28 



The Phosphates of America. 



The lodes themselves, however, are nevertheless very strongly 

 defined, and there can be no doubt at all as to their continuity in 

 depth. In the province of Quebec we have followed them over 

 the townships of Hull, Templeton, Buckingham, Wakefield, Port- 

 land, Deny, Denholm, Bowman and many others, farther north 

 and west, and they everywhere exhibit the same characteristics. 

 Sometimes they contain no apatite ; at others it is only present 

 in rare disseminated crystals. Sometimes they contain it in the 

 proportion of from ten to fifteen per cent, of their entire mass 

 over a very large area. Sometimes, again, it displaces the other 

 rocks altogether, and develops into enormous " bonanzas," in which 

 scarcely any impurities are found. 



The principal phosphate mines of Canada have been located 

 on those portions of the pyroxenite belt in which, at the surf- 

 ace, the apatite has shown signs of predominating, and it is 

 on record that, so far as explored, when these surface "shows" 

 exist in association with feldspar, mica or pyrites, the apatite has 

 always continued downward with variable regularity through the 

 entire formation. By far the greater part of the phosphate mined 

 of late years has been obtained in the Quebec district, chiefly 

 from that portion of Ottawa County through which flows the 

 Lievres River. This fact is demonstrable by a reference to the 

 following table, compiled with great care from official data. 



COMPANIES NOW WORKING APATITE MINES IN CANADA. 



