54 



Naturally, on the receipt of the sample of niccolite, it 

 appeared that this prediction might have been verified, and 

 that deposits of nickel vastly richer than those of Sudbury 

 might have been discovered. 



On examining the veins then discovered, four in number, 

 all near the shore of Cobalt lake, an unexpected and aston- 

 ishing assemblage of minerals was seen, the most prominent 

 being native silver, niccolite, smaltite and cobalt bloom. In 

 the first paper he published on the area, describing one of 

 the veins, the writer said : 



" Here a perpendicular bare cliff, 60 or 70 feet high, 

 faces west. The vein. . . . cuts this face at right 

 angles, having an almost vertical dip. . . . When I saw 

 it first it had not been disturbed. Thin leaves of silver up to 

 two inches in diameter were lying on the ledges and the 

 decomposed vein matter was cemented together by the metal, 

 like fungus in rotten wood. It was a vein such as one reads 

 of in text-books, but which is rarely seen, being so clearly 

 defined and so rich in contents."* 



The veins are narrow, averaging not more than 4 inches 

 (10 cm.) in width. This feature discouraged certain of the 

 first mining engineers who examined the outcrops, and 

 caused them to doubt whether the veins were of economic 

 importance. However, the large number of veins and their 

 great richness has more than compensated for their narrow- 

 ness. 



It was soon proved by comparatively little work that 

 Cobalt was really a " poor man's camp." One of the first 

 operators, for instance, extracted ore having a value of 

 approximately $250,000 at a total cost of $2,500. Statistics 

 show that during the period of mining in the area dividends 

 distributed have been equal to over fifty per cent, of the 

 value of the output. 



In the earlier years of mining there were no refining 

 plants, in North America at least, that could economically 

 treat the ores. Owing to the unusual and complex char- 

 acter of the ores there was waste of other constituents in 

 extracting silver, there being present in addition to the 

 precious metal, arsenic, cobalt and nickel in important 

 quantities. 



f Eng\ and Min. Jr., Dec. 10th, 1903. 



