66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



bituminous matter in the limestone. Crystals of fluorite in the Niagara limestone 

 have been found which enclosed small amounts of petroleum." 



This anthraxolite of Mr. Miller's has a duller lustre than the Sudbury mineral, 

 has conchoidal fracture, and resembles bituminous coal more in appearance. It is 

 considerably softer than the Sudbury mineral ; its specific gravity is 1.365, and, 

 chemically, it is entirely different. The anthraxolite described by Chapman is 

 " black, lustrous, resembling anthracite in general characters, but very brittle. 

 H. 2.25 — 2.5 ; specific gravity, 1.35 — 1.55 ; generally decrepitates when heated B.B., 

 a small fragment loses its lustre, but exhibits no further change. Composition 

 essentially carbon, with from 3 to 5 per cent, volatile matter, including a small 

 amount of moisture. The ash, as at present observed, varies from to 10 per cent. 

 When present it exhibits under the microscope no trace of organic structure. This 

 substance, in all probability a product of alteration from petroleum or asphalt, 

 occurs in narrow veins in rocks of various kinds, and in small masses and thin 

 layers or coatings in strata of the Utica and other formations. * * * As it differs 

 essentially by these conditions of occurrence from anthracite proper, the name 

 anthraxolite has been given to it, but simply as a convenient term for present use." 

 (Chapman, Min. and Geol., Ont. and Que., 3rd ed., p.i43-) The Kingston mineral is 

 evidently the anthraxolite of Chapman. An analogous occurrence of coal in a vein and 

 not in a bed, and which shows no trace of vegetable origin, is the well-known Albertite 

 of New Brunswick, in appearance, specific gravity and chemical composition widely 

 different from the Sudbury coal. Messrs. Bailey and Ells say in their report : 

 " There can, we think, no longer exist a doubt that the deposit here so extensively 

 worked is a true vein, occupying irregular fissures among highly disturbed strata, 

 and in no way presenting any analogy to an ordinary coal bed." They regarded 

 Albertite as an altered petroleum. This Albertite was discovered in 1849, had its 

 maximum production in 1863-5, when 17,000 tons were produced annually, and in 

 1876-7 was producing 6,000 tons ; the depth was then 1,260 feet, and a 'trial hole 

 put down 100 feet further showed its continuance. In extent the. vein was 2,800 

 feet long, and was very irregular in size, thickening from a few inches to ten or 

 fifteen feet in a few yards, and much fractured and broken by faults. (Gcol. Sur. 

 Rep., 1876-7, pp. 368-388.) 



With regard to the origin of the Sudbury anthracite, which occurs in quantities 

 which compel attention, its presence in rocks which are supposed to belong to the 

 Cambrian period, and in which no fossils or traces of vegetable remains have ever 

 been discovered, is very surprising, and cannot be accounted for by the usual 

 theory of the formation of coal from vegetable matter. There are two absolute facts 

 which should be kept in mind, and our theories should be moulded to suit them. 

 In the first place, this mineral occurs certainly in quantities of some hundreds, 

 probnbly thousands, and possibly an indefinite number of tons : and secondly, the 

 chemical analysis and physical characteristics agree with some anthracites closely; 

 it has, in fact, become more anthracitic than most anthracites. The conclusion 

 which is inevitably forced upon one is that coal can be formed in some other way 

 than by decomposition of vegetable matter. Possibly the development of these 

 veins or deposits will throw some light on this subject. 



Note.— The sketch of the Sudbury deposit or vein was made by Mr. J. W. Evans, and the sketch 

 of the Kingston vein by Mr. W. G. Miller. 



