1899] Mineral Resources of the Ottawa District. 43 



first-class material : while as a fertilizer for certain lands it also 

 possesses much value and could, if properly handled, become a 

 source of revenu?. In fact along all lines of mineral development 

 there must always be a constant outlook for the chances of a 

 market. It is of but little use to fold one's hands and think these 

 things will develop themselves. They do not appeal to one's 

 fancy so strongly as the flaming stories of the occurrences of 

 gold or silver, but they are very often quite as important factors 

 in the country's development. They certainly afford quite as 

 good opportunities for bringing dollars into the pockets of the 

 manufacturer or capitalist as many of the more showy minerals, 

 while there is much less of the speculative element. The amount 

 of capital necessary to their successful development is very much 

 less in most cases, and there is not so great an element of risk 

 involved in their exploitation. 



In this hasty sketch of some mineral resources of the Ottawa 

 district which of necessity has only touched in the briefest way, 

 upon some of the main features of the subject, it will be seen 

 that in this area there is not only a very great variety of material 

 but much of this is in very large quantity and also that the 

 mineral development in so far as it has proceeded, has been 

 fairly satisfactory. 



Corundum. 



There is however one otner mineral which I have neglected 

 to mention, and which can hardly as yet be recognized among 

 the sources of our wealth, since its development has not as yet 

 taken place, viz., the new mineral, corundum. The finding of 

 this mineral marks a new era in Canadian mining, and the 

 recent discovery of large deposits in the northern portion of 

 Haliburton, whence it has been traced east for some miles into 

 Renfrew county, is of great importance, not only as marking for 

 the first time the occurrence of this mineral in Canada, in quan- 

 tity sufficient to be of economic value, but from the great value 

 of the mineral itself, provided the tests now being made prove it 

 to possess all the qualities which belong to the corundum of 



