61 



ON THE NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS 

 OF SUDBURY, ONT. 



By Alfred E. Barlow, M. A., Geological Survey Department, 



(Read before the Logan Club, Ottawa, March 6th, i8gi.) 



Published by permission of Dr. Selwyn, Director Geological Survey. 



The prepence of large deposits of nickel and copper in the District 

 of Algoma, Ontario, has of late years attracted world-wide attention, in 

 the first place on account of their immense and apparently inexhaustible 

 character, but latterly because of the proposed application of nickel in 

 alloy with steel to improve the quality of the latter. The existence of 

 workable deposits of copper in this region was a fact that had long been 

 known, and as far back as 1770 a company had been formed and 

 attempts made to mine this metal, but the difficulty of procuring and 

 maintaining miners at so great a distance from any centre of civilization, 

 the remoteness of any market for the ore, as well as the absence of 

 facilities for transportation, rendered these first attempts abortive. 

 However, in 1846, owing to the activity in prospecting and locating 

 mineral lands on the southern shore of Lake Superior, and a favourable 

 report by Mr. W. E. Logan, then newly appointed Provincial Geologist, 

 some enterprising Canadians banded themselves together into two 

 associations called "The Montreal Mining Co'y," and the "Upper 

 Canada Mining Co'y." The former company having purchased, amongst 

 others, what was then known as " The Bruce Mines" location, and on 

 account of the richness of the deposit decided to commence active 

 work at this locality, while the Upper Canada Co'y proceeded to develop 

 and work what was known as the "Wallace Mine," at the mouth of the 

 Whitefish River. The Montreal Mining Co'y continued their operations 

 from 1846 to 1865, when, from a variety of causes, the work proving 

 unremunerative, they sold out the whole of their claim to the "West 

 Canada Mining Co'y," who had previously leased and worked the 

 western half of the location under the name of the Wellington Mine. 

 This company continued working till 1876 when, owing to unsatisfactory 

 results, work was suspended and has not been resumed since. The 

 Wallace Mine was chosen on account of its promising character and 

 proximity to civilization, and is chiefly remarkable as having been the 

 ^Brst placeJB-Canada in which the presence of nickel had been detected 



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