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ON THE GOLD MINES OF CANADA, 
 
 AND THE MANNER OF ^VOEKING THEM. 
 From the Canadian Naturalist for February, 1863. 
 
 The existence of gold in the sands of the Chaudiere valley, to 
 the south of Quebec, was, so far aa we are aware, first announced to 
 the world by General Baddeley (then Lieutenant) of the Koyal 
 Engineers, in the year 1836, and by him communicated to Prof. 
 Silliman. (see American Journal of Science for that year, vol. 
 xxviii. p. 112.) In 1847, and the three or four years following, 
 careful examinations were made in that region by the Geological 
 Survey, and it was found that the precious metal is not confined 
 to the valley of the Chaudiere, but exists in the superficial deposits 
 of a wide area. 
 
 The source of the gold throughout this extent appears to have 
 been the breaking up of the crystalline schists of the region, in 
 which the metal has occasionally been met with. One example 
 of this is in a vein of quartz in clay state, in the parish of St. 
 Francis, on the Chaudiere, where it occurs with argertiferous gale- 
 na, arsenical pyrites, cubic iron pyrites and sulphuret of zinc,— - 
 the latter two ores containing a notable proportion of gold. The 
 results of assays of all these materials will be found in the re- 
 ports of the Geological Survey for 1858, page 370. During the 
 past year, another vein of quartz, about one hundred yards from 
 this last has yielded very rich and beautiful specimens of native 
 gold, also accompanied by arsenical pyrites. The precious metal 
 occurs again not far from the Harvey Hill copper mine, in Leeds, 
 at a locality known aa Nutbrown's shaft, which is sunk on a vein 
 of bitter-spar, holding specular iron, vitreous copper ore, and native 
 gold, generally in small grains or scales. Some specimens from 
 this locality, however, have weighed as much as a pennyweight. 
 The only attempts as yet made at gold-mining in Canada have beer 
 in the diluvial deposits. We extract from the General Report of 
 the Geological Survey of Canada, now in press, and soon to appear, 
 the following details with regard to these deposita, together with 
 the results of some of the trials hitherto made to work them, and 
 suggestions as to the best mode of obtaining the gold. 
 
 "These rocks of eastern Canada maybe traced south-west- 
 wardly through New England, along the Appalachian chain, to 
 the state of Georgia, and furnish gold in greater or less quantity in 
 nearly every part of their extension. They constitute the great 
 gold-bearing formation of eastern North America, which in its 
 
minoralogioal and Hthological characters is similar to that of the 
 western coast, and to those of Russia aud Aust/alia. These auri- 
 ferous rocks in Canada, belong hr the greater part to the 
 Quebec group, of Lower Silurian age ; but the quartz veins contain- 
 ing gold, mentioned above, are found cutting strata, which are sup- 
 posed to belong to the Upper Silurian period. The auriferous 
 drift covers a wide area on the south s ide of the St. Lawrence, 
 including the hill country belonging to the Notre Dame range, and 
 extending thence south and east to the boundary of the province. 
 These wide limits are assigned, inasmuch as although gold has not 
 been everywhere found in this region, the same mineralogical cha- 
 racters are met with throughout. In its continuation southward 
 in Plymouth, and elsewhere in Vermont, considerable quantities 
 of gold have been obtained from the diluvial deposits. In Canada, 
 gold has been found on the St. Francis River, from the vicinity of 
 Melbourne to Sherbrooke ; in the townships of Westbury, Weedon, 
 and Dudswell, and on Lake St. Francis. It has also been found 
 on the Etchemin, and on the Chaudidre, and nearly all its tributa- 
 ries, from the seigniory of St. Mary to the frontier of the state of 
 Maine ; including the Bras, the Guillaume, the Riviere desPlantes, 
 the Famine, the Du Loup, and the Metgermet. Several attempts 
 have been made to work these alluvial deposits for gold, in the 
 seigniories of Vaudreuil, Aubert-Gallion, and Aubert de I'lsle, but 
 they have been successively abandoned ; and it is difficult to obtain 
 authentic accounts of the result of the various workings, although 
 it is known that very considerable quantities of gold were extract- 
 ed. The country people still, from time to time, attempt the 
 washing of the gravel, generally with the aid of a pan, and are 
 occasionally rewarded by the discovery of a nugget of considera- 
 ble value. In the years 1851 and 1852, an experiment of this 
 kind, on a considerable scale, was tried by the Canada Gold Min- 
 ing Company, in the last named seigniory, on the Riviere du 
 Loup, near its junction with the Chaudiere. The system adopt- 
 ed for the separation of the gold from the gravel was similar to 
 that used in Cornwall in washing for alluvial tin, and the water 
 for the purpose was obtained from a small stream adjoining. 
 Great diflSculties were however met with, from a deficient supply 
 of water during the summer months. The gravel from about 
 thre'e-eighths of an acre, with an average thickness of two feet, was 
 washed during the summer of 1861, and yielded 2,107 penny- 
 weights of gold ; of which 160 were in tie form of fine dust, 
 
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8 
 
 mingled with about a ton of black iron sand, the heavy residue of 
 the washings. There were several pieces of gold weighing over 
 an ounce. The value of this gold was $1,826, and the whole eX' 
 pendituro connected with the working $1,643, leaving a profit of 
 $182. In this account is, however, included $500 lost by a flood, 
 whicii swept away an unfinished dam ; so that the real difference 
 between the amount of the wages and the value of the gold ob- 
 tained should bo stated at $682. The average price of the labor 
 employed was sixty cents a day." 
 
 " In 1852, about five-eightbs of an acre of gravel were washed 
 at this place, and the total amount of gold obtained was 2,880 
 pennyweights, valued at $2,496. Of this, 30Y pennyweights were 
 in the form of fine dust mixed with the iron sand. A portion was 
 also found in nuggets or rounded masses of considerable size. 
 Nine of these weighed together 468 pennyweights, the largest 
 being about 121, and the smallest about 11 pennyweights. Small 
 portions of native platinum, and of iridosraine, were obtained in 
 these washings, but their quantity was too small to be of any im- 
 portance. The washing season lasted from the twenty-fourth of 
 May to the thirtieth of October, and the sum expended for labor 
 was $1,888, leaving a profit of $608. A part of this expenditure 
 was, however, for the construction of wooden conductors for bring- 
 ging the water a distance of about 900 feet from the small stream- 
 As this worV would be available for several years to come, a pro- 
 per allowance made for it would leave a profit in the year's labor 
 of about $680. It thus appears that from an acre of the gravel, 
 with an average thickness of two feet, there were taken $4,323 of 
 gold ; while the expenses of labor, after deducting, as above, all 
 which was not directly employed in extracting gold, were $2,957, 
 leaving a profit of $1,366. The fineness of the gold dust of this 
 region was 871 thousandths ; another sample in thin scales gave 
 892, and masses 864. A small nugget of gold from St, Francis 
 gave 867 thousandths, the remainder in all cases being silver." 
 
 « Although the greater part of this gold was extracted from the 
 gravel on the flats by the river side, a portion was obtained by 
 washing the material taken from the banks above. .As has been 
 before remarked, the distribution of the gold-bearing gravel over 
 the surface of the country took place before the formation of the 
 present water courses, and the reason why the gravel from the 
 beds of these are richer in gold than that which forma their 
 banks, is that these rapid streams have subjected the earth to a 
 
partial washing, carrying away tho lighter materials, and leaving 
 the gold behind with the heavier matters. According to Mr. 
 Blake, it is found in California, that the gold in the diluvial depo- 
 sits, which have not been subsequently disturbed by the streams, 
 is not uniformly distributed, but is accumulated here and there in 
 quantities greater than in other places. It would mem that 
 during the first deposition of the earth and gravel, the precious 
 metal became in some parts accumulated in depressions of the 
 surface rock, constituting what are called pockets by tho miners. 
 It would appear from the facts here given that the quantity 
 of gold in the valley of the Chaudiere is such as would be remu- 
 nerative to skilled labour, and should encourage the outlay of 
 capital. There is no reason for supposing that the proportion of 
 the precious metal to be found along the St. Francis, the Etche- 
 min, and their various tributaries, is less considerable than that of 
 the Chaudiere." 
 
 "What is called the hydraulic method of washing deposits of 
 auriferous gravel is adopted on a great scale in California, and to 
 some extent in the states of Georgia and North Carolina. In 
 this method, the force of a jet of water, with great pressure, is 
 made available, both for excavating and washing the auriferous 
 earth. The water, issuing in a continuous stream, with great force, 
 from a large hose-pipe, like that of a fire-engine, is directed against 
 the base of a bank of earth and gravel, and tears it away. The 
 bank is rapidly undermined, the gravel is loosened, violently rolled 
 together, and cleansed from any adhering particles of gold ; 
 while the fine sand and clay are carried oflF by the water. In this 
 manner hundreds of tons of earth and gravel may be removed, 
 and all the gold which they contain liberated and secured, with 
 greater ease and expedition than ten tons could be excavated and 
 washed in the old way. All the earth and gravel of a deposit is 
 moved, washed, and carried off through long sluices, by the water, 
 leaving the gold behind. Square acres of earth on the hill sides 
 may thus be swept away into the hollows, without the aid of a 
 pick or a shovel in excavation. Water performs all the labor, 
 moving and washing the earth, in one operation ; while in ex- 
 cavating by hand, the two processes are of necessity entirely dis- 
 tinct. The value of this method, and the yield of gold by it, as 
 compared with the older one, can hardly be estimated. The water 
 acts constantly, with uniform effect, and can he brought to beaf 
 upon almost any point, where it would be difficult for men to 
 
' 
 
 work. It is especially effective in a region covered by trees, where 
 the tangled roots would greatly retard the labor of workmen. In 
 such places, the stream of water washes out the earth from below, 
 and tree after tree falls before the current, any gold which may 
 have adhered to the roots being washed away. With a pressure 
 of sixty feet, and a pipe of from one and a half to two inches 
 aperture, over a thousand bushels of earth can be washed out 
 from a bank in a day. Earth which contains only one twenty- 
 fifth part of a grain of gold, equal to one-fifth of a cent in value 
 to the bushel, may bo profitably washed by this method ; and 
 any earth or gravel which will pay the expense of washing in the 
 old way, gives enormous profits by the new process. To wash 
 successfully in this way requires a plentiful supply of water, at an 
 elevation of from fifty to ninety feet above the bed-rook, and a 
 rapid slope or descent from the base of the bank of earth to be 
 washed, so that the waste water will run off through the sluices, 
 bearing with it gravel, sand, and the suspended clay." 
 
 " The above description, and the added details are copied flrom 
 a report on the gold mines of Georgia, by Mr. William P. Blake, 
 who has carefully studied this method of mining in California, and 
 by whose recommendation it has been introduced into the southern 
 states. He states that in the case of a deposit in North Carolina, 
 where ten men where required, for thirty-five days, to dig the 
 earth with pick and shovel, and wash it in sluices, two men, with 
 a single jet of water, would accomplish the same work in a week. 
 The great economy of this method is manifest from the fact that 
 many old deposits in the river beds, the gravel of which had been 
 already washed by hand, have been again washed with profit by 
 the hydraulic process. He tells us that in California the whole 
 art of working the diluvial gold deposits was revolutionized by 
 this new method. The auriferous earth, lying on hills, and at 
 some distance above the level of the water-courses, would, in the 
 ordinary methods, be excavated by hand, and brought to the 
 water ; but by the present system, the water is brought by aque- 
 ducts to the gold deposits, and whole square miles, which were 
 before inaccessible, have yielded up their precious metal. It 
 sometimes happens, from the irregular distribution of the gold in 
 the diluvium in California, that the upper portions of a deposit do 
 not contain gold enough to be washed by the ordinary methods ; 
 and would thus have to be removed, at a considerable expense, in 
 order to roach the richer portions below. By the hydrauUe 
 
 I 
 
6 
 
 method, liowever, tho coat of cutting away and excavating is so 
 trifling, that there is scarcely any bank of earth which will not 
 pay tho expense of washing down, in order to reach the richer 
 deposits of gold beneath. 
 
 " Tho acqucducts or canals for the mining districts of California 
 are seldom constructed by the gold workers themselves, but by 
 capitalists, who rent the water to the miners. The cost of one 
 of these canals, carrying the waters of a branch of the Yuba 
 River to Nevada County, was estimated at a million of dol- 
 lars ; and another one, thirty miles in length, running to the same 
 district, cost $500,000. The assessed value of these various canals 
 in 1857 was stated to be over four millions of dollars, of which 
 vMue one-half was in the single county of Eldorado. The Bear 
 River and Auburn Canal is sixty miles in length, three feet deep 
 and four feet wide at+hetop, and cost in all $1,600,000; not 
 withstanding which, I'le water-rents were so great that it is stated 
 to have paid a yearly dividend of twenty per cent, while other 
 similar canals paid from three, to five and six per cent., and even 
 more, monthly. The price of the water was fixed at so much the 
 inch, for each day of eight or ten hours. This price was at first 
 about three dollars, but by competition has now been greatly 
 reduced. 
 
 " From these statements, it will be seen that the great riches 
 which have of late years been drawn from the gold mines of Cal- 
 ifornia, have not been obtained without the expenditure of large 
 amounts of money and engineering skill. This last is especially 
 exhibited in the construction of these great canals, and the appli- 
 cation of the hydraulic method to the washing of auriferous de- 
 positSj which were unavailable by the ordinary modes of work- 
 ing, on account of their distance from the water-courses, or by 
 reason of the small quantity of gold which they con*- in. 
 
 *' In order to judge of the applicability of this method of wash- 
 ing to our own auriferous deposits, a simple calculation based 
 upon the experiments at the Riviere du Loup will be of use. 
 It has been shown that the washing of the ground over an area of 
 one acre, and with an average depth of two feet, equal to 87,120 
 cubic feet, gave, in round numbers, about 5000 pennyweights of 
 gold, or one and thirty-eight hundredths grains to the cubic foot ; 
 which is equal to one and three-quarters grains of gold to the 
 bushel. Now, according to Mr. Blake, earth containing one forty 
 fourth part of this amount, or one twenty-fifth of a grain of gold, 
 
can bo profitably washed by the hydraulic method, while the 
 labor of two men, v/ith a proper jot of water, sufRcos to wash one 
 thousand bushels in a day, which in a deposit like that of liiviire 
 du Loup would contain about soventy-throe pennyweights of gold. 
 It is probable however that a certain portion of the finer gold 
 dust, which is v olloctod in the ordinary process, would be lost in 
 working on the larger scale. It has already been shown that the 
 gold is not confined to the gravel of the river channels, and the 
 alluvial flats. The beds of irtorstratifiod clay, sand, and gravel, 
 which occur on the banks of the Metgermet, were found to contain 
 gold throughout their whole thickness of fifty feet, and even 
 though its proportion were to be many times less than in the 
 gravel of the Riviere du Loup, these thick deposits, which extend 
 over great areas, might be profitably worked by the hyc'raulio 
 method. The fall in most of the tributaiies of the Chaudiero and of 
 the St. Francis throughout the auriferous region, is such that it 
 will not bi! difficult to secure a supply of water with a sufficient 
 head, without a very great expenditure in the construction of 
 canals ; and it may reasonably be expected that before long the 
 deposits of gold-bearing earth, which are so widely spread over 
 southeastern Canada, will be made economically available." 
 
 T. S. H.