early losses in boots and shoes were offset by 

 gains later in the month. Pulp and paper mills 

 in the Maritimes and Quebec showed heavy 

 declines, due largely to the seasonal overhauling 

 of plants, but those of Ontario and British 

 Columbia continued fairly steady. Printing and 

 publishing experienced the inevitable reaction 

 after the holiday season, but recovered somewhat 

 before the close of the month. In the wood- 

 working industries, sash, door, and planing mills 

 renewed activity in anticipation of the building 

 season, though building construction was gener- 

 ally at a standstill as yet. Transportation 

 showed a general slackness in all departments. 

 Mining and quarrying also showed declines. 

 Sawmills continued to show the usual seasonal 

 slackness, but logging was generally more active. 

 There were in existence during the month 

 ten strikes involving about 964 people, and 

 resulting in a time loss of 15,951 working days. 

 The movement in prices continued downward, 

 there being decreases in nearly all staple lines. 

 The average cost of a list of twenty-nine staple 

 foods at the beginning of the month was $14.48 

 as compared with $14,84 in December and $15.30 

 in January, 1920. 



Mining in 1920 



The year 1920 was successful for the Can- 

 adian mining industry, the estimated value of 

 production for the twelve months showing a 

 gratifying increase over the figures of the 

 previous year, and being only slightly less than 

 those of the banner year of 1918 when the war 

 stimulus of production was at its zenith. The 

 Government's estimate of production for the 

 year is $200,000,000 as compared with $176,- 

 686,000 in 1919, and $211,301,897 in 1918. In 

 all minerals there were substantial increases in 

 production, with the exception of lead and silver, 

 which showed small declines from the previous 

 year's figures, and iron ore, where there was a 

 heavy falling off. 



One of the notable features of the mining 

 year was the marked recovery in the production 

 of copper, zinc, and nickel among the metals, 

 and of coal among the non-metallic products. 

 There was also a small increase in gold produc- 

 tion. Zinc, coal and asbestos reached the highest 

 figures of production in the history of Canada, 

 whilst the output of chromite, gypsum, fluorspar, 

 mica, and salt was well sustained. 



The Situation is Satisfactory 



The situation is satisfactory, more so, indeed, 

 than a survey of these figures without making 

 an allowance for extraordinary war conditions 

 would suggest. For under the stimulus of war, 

 Canada's mineral production increased from a 

 total value of $128,863,000 in 1914 to a value of 

 $211,300,000 in 1918. The reaction in 1919 



resulted in a falling off to $176,686,000, practic- 

 ally the same value as was placed upon the 1916 

 production. The banner year of war-stimulated 

 production, 1918, was the only one which 

 exceeded in its mineral production the twelve 

 months just ended. 



The total production of nickel is estimated 

 at 1,500,000 pounds, an increase of 38 per cent 

 over the 1919 production, and an output that 

 has been exceeded in Canada only during the 

 four war years. The production of this metal in 

 Canada, for some years to come, will be limited 

 only by the demands of the market, the developed 

 deposits assuring an ore supply for a long 

 period. Smelting capacity has been constructed 

 in the Dominion during the year considerably 

 higher than any reached during the war. 



The production of copper is estimated at 

 82,500,000 pounds which shows an increase of 

 10 per cent over the previous year. Whilst 

 Quebec production fell off, Ontario output 

 increased by about 25 per cent. The estimated 

 value of gold production is placed at $16,000,000, 

 comparing with $15,850,423 in 1919. Whilst the 

 total value has slight increases during the last 

 two years, the production is still less than that 

 of 1916, when the total was more than 

 $19,000,000, or in 1900, when a maximum of 

 nearly $28,000,000 was obtained. Ontario prob- 

 ably contributed about 72 per cent of the total 

 Canadian gold production in 1920, derived from 

 seven mines in the Porcupine district, three at 

 Kirkland Lake, and several miscellaneous prop- 

 erties. 



Annual Coal Production Increases 18%. 



Silver production for the year is put at 

 13,500,000 ounces, or 2,500,000 below that of 

 1919. The decrease was general. Lead was the 

 other mineral which showed a decline, its 

 35,500,000 pounds being 8,827,000 less than the 

 1919 production. The estimated production of 

 refined zinc and zinc recovered from ores is 

 placed at 42,000,000 pounds. The coal output 

 for the twelve months is figured to have been at 

 least 16,000,000 short tons, which is 2,500,000 

 tons, or 18 per cent, over that for 1919. Alberta 

 leads the provinces with an estimated production 

 of 6,700,000 tons. The estimated value of the 

 Dominion's production is $70,000,000. 



Iron ore production fell away considerably 

 during the year, it being estimated that ship- 

 ments from the mines did not exceed 120,000 

 tons, coming mainly from the mines of the 

 Algoma Steel Corporation and Moose Mountain, 

 Ltd., in Ontario. The total production of pig- 

 iron from blast furnaces and electric furnaces 

 in 1920 is estimated at 1,080,000 short tons, and 

 the total production of steel ingots and steel 

 castings at 1,220,000 short tons, both records 

 showing a substantial increase over the pro- 

 duction of the previous year. 



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