640 REPORT— 1886. 



proyinces of Quebec aud Ontario. Even with the present protective duty of 

 60 cents a ton, however, this coal from Nova Scotia cannot be profitably carried 

 further west in Canada than Ottawa or Brockville. 



In the neighbouring province of New Brunswick the coal-bearing rocks are 

 much thinner and the coal-seams smaller. They are, however, near the surface, 

 and are worked at one or two places in a small way, principally for local use. 

 The coal is easily worked, and will at some future time probably be burned 

 extensively. 



Unfortunately no coal is found in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, which 

 at present contain the greater part of the population of the Dominion ; and what 

 is still more imfortunate is the fact that it never will be discovered in either of 

 these provinces in workable quantities, seeing that the formations which underlie 

 them are older than the Carboniferous. Passing, however, still further to the 

 west, immense deposits of coal and lignite are found in the North-west Territo- 

 ries, recently opened up by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Their occurring in this 

 part of Canada is especially a subject for congratulation, as much of the country is 

 but scantily supplied with wood. A line drawn on the 97th meridian separates in a 

 general way the coal-bearing rocks of America into two classes — those on the east 

 of this line being of Carboniferous age, while those on the west belong to the 

 Tertiary or Cretaceous formation. The rocks, therefore, in which the coals and 

 lignites of the North-west Territories and of P>ritish Columbia are formed belong 

 to the latter class. The mineral fuels of the North-west may be divided into four 

 classes, which, however, pass gradually into one another: — 



(a) True lignites, holding from 10 to 22 per cent, of hygroscopic water. 



(b) Lignitic coals, „ 5 to 9 „ „ 



(c) True coals, „ li to 5 „ „ 



(d) Anthracite, 



The true lignites are foimd in the eastern part of the territory, none but true lig- 

 nites, for example, occurring in the district of Assiuiboia. As we go west towards 

 the Ilocky Mountains the lignite gradually improves in quality, being firmer and 

 holding less water, until in the disturbed and folded strata toward the base of the 

 mountains it becomes a true coal, while in one of the basins of coal-bearing rocks which 

 occur in the mountains themselves, and which are very much disturbed, anthracite is 

 found. This gradual change from lignite to anthracite is one of the most remark- 

 able examples of the results of pressure and disturbance to be found anywhere. 

 The coal deposits of this great tract of country are situated so that they can be 

 easily mined ; many of them can be worked by simple levels run in from the deep 

 river valleys. The only locality where much coal is taken out at present is near 

 Lethbridge, in the Belly River, where the North-western Coal and Navigation 

 Company work a seam of very good lignite coal 5 feet 4 inches in thickness. The 

 mine is connected with the line of the Canadian Pacific Railroad by a branch line 

 107 miles in length, and large quantities of the coal are shipped east to Manitoba 

 and used by the railway for their locomotives. Taking the minimum thickness of 

 the seam at different points along an outcrop of G6 miles, and assuming a workable 

 width of only one mile, the seam alone would contain 8.30,000,000 tons of coal. 

 It is now ascertained from the known outcrop that a large part of the plains is 

 underlain by coal at a workable depth, but this one seam will serve to show the 

 immense quantity of coal which can readily be obtained. Preparations are now 

 beino- made for working the anthracite mentioned above as occurring in the Rocky 

 Ivlountains on an extensive scale. The deposit is near Banff", on the line of 

 the Canadian Pacific, and the anthracite will probably be largely used not only 

 by the railway, but also in Winnipeg, where it will compete with the American 

 hard coal now used in that city. In British Columbia, the most westerly province 

 of the Dominion, there are also very extensive coal deposits, which are especially 

 valuable owing to the absence of good coal elsewhere on the Pacific coast of North 

 America. The only known deposit of anthracite on the Pacific coast occurs on 

 the Queen Charlotte Islands. 



Bituminous coal is largely mined on Vancouver Island, four colheries being at 



