UNDEVELOPED COAL FIELDS OF NOVA SCOTIA GILPIN. 145 



to be limited on the south by the syenite of Cape Mabou on 

 which it rests without the intervention of any of the lower 

 groups of the carboniferous. Its inland extension at other points 

 appears to be limited distinctly by the belt of limestone and 

 gypsum which sweeps from the shore north of the mouth of the 

 Broad Cove Brook nearly to the Mabou Hills. Here there is an 

 interval of metamorphic lower carboniferous rock probably 

 valueless to the coal miner. The coal field on land is about six 

 miles long and about two miles across at its greatest width. 



The sections of the seams as given me during the past few 

 years do not agree with those hitherto published, or with one 

 measured by me some years ago. 



Mr. W. H. Ross, who has been engaged by the Broad Cove 

 Coal Company in opening the seams and in making a shipping 

 harbor at Mclsaac's Pond, an inlet on the centre of this coal field, 

 has kindly agreed to give the Institute a full description of this 

 district. I will therefore not attempt to correlate the sections,, 

 but for the purpose of rounding out these notes will give the 

 following sections from Mr. Robb's report to the Canadian Geo- 

 logical Survey : In descending order, 



An idea of the importance of the western shore of Cape- 

 Breton as a future coal producer may be formed from Mr. Robb's 

 estimate that these seams contain on land not less than 26,000,- 

 000 tons in the land aiea and 34,000,000 in the sea area to a 

 distance of only half a mile from the shore. As there is also, in 

 addition to the seams named, a fourteen feet seam of coal, these 

 estimates should be largely exceeded, and the sea area of avail- 

 able coal held by parties other than those named by him* also, 

 hold lanre amounts of coal. 



