32 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE NICKEL REGION. 



The first discoveries leading to mining operations took 

 place in 1884, when the Canadian Pacific railway was push- 

 ing westwards. Pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite were found in 

 a cutting at what afterwards became the Murray mine. This 

 property was acquired by the Vivians of Swansea and was 

 worked in a small way for several years, since which it has 

 lain idle. Soon after the rich Copper Cliff mine was 

 opened, first for copper, as the name suggests, later the 

 nickel was discovered. Within four years of the first find 

 of ore all of the more important deposits had been dis- 

 covered, though some of them were not worked for several 

 years later. The most productive mine worked in the 

 district is the Creighton, which was opened up in 1901 and 

 has since produced more ore than all the other mines com- 

 bined. Its ore is higher in grade than that of any other 

 large mine except Copper Cliff, and its product has dom- 

 inated the nickel markets of the world for the last few years. 



The Canadian Copper Company, much the most 

 important mining and smelting company in the Sudbury 

 district, has been in operation without interruption since 

 1886, and has worked half a dozen mines each of which has 

 produced from 100,000 to 2,000,000 tons of ore; while a 

 number of smaller deposits have been drawn upon also. 



It has gradually developed at Copper Cliff methods of 

 mining, roasting and smelting the ores which have now 

 reached high efficiency. Its smelter includes water jacket 

 furnaces producing matte with about 35 per cent, of nickel 

 and copper, basic converters bringing this standard matte 

 up to 80 per cent, of the two metals, and reverberatory fur- 

 naces for treating materials which cannot be sent directly 

 to the water jacket furnaces. There is probably no better 

 equipped metallurgical plant in north America and few 

 operate on a larger scale. Probably one-half of the nickel 

 used in the world during recent years has come from this 

 smelter. 



The other company mining and smelting nickel copper 

 ores in the district, the Mond Nickel Company, began work 

 in 189Q at Victoria Mines 22 miles west of Sudbury on the 

 Sault line of the Canadian Pacific. At present it obtains 

 most of its ore from Garson mine, northeast of Sudbury, 

 and it. has recently erected a large and complete smelting 

 plant at Coniston, 10 miles east of Sudbury. 



