that skirts the north shore of Bridgeport Basin and runs thence westerly to the vicinity of South Bar on Sydney Harbour, divides this basin from that of Glace Bay. On the north side of this axis the rocks dip at angles varying from 12' to 10° at Lingaii, increasing to 40' at the Vicloiia mines. The sea-coast follows the fold of the strata in such a manner as to bring the entire volume of the Coal Measures upon the cliffs in several fine sections. From Low Point lighthouse to Lingan the strike of the rocks is nearly parallel to the shore. The only colliery at present worked in this basin is the Sydney mines. The Bras d'Or Basin.— A. little to the west of the Little Briis d'Or, a low, broad anticline, running frt^m Point Aconi to Saunders Cove, deflects the strata to the south to form the Bras d'Or basin, which includes on opposite sides the Boularderie and Cape Dauphin districts. No collieries are at present worked in tlie former. I n the Cape Dauphin district the Messrs. Buroliell are shipping coal from the New Campbell- ton mine, from a seam assumed to be the Blackrock or Number Three seam of the Sydney mines section and the Phelan seam of Glace Bay. On approaching the mountain, the Carboniferous rocks are abruptly cut off and thrown into an attitude for the most part vertical ami occa. siondly overturned ; so that at some points the Coal Measures are brought into contact with the pre-Cambrian syenite. In the annexed table Mr. Uobb has given the equivalency of the more important coal seams in the productive measures throughout the whole region, arranged in the several districts under the names by which they are locally known. The table shows also the aggregate thickness of strata between the coal scams. By placing on the same level the main seam of the Sydney mines and its equivalents throughout the field, all the other seams range approximately on the same horizons, the difference not being greater than we find in many instances where the identity of the beds is indisputable. Mr. Robb has also estimated that the total quantity of coal which this field is capable of yielding, exclusive of any that may be obtained from seams of a less thickness than four feet, is probably not less than one thousand million tons. T 14 GEOLOaiCAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Other Minerals of Economic Value. In addition to the large deposits of coal, above referred do, other useful minerals occur in thi.s district, some of which have been to a small extent quarried or mined. Among the most important are 'ijematite, copper ore, limestone, dolomite, marble, building stone, gypsum, tire-clay, syenite, granite and porphyry. Clay /rrtnsdone.— Numerous beds occur in the Coal Measures con- taining argillaceous iron ore, both in nodules and in thin continuous bands. An average sainple, analysed by Dr. Harrington, yielded about 28 per cent of metallic iron.*' A great proportion of the iron made in Grrat Britain is derived from such ores, but there is not much hope of an adequate supply in Cape Breton for economic pur- poses ; though considerable quantities of it are found strewn along the beach under the cliffs, from which it has been derived. Hfcmatife.— The universal occurrence of calcspar and ha-matite among the rocks of every one of the formations is remarkahle. To the latter all the red rocks owe their colour, and in places it separates into veins and stringers. At or near the contact of the Lower Car- boniferous with the underlying raetamorphic rocks, veins or beds of workable size and quality have been discovered and afford promise of being available for the manufacture of iron. Of this character are the deposits at Boisdale, Baiachois and French Vale. A hrematite ore, with over .30 per cent of metallic iron in places, occurs near Sydney at the contact of the Millstone Grit and Carbimiferous Limestone.* Attempts made to work it failed owing to irregularity in quality and in distribution among the red marl, for it passes into siliceous sand- stone. Boj Iron Ore.— Deposits of this ore of excellent cjuality, but limited extent, have been observed at Schooner Pond, Boisdale and elsewhere within the district. Copper Ore— The felspathic rocks of the Coxheath, Boisdale and St. Anns hills contain traces of yellow and purple copper-pyrites and two of these deposits at the Coxheath mine and at George River have been somewhat largely developed. LimeHtone.— The limestones which prevail in the Carboniferous Limestone series produce, when calcined, a good strong lime, but rather dark for the interior finishing of houses. An unlimited supply can be produced at a very cheap rate, as beds of i * Report of Progress, 1873-74, p. 'M2. • Reports of Progress, 1873-74, 17(! ; 1874-75, p. 170. T SYDNEY COAL FIRLD. 1ft i 68 018 43 583 506 -266 1-771 -036 •272 considerable thickness, which are marked on the maps, crop out in immediate proximity to gf>od harbours. Kilns have long been in operation at the North-west Arm of Sydney Harbour, for local supply, and from George River a large amount of lime has been '■ ported. In connection with the erection of furnaces for tlie manu- facture of iron and steel at Sydney, some of these beds have been found availablfj for employment as a flux. Dolomite— A bed of white, massive, coarsely crystalline dolomite, U4 feet in thickness, of the George River Limestone series, has been quarried by the Messrs. Burchell at New Campbellton, about ten thousand tons exported, and used as a flux in the manufacture of steel. It is suitable also for the production of pulp in paper making. Its analysis as given by Dr. Hoffmann is as follows : — ' Carbonate of lime II niaynesia II iron II nmnganuse Sulphate of lime Chlorine «7 i. I hvgroscoi)ic '■^''j Water ; ^•„^,,,i„..,j 071 Insoluble n-sidue ^ """ 101070 Marble. — In the same series, white and variously tinted marbles can also be procured with great facility at George River, French Vale and New Campbellton. At George River, they have been quarried to a small extent. Building Stone.— The sandstone, both of the Millstone Grit and Coal Measures, are generally too coarse, too irregular in the bedding and too muc!i impregnated with iron to yield good building materials, except for foundations and other rough work. Some of the upper beds of the Carboniferous Limestone series, however, aflbrd a dark-red, brown or chocolate-coloured, very homogeneous sandstone, which would probably be more valuable as a building material. Such beds crop out at the water's edge in Sydney Harbour, in the most advan- tageous posititm for working and shipping. Flags.— Some of the beds in the Millstone (Jrit and calcareous sand, stone in the productive measures produce excellent flags, which have been quarried to a limited extent for local use. Grindstones of fair quality are manufactured to a limited extent for local use from the sandstones of the Coal Measures. Gijpsiun.— The. Carboniferous Limestone series in Cape Preton is specially characterized by the occurrence of extensive deposits of * ReiK.rt:^ of l'ro},'reas, 1873-74, p. 174; 1874 7.', \>. u OEOLOdlCAL SURVEY OF CANADA. gypsum ; but in the district to which reference is here particularly made, no deposits of this mineral of economic importance have been discovered. At North Sydney, Boularderie Island and Cape Dauphin, gypsum beds ot limited extent have been noted. Brickriay and Fire-clay.— These materials are also available in the district ; the former having been worked at Sydney, North-west Arm and other points ; while the latter may be obtained from the undtr- clayfj of most of the coal-neams. An altered felsite, analysed by Dr. Hoffmann* and found suitable for the manufacture of 6re-bricks and potteiy, has been .seen at se\eral places in the Coxheath Hills as recorded on the map. Cdestite.— This mineral, which is one of the sources of the strontium nitrate used in the production of red fire in pyrotechny, is found on the right bank of Sydney River, about a mile and a half above Sydney Bridge, where a bluish-gray bed, about a foot in thick- ness, containing specks of galena, may be seen for a considerable distance along the river, overlaid by gray slaty limestone. Asbestim.—A. variety of this minetal, apparently of no industrial value, is found near the copper mine among pre-Cambrian rocks at George River. Syenite, Granite and Porphyry, differing widely in texture and composition, of fine varieties of colour, susceptible of a high polish and tit for decorative work, occur abundantly in the Coxheath, Boisdale and St. Anns hills and are worthy tlie attention of capitalists. * Reiwrt of Prngress, 1874-7."), VV- -123-42(;. . TABLE showing the E(i nival eney of the principal Coal Seams in the Sydney i NAMES OF THE DTSTRIC < O o EC H O < ;5 North Sidk. Section VIII. Block Hiuis(>., Seam D Soum E McAnlay . . . Spencor 't Long Beach . . Total thickness of t-.tiil lii wcaiiis. which ni«y 1>p workable COW BAY. Strata and Coal. Ft. in. Sdcth Sii>k. Section IX. !» 2 i r.l.uk II. ms 310 1 1 Seam D... 130 (i i 3 2 ' Seam K .... 118 i 7 9 j McAiilav . . '215 10 5 j Spencer (Soutii Head. ) 338 6 1 4 j 27 5 Long Beach . Strata and Coal. Ft. in. 9 2 28.') S 1 107 2 (> 100 7 4 11 187 !> 3 330 n 3 1 (iLACK BAY. Kast Sidk. Section XI. Hill. Il.irliiiur . . Boiithillier I'.a(k I'it. Plu'lan... Ro.ss Loi'w.aj'. . 1 Strata and (>'oal. 1 1 Ft. in. 9 10 3()(> 3 5 3 1 299 3 ! 2 74 2 4 9 112 9 \ 8 3 1S8 3 5 6 1 307 7 4 1 39 6 i BUIIXJKI'OKT. Section XII. Hub Flarlmtir. . . Bouthillior Back Pit.. Phelan .... Emery (Jardiner. . Strata and Coal. Ft. in. 9 .'. 344 4 ! 238 7 4 92 1 4 (» 83 3 8 7 108 1 1 8 279 2 .^ 9 39 6 LINGAN _ ^^_ LiNi;.\.N Sidk. Sirata 1 and Section XIV. I CNkiI. Seam .\ ( 'arr Se.ams . . . . I)i(rachuis D.ivid Head... Seam I) North Head. . . . Jiiiigan Main. . . Seam (i Seam H n s Ft. in. 3 01 30(! 2 (5 5 190 1 12 1 : 579 3 i 8 'i 235 \\ 3 li 78 1 i| 4 75 11 I j 8 ! 95 3 :! 2 (i 340 5 1 1 ' 47 : 1 Pai Cra Vic Wi Nu H. D. Sea ' The Roman numerals above the sectioii.s denote their niimbers in tlie Report of Progress for 1874-75. Seams in the Sydney Coal Field, with the intervals hetween each in the several Sections . F THE DI.STRICT.S AND BASINS. LINGAN TRACT. «.• SiDK. Strata -- and 1 I XIV. i c;..;ii. ; Ft. in. ! 3 .•?0(i 2 fi 6 100 1 12 1 .370 3 S 2.3.*) :i 3 0- IS .... Ill 1(1 7H 1 ' 4 .SyHNKT H.\RBOl)R. I Stl'ilta Hcction XV. I Coiil. 7.') 11 8 O.'i 3 2 (J 340 .5 1 1 1 47 : i '1 Paint CrandiiU, &c. . . . Victoria WillioFrasor.... Xiiiiil)[>r 'I'laef. . . H. Mcf Jilvary. . . . D. .Mc( ill vary ... .Seam H Ft. in. 13 4 I7C. 3 7 11 320 3 ! ij 7 i 30H S 3 (i I 83 11 4 I IKJ 4 C. 3 121) (; 2 2 3(;2 10 44 G SYDNEY MINES. Sydnky H.\unoi:u. Station X\'I. Strata ,| L. IWiam i/On. and (!nal. Sei'tiun XVII. Cranhfi'ry Head. . . Lloyd Covo Chapol Point Sydtify Main Willie Fr.izer Tiulian Ciivc Seam F Stony I Strata and Ccpal. Ft. in. I Ft. in. 3 8 281 4 (') 4 liloyd Cove 2(19 1 3 !l Se.unB 322 fi Svdnf'v Main 3 If) 10 I I Hrvant j 117 1 4 8 Edwards 87 (approx.) ; 100 1 7 Seam F ji it 123 (api.n.x.) ''" " 3 Collins 8 1 231 7 4 2 380 7 3 20.-) 2 78 .5 f) IfK) ■5 30 4 I ; 30 5 BOULARDERIE. Wkmt Sihk. Section XVIII. Strata and Coal. Point .Vconi Honar Ft. in. 3 2 242 (i 10 Stubliart SeaniC Mill|M)nd Blackroek .Seam F 218 !l 7 ti 413 3 2 210 4 3 11 17(i 5 3 125 8 8 Seam G 43 11 28 9 C, t>E DAUPHIN. •Middle. Strata and .Sectiiin XXI. Coal. Seam I) Four-fiet Seam F Six-feet Ft. i. 1 8 237 4 .^3 .3 1 54 G 13 6 FFace page IG.J