New BRUNSWICK 725 



In the 01. Joseph oii field, now abandoned, the petroleum is found at a 

 depth of 347 to 370 feet below the surface. In the Stony Creek gas and 

 oil field the wells range in depth from 1,200 to 3,060 feet. 



The Albert shale series contains the so-called oil shales, which yield, 

 when retorted, ,37 to 56 imperial gallons of crude oil and 30 to 110 pounds 

 of ammonium sulphate per ton. The shales were worked more than forty 

 years ago, but the cheaper oils of the United States and Ontario forced 

 the works to close. 



Of interest is the presence of "albertite," a solid bitumen representing 

 the residuum of petroliferous seepages. It occurs filling fissures in the 

 Albert series and in younger Carboniferous strata. The large vein at Al- 

 bert mines was mined over a distance of half a mile to a depth of 1,100 

 feet, below which it became too narrow to pay. The vein was vertical 

 and varied in width up to 15 feet. It was mined for thirty years, during 

 which time 330,000 tons were produced having a value of $15 to $30 a 

 ton. 



F. Gr. Clapp's^ conclusion concerning 'New Brunswick is as follows : 



"In general, it may be said that outside the developed oil and gas fields the 

 borings so far made have not afforded, because of insufiicient deiatli or poor 

 localities, any real test whatsoever of the oil or gas possibilities within the 

 province of New Brunswick. To be conclusive, new borings located in accord- 

 ance with approved structural principles and carried to the Albert shales, or 

 in their absence to the underlying crystalline or metamorphic rocks, will be 

 necessary to establish the presence or absence of petroleum or natural gas." 



Albeeta 



During recent years there has been considerable search for petroleum 

 in the province of Alberta, but up to the present it has not been found in 

 important economic quantities. A little oil of low specific gravity is pro- 

 duced near Calgary and a little has recently been found in the gas field 

 east of Edmonton. It may be added, however, that large areas in Al- 

 berta and adjoining territories remain to be explored, and belief is strong 

 that important oil fields will yet be discovered. 



A region lying farther north is considered to be of great promise, as is 

 shown by the following quotation from Charles Camsell :^° 



"In the northern parts of the Great Plains also there are numerous evidences 

 of mineral wealth, the most important being that of oil, springs of which have 

 been noted on the shores of Great Slave Lake and at several points in the 

 valley of the Mackenzie and on Peel River. It is estimated that the rocks 

 which are the source of this oil, namely, the Devonian strata, are the surface 



Petroleum and Natural Ga.s Resources of Canada, Dept. Mines, Canada, vol. 2, p. 57. 

 5 Geog. Jour., Sept., 1916, pp. 254-255. ' 



