573 SCOTIA The Gold Fields of Nova Scotia A Prospectors Handbook By Walter H. Prest, Bedford, Nova Scotia Edited by Fred. P. Ronnan, Halifax, Nova Scotia A concise survey of the important mining and geological features of Nova Scotia i?i respect to its gold mining possibilities. With Colored Index Map and numerous Illustrations, THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHING CO., LIMITED 37 SACKVILI.E STREET HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA. PRICE $2.00 1915 INTRODUCTION, MR PREST has devoted the past forty years of his life to an intimate and practical "study of the gold fields of Nova Scotia and has embodied in the memoir herewith the net results of his observation, couched in such language as will appeal to the average prospector who devotes his attention to the worthy and often unrewarded labor of discovering and bring- ing into existence, profitable ore deposits. Nova Scotia the most eastern province of Canada has long been known as the location of a large and valuable area of auriferous bearing rocks and the work done in the past which has resulted in an officially recorded production of gold equal to over seventeen million dollars is the best evidence of the future which awaits safe conservative development in opening up the in- numerable unworked deposits which dot the province. In mining, success turns very often upon apparent trifles, and observation to be of value must be minute, painstaking and long continued. In addition there must be brought to the task, that love for the work, without which no craftsman can hope for individual thoroughness. That Mr. Prest has approached his subject with a full appreciation of the necessity and desirability of placing before serious investigators such facts as he has learned during a life time of effort will be apparent to the reader, and it is the latter who must recognize the importance of giving heed to the details of ore occurrences in Nova Scotia and the general laws which they follow, if he is to take advantage, fully of the recommendations offered. That Nova Scotia offers a splendid field for develop- ments in connection with her gold deposits, is to repeat a truism, yet there are those who after cursory glimp- sing of the ground floor are bold enough to dogmatize to the contrary and the strangest part of such a condit- ion is that their ill considered opinions and wrongly reached conclusions at times have a weight attached to them neither justified by the writer's knowledge of his subject, his opportunities for study, or his ability to assimilate the outstanding features which make this province unique in respect to its mineral deposits. Indifference, dishonesty, incompetencyand the many other human frailties which hamper mankind we shall doubtless always have with us, but that their effects should be so directed as to interfere with the legitimate opening up of all sources of material wealth, is to be M223088 11 INTRODUCTION deplored but intrinsic worth we feel will nevertheless rise superior to even these handicaps and we look for- ward to the day when what has been done in many other countries will be repeated inNova Scotia. That is, that confidence, capital, skill and resolution will jointly embark under proper conditions, in the development of Nova Scotia gold deposits and will reap the undoubt- ed reward which awaits the opening- up of this as yet undiscovered country. The editor has but one turther suggestion to offer to prospective investigators, and that is to rely upon local knowledge more largely than upon geological theory and let all operations be carried on with a single view to efficiency and thoroughness. We place particular emphasis on the great value of local knowledge added to a general metallurgical and engineering training, because it spells success. Many failures in Nova Scotia can be plainly traced to a superficialty and wilful disregard of knowledge of the structural peculiarities of the district worked in, coupled with the tendency to erect large and expen- sive plants in advance of underground work and sur- face exploration which alone should be the basis of ex- pansion in facilities for treatment of ore. The map which is supplied with this book is intend- ed to guide our reader to the sources from which fuller detailed information may be obtained as embodied in the valuable labors of the Canadian Geological Survey and published from time to time in the form ot maps, plans, sections and geological sheets and which repre- sents largely the work of Mr. E. R Faribault who has devoted also the best part of his useful life to the same subject and who holds a place second to none in the hearts of all who are interested in the honest develop- ment of Nova Scotia gold fields and whose best monu- ment is the counsel and assistance which is to be had from his official publications which are still further referred to throughout this work, In conclusion let us emphasize the importance of preliminary study in taking up the matter of develop- ment of our gold districts so that the chance of error may be reduced to its least possible magnitude. FRED. P. RONNAN. 37 Sackville St., Editor of Industrial Advocate. Halifax, N. S.. April 29th, 1915. COIN Abbreviations .. ,.74,81 Accidents of Nature 146 Agate 26 Age of Cleavage 22, 44, 145 Age of gold bearing teads. 23.43.46,62 Age of Faults 48, 62, to 64, 145 Age of Fissure veins 47,62. 145 Age of Metamorphism. 22.43,63,64,145 Age of Rocks 11 Alluvial gold 25, 121. 145 Aluminum 33, 37 Aluminum M-lting point of 142 Anticlines. 11.12,14,15,17 to 20,21,44,63 145 Anticlines and Leads, Pitch of .23, 44 Anticlines Upset 45 Amythest 26, 36 Antimony 4,26, 28,31 Apatite .. ....40 Area of gold bearing rocks (gold series) 7, 8 Argentite 32 Arsenic 28,30,31 Aspotogon 44. 60 Azurite 35 Backsighting 81 Baker Lead 62, 106 Ballon Mine 108 Batholith 43 Bear River 44 Beaver Da m 44, 45, 53, 57, 60. 63 Beaver Harbor .57 Bedded Leads 15,16,19,.0, 23.133 Bedding planes 22, 145 Biggest days Coal hoisting 150 Biggest Gold Lode in N. S 23 Big Mines 153 Biggest shipping tonnage 151 Biggest Production of Smelted Iron 151 Biggest Lobster catch 151 B ggsst export of apples 151 Biggest Coal seam 150 Biggest Coal mining shaft 150 Biggest Gypsum export 151 Biggest Dividend in Canada 153 Bismuth 32 Blame for inactivity 153 Blowpipe tests 147 Block house. 24, 61, 70, 106, 110,111, 127 Boarsbacks .66 Books on Mining 149, 156 Bonanzas of the past '. 1 52 Bonanzas Hidden . .67, 119, 123 to 126 Bornitc 33 Boulder Clay 66 to 72, 147 Break? 24,44. 47, 49, 65, 119. 132 Breaking rock 99 Bridgewater 70 Brookfield. .19. 24, 62, 106, 109, 110, 119 Bull leads 62 Burnt steel, Remedy for 140 Business investments,U.S.gamb- ling 155 Calcite 36 Cape Breton mines 7. 11 Carbonates. 35 to 37 Carboniferous rocks 121, 145 Care of explosives 141, 148 Caribou Mines 5. 60, 120 Cause of failures. . 105,106,118,119,121 123, 127, 132 Cause of prejudice 150 Cause of vein formation 24, 1Q6 Camp building 140 Capacity < f a barrel 141 Centre of gold distribution 91 Chalcopyrite : 30 Chances for investiment 3, 123 Chegogin 23 Chester Basin 26 Chromic iron ; 34 Cinnabar 32 Cleavage 22, 44, 145 Coal 149 Cobalt 28, 30, 33 118, 135. 136 Cochran Hill 22, 43, 56, 59, 63 Cocks Comb Lake 61 Coffer dam 108, 117 Como Lake 60 Compass 73,80,96, 147 Compass bearings 78. 80 Conglomerate 23, 24 Condensed information 76, 81 Conservation of natural resources!26 Contempt for geology 128, 132 Copper 27,30, 31,33,35,142 Copper glance 31 Copper, melting point 142 Copying plans 84 Co operation in mining 152 Contour 84 Corundum 33. 40 Cost tables 92, 93, 138, 139 Core drilling 118, 120 to 122, 148 Costs, comparitive 116 to 118. 135 Cost of core drilling 120, 122 Cost of prospecting.. 92, 93, 135 to 139 County Harbour. ..7, 43, 44, 46. 56, 59 Course of drift 128, 129, 131, 146 Cow Bay 106, 1 111 Cranberry Head 24 Crease Mine 106, 109 Creditable record 149 Cribbing 113 Cross tunnels 116 to 119 Cross veins 23, 24, 62 Crow Harbor 11 Crow's Nest 22, 60 Crushing loads 142, 148 Cuprite 31 DeepSinkin? fallacies 117, 118 Devonian rocks 44 Diamond drills 118, 120 to 122. Digby Co folds 12, 14, 21 Digging, method in 97 Diorite 38 Dip of leads 74 Dip needle 77, 81, 147 Dip of paystreaksf Pitch of) 24 to 63 105 to 111, 118. 120 Dip of rocks 11,51 Disturbance of rocks 42 to 45. 63 Dollar Lake 58. 60 Dolliver Mt 118, 115 Dolomite 37 ? Drainage 82, 147 Drift debris. ... . .66 to 72, 78, 101. 146 Drift gold 70. 88, 101 to 104 Drilling through saddles 120, 121 Drilling costs.. 121, 122 11 CONTENTS Dunbrack Mine 17, 64 See Musquodoboit Harbor Durabilty of wood 143 Dynamite Care of 141 Dynamite saved 95 Early gold discoveries 3 Earth shrinkage 11, 50, 63 Earth and clay 142 Economy hints 140 Economy in labor 97 to 99 Economy in timber 112 Elaborate work unnecessary . . .148 Erosion, Effects of.. 23. 43, 55 Exactness in observation. ..78, 89, 91 104, 110 Exactness in recording 73, 77, 79 104,148, 119, 147 Exaggeration 85, 91 Explosives Care of 141,148 Exports 149,150 151 Extent of veins 23 Failures Cause of. .105, 106, 118 to 121 123. 127, 132 Faribaults work.. 8, 21, 24, 80, 85, 106 False information 85, 105 Faults 24, 44, 47, 49 to 65, 119 132, 145 Faults Age of 48, 62 to 64, 145 Faults Right and left 49 Feldspar 36 ,40 Field Tests 40, 147 Fifteen Mile Stream 5, 57, 59, 60 Fifteen Mile Brook 24, 27 First prizes f or N. S 151 Fisheries of N. S loO, 151 Fissure veins. .17,23,24,47,54,62,106,145 Flat faults 61 Flat rocks in drift deposits 69 Fluorite 40 Forests of N. S 149 Forest Hill 7, 43, 46, 59, 64 Foreign investors 23, 35 Fruits of N. S 15y, 151 Galena 26, 28, 31, 41, 64, 142 Garnets 11, 37 Gays River 24, 121, 145 Geology and piety 128 Getting information 85 Geology Glacial. . .66 to 72, 123,127 to 132. 134, 144 to 116 Geology Practical 11,105,118,134 Geological Survey work 8,21,24,48,80 85, 106, 133 Glacial geology. . 65 to 72, 123, 127 to 132, 134, 144 to 146 Glacial Age 66 to 72.r>3,127 Glacial markings . . .66,67.68,70,91,146 Three sets.... 68 Glacial succession 70, 146 Glossary .157 Gneiss 7, 8, 11, 14, 28. 42 Gneissic minerals 26 Gold 142, 143 Gold in granite 46 Golden ville 106, 110 Gold bearing drift 70. 88. 101 to 104 123, 127, 145. 146 Gold bearing rocks 7, 8, 11 Gold bearing conglomerate 24,121.145 Gold bearing veins. Extent of .23,145 Gold bearing /ones 23, 121 Gold mining a gamble, Why ?. 117,121 135, 153 Gold Lake II Gold River 3. 60, 79, 123, 130 Gold Returns 4, 5, Goniometer 77, 81, 147 Grading fine gold 89 Granite. . . .7,11,38,42,43,44,57,63,142,145 Granite skrinkage. . . .44,45,53,57,63,65 Granitic mineials 26, 28, 147 G raphite 33 Graphitic slates 21 Gravity 40 Greenhorns 95 Greenland glaciers 66 Gypsum 40 Gypsum exports 151 Halifax County folds 12,13 Halifax City 44, 58 Hants County folds 13 Hammers 95 Hardness 40 Harrigan Cove 59 Hematite 34 Hidden bonanzas. 5, 67, 119, 123 to 126, 131, 149, 151, 152 High grade men 135 History of gold bearing drift. .123 129, 131 Home made dip needle 77 Hornblende 11, 36, 42, How to make a job last. 118 Hulk 64 Hurley Thos 3 Identity of deposits 103, 101 Ignorance of investors 135, 153 Ingorance of structural geelogy . .119 Inclined shafts 106. 107 index Special 73 Indian Harbour Lake. ..43,47.56,63,64 Impostors 134, 135 Infusorial earth 26 Inks ...82,84 Interglacial drift 69 Inverness Co Mines 6 Investment chances.. 3, 148, 151, 153 Iridium melting point 142 Iron 26, *7, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 142 Iron melting point 142, 143 Isaacs Harbor 56, 59, 63, 120 Jeddore 44 Kames 71 Koulin 26,37 Kejik-rna-kejik 14 Killag 11,20 Kings Co Gold 7, 21 Kings Co rocks 21 Lack of confidence 149 La Have 69,70 Lake Catcha 5, 61 Lake Major 45 Landslides 68 Largest coal seam 150 Largest coal mining shaft 150 Largest quantity of coal raised per day 150 Largest apple export 151 Largest dividends in Canada 153 Largest lobster catch 151 Largest smelting industry 151 Largest shipping tonnage 150, 151 Lawrencetown 59 Leached out metals 1 18 Lead 26.28,31,41,64.142 Lead, melting point 142 Learning new hands 95 Leipsigate 24, 60, 64, 106 Length of gold series ? Le Estrange. Capt 3 Levelling 82 Libby Mine 19,24,62,106,109,110 CONTENTS 111 Like minerals 41 Limestone 142 Limonite 35, 142 Liscomb Lake 44 Lochaber 23 Local knowledge . . . .124, 126, 134, 135 145, 146 Location of paystreaks 106 London Gold& Silver development Co 135 Long Lake 44 Low grade ores 3,151,153 Lowest rocks 21 Lunenburg Co folds 12, 14 LunenburgCo rocks 14,21, 11,12 Magnetite 34 Magnetic iron 88 Main leads 23 Making business 95 Malachite 35 Manganese 26 27. 34 Mapping 70, 73, 85 Marcasite 30 McKays Settlement 121 Meaghers Grant 6') Meaning of deposits 68 to 72, 101 to 104 Measurements 142, 14!) Melting points 142,148 Memory 73,139 Mennacanite 34 Mercury 32.142 Metamorphic action 7. 11, 15, 22. -Jt>. 42 to 47. 63.64.145 Metamorphosed veins 22. 43 Metamorphism. effects of. .42 to 47.63 to 65 Meteghan 12 Mica 11,26,37 Micmac mines 60. 106 Middle River 25 Millerite 32 Mines Act 8 Mines office plans 48 Mining books 149,156 Mining areas size of 9 Mining progress 4 Mineraloery 147 Mispickel 30 Mistakes in identity 104, 126 Modified drift. . .67 to 7-' 101 to 104. 128 to 132, 146 Molega 5, 19, 27, 108. 120 Molybdenite 26. 32 Montague 5. 61. 123 Moose Land mines .3, 44 to 46, 52. 57 59. 63, 119, 132 Moose River mines 25, 27 Moose River rocks. .5, 21, 50. 51, 61, 62 Mount Uniacke. . . .12, 61, 106, 109, 110 Mulgrave 57 Musquodoboit . . 3, 28, 44, 57, 60, 64. 121 Musquodoboit Harbor 60, 64 Needless work 98 Xewiy Quoddy 58 New Harbour River 44. 56 New Ross 726 27.64 Nicolite 31 Nickel 28.31.32 N ine Mile River 21 N.S. Miners in Cobalt 136 Nova Scotia's natural advantages 141 Note Books 73, 74, 78, 90 Oldham 5 Old watercourses 101.129.130 Opal 26.27 Order 74 Ore, weight of 142 Ore measurement ...142 Origin of vein formation 24.106 Original position of rocks . . .11 Oriskany rocks of Digby 44 Ovens ....25.145 Overturned folds 11 Oxidized earth as a guide 61 Pacing 81 Panning 86 to 91. 148 Paystreaks 4. 24, 105 to 111, 120 Paystreaks Location of 106 pitch of 24, 105 to 111 Pease Brook 59 Pencils 73 Plans use of 1. 70. 73 Picks 94,97 Picking a magnet 134 Pit sinking. .97, 101 to 1"4, 117. 136. 138 Platinum 35 Platinum, melting point 142 Pleasant River Barrens. . . .17, 18, 106 Plotting work 82 Pole for sighting 82 Porter's Lake 58 Practical Geo ogy 11, 105, 118,134 Pre-glacial deposits ? Prejudice among foreigners 118, 151 153 Pre-glacial conglomerate ...... . . 72 Preparing linen 84 Prest Lead Blockhouse. 24. 62. 1(36 .110,111, 127 Prest Lead, West Caledonia, 128, 129 Price of ores 154 Problems in prospecting, 101 to 104, 120,121,123,127, to 134 Profitable mines 151, 152 men 99 Progress in mining 3 Prospecting in the 6U's 93 Prospectors outfit 93 Pubnico 93 Pulsifer John 3 Pumps <5 Purple slates 21 Pyrites Pyrolusite 34, 64 Pyrrhotite 31 Qualitative analysis . . 147 Quartz :6, 142 " crystals 26 " milled 5 Quartzite ...7 Queens County folds J2, 13 Rawdon 5 Recording a survey 31 Recording work ..70, 73. 76, 77, 85. 89 to 91, 119 Records of 28 years 136 Recoverirg lagging 112, 113. 148 Recurring ice ages 70, 146 Renfrew 5,111 Rentals 8 Resources of Nova Scotia .151 to 153 Revival of Gold mining- .149, 151, 152 Rich boulders ..5, 67, 85, 86,123, 127 to 132, 146 Rich paystreaks. .4, 24, 105 to 111, 145 Rich spots 105 Ridiculous yarns 153 Ricard. ME 43, 46, 105 Rhodenizers Lake 69 Roundea boulders meaning of . .69 Rock tunnels 116 to 119 Royalty on gold 9 Rusted earth as a guide 69 IV CONTENTS Sacrifice of home interests. . .150, 151 Saddle veins 16, 20, 121, 133 Safety hints 141 Salmon River 5, 59 Sandy beds 69 SavingLabor 98 Scales 82 Scale of Work 80, 84, 89 Schist 7, 8, 11, 14, 38, 42 Scheelite 27, 35 Scraggy Lake 59 eal Harbor .59 Selecting tools 94, 95 Selfishness the basis of success. ..153 Seven Mile Stream 45, 47 Shafting . 107 Sheet Harbor 45, 57, 60, 63 Sherbrooke 16, 52 Shoveling 94, 98 Ship Harbor. 58 Lake 45 Shrinkage of earth 11, 50, 145 granite. .44, 45, 59, 60 63, 65. 119, 133, 145 Siderite 36 Sight poles 83 Silver 9.26.28.32.64 Silver melting point 142 Simple rules 147 Sissibou River rocks 21 Slates 7, 142 Small mills 4 Snialtite 30 Smithlield 28 South Africa 105 South Uniacke 20, 24 Specific gravity 4' Special index 73 Splicing belt laces 141 Steel weight of 142 Steel working 14", 148 Stem shorn mine 63, 119, 132 Stillwater deposits 69 St Marys River 56 Stibnite 31 btormont 5. 56, 59, 63, 120 Stratification 22. 145 Strengh of timber 142, 148 Structural geology 11.105,132 to 134,144 Structure of gold fields 11, 105 Subsidiary 12, 13, 20, 24 Success based on selfishness 153 Successful men 153 Sulfids 28. 30 to 33 Surface Geology 66, 72, 101 to 104 Surface Pits. . . .97,101 to 104,116, to 119 Surface tunnels 98, 116 to 119 Surveys 74, 80, to 85 Swindlers 23 Syenite 38 Symbols 74 Synclines 11, 12, 14, 20 Synclinal veins 23 System in prospecting 148 Taking measurements 78 Talc 11,36,40 Talcose schists 44 Tangier 5, 25, 60, 61. 145 lape measures 81 Technical schools 41, 144 Technical terms, use of 1, 145 Technical training. .41, 67, 124, 134.144 145 to 148 Tempering 140, 148 Ten mile stream 45 Testing drift 86, 87 Test pita 91,92 Testing for gravity 41 Testing minerals 147 Thickness of gold series .... 11, 21, 145 Three mile plains 121 Throw from main leads 89 Throw from cross leads 89 Till 66, 68 to 72,146 Timbering 112, 148 Tin 26.33,142 Tin, melting point 142 Titanium 34 Tor Bay 45 Tonquoy, Damas 25 Tonquoy, Bog 130, 131 Tourmaline 26, 37 Tracing drift ore. .67 to 71, 78, 86, 87,89 to 91, 101 to 104, 123, 127, 146 Traducers of Nova Scotia 135 Trap 38 Traverse tables U7 Treatment of N S prospectors .135,144 Trenching 97, 104, 139 Triangles. 82 Tricks of the trade .94, 95, 118 T Square 82 Tungsten 9.27,35. 147 Twelve Mile Stream 57 Twenty Mile Stream 45 Two periods of metamorphism 64 Unconformability 71, 146 Underground prospecting 116 Undiscovered veins 64, 67, 68 117, 119, 123 to 126, 131 Uniacke 5, 12, 61, 106, 109, 1 10 Unscrupulous promoters 153 Upset an 1 iclines 45 Useless labor ." 98 Useless tools 94 Useless knowledge 144 Variable thickness of rock 22 Variation of compass needle. . .81, 147 Vegetable debris 69 Veins, Origin of 24 Veins, Extent of 23 Vermillion lead .123 Vertical shafts 106. 107 Victoria County mines ? Vogler's Cove 110 Wad 34 Want of funds 123, 124, 135 Want of patriotism 151 Wasted ink and eloquence 152 Water courses, Old J 01, 129 to 132 Waverlcy 5, 60, 120 Weights and measurements . . 142,148 Weights of steel 142 Weights of water 142 Weight of wood 142 Welding 140 West Caledonia 24, 25, 128 West Gore ...4,26 Westfield 23 Wet ground. .97, 107. 116. 121, 137, 138 Whalebacks 66 Whim 142 Whiteburn 5 18 Width of Anticlines. .11, 12 to 15,48.57 gold series 7 Windlass 96 Wine Harbor . . 5, 57, 59 Wolframite 35 W T ood, durability of 143 ' weight of 142 Words not in common use 157 Working costs 135 to 139 Yarmouth county folds 11, 14 mines 7 rocks 11 Zinc 28 ' melting point 142 PREFACE. DURING my long- drawn out struggle to gain a know- ledge of the subject here presented I have often telt the need of an instructor or a guide book to aid me. Many of my early futile attempts to find a rich lead would probably have ended in success had I then the knowledge necessary to unravel the problems continu- ally coming forward to baffle me; and even now, 50 years after the discovery of gold in Nova Scotia, there is not in print here any systematic information that would aid the prospector in his work. I shall therefore try to fill the void with this contribution ; setting forth chief- ly the results of my own experience, and adding such information from other sources as may be suitable for the needs of the prospector in Nova Scotia particularly. There are numbers of men who have little or no knowledge of Geology in any of its phases, who must however get a grasp of the main principles, and finally the special details of the subject in order to win any measure of success in the work in hand. There are problems in this pursuit calling for the closest observation, the most shrewd reasoning, and the best summarizing of results, before success can be attained. To train a man of ordinary capacity to the point where he will be able to direct operations in pros- pecting in this region of deep surface is a long and laborious task, therefore every simplification of lang- uage, every short cut in teaching and every substitute in working, must be taken advantage of, intricate geo- logical questions must be thoroughly understood by men unacquainted with technical terms, and so the simplest wording and the most familiar examples must be made use of. It is impossible to separate the actual work of prospecting from the geological problems with which they are so closely connected. But this difficulty will be got over by the avoidance of technical terms and the use of plans wherever possible. It is only in this way that the prospector can quickly and easily grasp the most practical parts of the problems presented. In order to attain success the prospector should have a mastery of local detail, and to this end many minute particulars uninteresting to the general reader especially in regard to faults, a very important part of the subject, are entered as a necessity. This lack of local knowledge is what apparently has caused the failure in Nova Scotia ot many widely known mining engineers. Many technical terms have here been replaced by words in common use, which, if not giving the facts with scientific exactness, at least impress the ordinary man with the true meaning better than any word that he would need to hunt up in a dictionary ; if indeed he could find it there. CHAPTER I. Location and Production. The discovery of gold in Nova Scotia is an old old story, as early documents and geographical names in- dicate. We have the old names, Cap D'or and Bras D'or, of the early French discoverers. In 1759 the journal of the Rev. John Seacombe of Luneuburg contains references to Gold River. About 1850 Thomas Hurley, a tailor of Musquodoboit, showed many fine specimens of gold to the country people there. His story, well known to many, conveys the idea* that his find was located 3 or 4 miles west of Mooseland. The next recorded find was made by Captain Lestrange, while moose hunting in 1858 at the place where the Mooseland Gold Mine was afterwards opened. In 1860 John Pulsifer, acting on information given by the In- dians, found gold near the outcrop of the old Furnace L/ead Mooseland. This was the first officially recog- nized discovery. When the discovery was published abroad it brought the usual rush of excited prospectors with their visions of untold wealth. Many and amusing are the stories told of their ignorance and cupidity. But the gold was not found in the great quantities they ex- pected, and with food and patience exhausted the crowd melted away, only the more persevering and bet- ter provided remaining for any length of time. Then about 1862 capital was introduced and mills built in a number of districts. From that time on mining has been carried on, with many ups and downs it is true, but still continuous to the present day. The mines were small but often very profitable. Several at- tempts have been made to mine and mill low grade ore on a large scale. The last of these low grade ventur- es, the Boston Richardson, after several years of mod- erately profitable work, closed down in 1911. Some mines of fairly good ore, such as the Dufferin, started and operated by Western mining engineers, were fail- ures from the start, while tributors working on a small scale were making money. Prospectors have been con- demned during the last few years for searching for small rich leads instead of paying more attention to large bodies of low grade ore. Now those who comment in this style know that it takes many thousands of dollars to develop a large ore body and put up a milling and mining plant to handle it Such an amount as this is unobtainable in Nova Scotia for gold mining, and owing to the unreasonable prejudice abroad, impossible to obtain there. If the prospector had a. vein of three ounce ore and a well de- fined paystreak he would find it hard enough to raise THE GOLD FIELDS OF NOVA SCOTIA the money for a 5 stamp mill in this Province. There- fore he is pursuing- the only path left him hard work, strict economy, and a struggle to the limit for some- thing easy to develop and cheap to work. I would suggest that those who condemn him help him to finance some of those big 1 enterprises that are so easy to talk about but so hard to put through. Most of the gold produced from Nova Scotia has come from small mines and mills. The narrow rich paystreaks, easy to raise money for and cheap to work, have been the salvation of gold mining- in Nova Scotia. This is the country of the small capitalist ; but un- doubtedly the profit on the capital invested has been as hig-h as in any g-old mining- country in the world. The progress of gold mining- in Nova Scotia is shown fairly well in the following- tables, which are made up of extracts from official reports. The returns of every fourth year are entered here because they show the ups and downs of the business better than any other selection could. They include the yield of gold from the West Gore antimony mines, which were not at first included in the general returns. Year. Quartz crushed. 18>2 6473 tons 1866 32162 1870 30829 1374 13844 1878 17790 1882 12081 1886 29010 1890 42740 1894 39333 1898 86331 1902 192076 1906 65278 1910 49558 Ounces of gold. 7275 ounces 25204 19866 9140 12577 14107 23362 24358 14980 31104 28270 14367 10625 The present condition is shown by the returns for the years 1911 and 1912. 1911 1912 18319 tons 15862 " 8188 ounces 4949 At present the Nova Scotia gold mines are in a very quiet condition, though many rich leads still lie hidden beneath the surface. The present state of affairs, leading to low prices and good terms, offers the best chance ever known here for investment ; and it is only a want of confidence in our own resources, coupled with a want of enterprise, that prevents an upward turn in gold mining. The following table shows the production of gold from each gold district from 1862 to 1912 inclusive with value. That got in the course of development or of prospecting is entered as "Other districts.'' THK GOLD FIELDS OF NOVA SCOTIA 5 Total yield Value at District Tons Crushed of Gold $19.00 a u oz. oz. Caribou and Moose River.. 220027 60196 1,143,727 Montagu 29523 42173 801,190 Oldham 58735 67343 1,279,520 Renfrew 61319 48508 921,660 Sherbrooke 300213 153090 2,908,711 Stormont 525237 120549 2,280,448 Tangier 64112 28230 536,385 Uniacke 63351 43983 835,679 Waverley 15552