tons in 1917. In 1918 the Ontario output, 

 though slightly less than in 1917, realized a value 

 of $1,144,737, the greatest that has ever been 

 attained. Unfortunately in 1919, shipments fell 

 to 109,080 tons, valued at $267,211. 



Deposits in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia 



The iron pyrites deposits of Ontario, which 

 are the most extensive of the Dominion, are very 

 conveniently situated for water transportation 

 and have a sulphur content varying from 

 approximately 32 to 45 per cent. The most 

 important mines producing for export are situ- 

 ated northwest of Port Arthur and in the 

 Michipicoten district. The principal operator 

 is the Nichols Chemical Company, Limited, the 

 Canadian subsidiary of the General Chemical 

 Company of the United States. The Algoma 

 Steel Corporation, Limited, and the Rand Con- 

 solidated Syndicate operate the Helen and 

 Goudreau mines respectively. 



In the Province of Quebec, there are pyritous 

 copper ores in which the sulphur content is 

 notably large. These are mined mainly at the 

 Eustis and Weedon mines of the Eastern Town- 

 ships and are used for the manufacture of sul- 

 phuric acid, the residue left after roasting being 

 treated for the extraction of copper. Though 

 these ores were essentially war minerals and a 

 decrease was to be expected in the output after 

 the signing of the armistice, shipments from 

 Quebec in 1919 actually fell much below pre-war 

 production. This state of affairs was largely 

 due to the efforts of the United States producers 

 of crude sulphur to market cheaply the stocks 

 they had on hand, and it was further aggravated 

 by the operation of the Texas Gulf Sulphur 

 Company, a new company that began to produce 

 in April, 1919, at the rate of 1,000 tons a day, 

 and which has considerably increased its daily 

 output since then. 



The only other province supplying any 

 pyrite is British Columbia, where shipments are 

 made from the Sullivan mine at Kimberley to 

 the sulphuric acid plant of the Consolidated 

 Mining and Smelting Company at Trail, and 

 from Anyox to the acid plant of the Nichols 

 Chemical Company at Barnet. 



In 1918, the total output of pyrites as sulphur 

 ore from Canadian mines was 411,616 tons, 

 which included 124,871 tons from Quebec, 

 268,507 from Ontario, and 18,238 from British 

 Columbia. The shipments from these prov- 

 inces fell in 1919 to 52,746, 109,080 and 7,730 

 tons respectively. 



Uses of Iron Pyrites 



One of the most important uses of iron 

 pyrites is in the production of sulphur dioxide 

 for the manufacture of sulphurous and sul- 

 phuric acids, compounds of fundamental impor- 

 tance in many chemical industries. These acids 

 are required to a large extent in the pulp and 

 paper industry of Canada, and it would seem that 



in those localities, especially in northern Ontario, 

 where both the mining of pyrite and the manu- 

 facture of pulp are carried on, it would be to 

 Canada's economic advantage to dispense with 

 imports of sulphur for their manufacture. 

 Notwithstanding this fact, 97,062 tons of crude 

 sulphur in 1918 and 56,062 in 1919 were imported 

 mainly from the States of Louisiana and Texas 

 bordering on the Mexican Gulf. 



At the present time, in spite of the increased 

 development during recent years of the pyrite 

 deposits of Ontario, only 75 per cent, of the ore 

 used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid in 

 Canada comes from Canadian mines. As a 

 matter of fact, imports of sulphuric acid from the 

 United States have actually increased from 2,197 

 tons for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1913, 

 to 6,093 tons for the corresponding period in 

 1919. This, of course, is largely a result of the 

 increased number of chemical industries and 

 pulp and paper companies. 



Among the important sulphuric acid pro- 

 ducers in Canada are the Nichols Chemical 

 Company, which has plants at Capelton, 

 Sulphide and Barnet in the Provinces of Quebec, 

 Ontario and British Columbia respectively; the 

 Grasselli Chemical Company; the Consolidated 

 Mining and Smelting Company; the. Algoma 

 Steel Corporation Limited; the Chemical Pro- 

 ducts Company at Trenton, Ontario, and the 

 Aetna Chemical Company at Drummondville, 

 Quebec. 



The by-product resulting from the roasting 

 of iron pyrites in the manufacture of sulphuric 

 acid is rich in iron, but its too high content of 

 sulphur has proved deleterious to its use as an 

 ore of iron. In the July, 1920, issue of Tech- 

 nique Moderne, pp. 301-304, Marcel Guedras 

 gives a description of manufacturing pig iron 

 from pyrite cinders in electric furnaces. The 

 technique of the process depends largely upon 

 the following: 



(1) Absolute necessity to eliminate the mois- 

 ture completely in a preliminary roast. 



(2) Utilization of the desulphurizing action 

 of the electric furnace, which action is 

 increased by the pressure of a calculated 

 amount of calcium chloride in the molten 

 bath. 



The Sealing Industry 



The seal pack in the Northern Pacific waters 

 is considered to be the most valuable herd of 

 wild animals in the world, its value being placed 

 at $75,000,000 and yearly increasing. 



After a conference in 1911 between the 

 United States, Russia, Japan and Canada, all 

 of whom are interested in sealing in these waters, 

 a close season was established for fifteen years 

 and pelagic sealing forbidden. According to the 

 treaty signed at the same time, Canada receives 

 fifteen per cent, of the catch of these waters. 



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