98 Me. J. Bbtce on Iron and Copper Ores. 



1 have taken this opportunity of calUng the attention of members 

 of the Society connected with the iron trade to these ores, which are 

 certainly equal, if not superior to those of Sweden. Their geological 

 position is similar to that of the Swedish ores ; they occur in the old 

 rocks and not in the coal formation, as our ores do. The Atlantic coast 

 of Nova Scotia consists of granite and mica slate, with quai-tz, porphyry, 

 &c. Inland, Silurian and Devonian rocks succeed in interrupted bands. 

 To these follows, along the N.W. of the peninsula, a large and impor- 

 tant coal formation, which stretches westwards across the isthmus, and 

 occupies a large space in Xew Brunswick. The " measures ' ' of this 

 coal formation are remarkably similar to our own, and the great majo- 

 rity of the fossU shells and plants are of the same species also. The 

 chief difference from om* fields consists in the absence of clay ii'onstone, 

 workable beds of which are as yet only known in one locality, the Pictou 

 mines on the north coast, N.N.E. of HaUfax. The rich ores, to which 

 attention is now called, occiu* among rocks of the age of the old 

 red sandstone, highly metamorphosed by intrusive rocks. The most 

 important veins are found in the Cobequid mountains, which ter- 

 minate westwards in the promontory dividing Chignecto bay and Minas 

 channel, the two head forks of Fundy bay. The veins are in some 

 places 120 feet thick, and range for miles across the hiUs. The vein- 

 stone is a cai'bonate of iron, lirne, and magnesia, known there by the 

 name of ankerite. "With this ankerite and with wood, as in Sweden, the 

 ores ai-e smelted. The ore is a peroxide. Similar ores occur at Nictau, 

 N.E. of Annapolis, in the South mountains, in a geological position some- 

 what higher, — at the bottom, namely, of the cai-boniferous hmestone 

 series, and associated with multitudes of shells of the genus Spirifer. 

 The mines can be worked at a moderate cost, and there are no great 

 difficulties as regards transport or shipment, which should enhance the 

 price of the ore, or otherwise interfere with the full development of the 

 mineral resources of this region. That these are most promising will 

 appear from the facts that have been stated, as well as from the speci- 

 mens of the ores, of the manufactm*ed iron, and of the articles in steel 

 now exhibited. 



The copper ores of Nova Scotia, of which specimens are also on the 

 table, seem by no means to possess the same economic value. The 

 region of the older rocks has not yet afforded any veins, though loose 

 masses of pyrites of considerable size are found upon the surface of these 

 rocks in several places, indicating the probable existence of veins below. 

 The new red sandstone, and the associated trap rocks contain veins and 

 disseminated masses in many places. The most remarkable repository 

 of copper is the trap of Cape d'Or, where it occurs native, as in the 



