152 [June, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 90. 
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT 
OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. 
— — * 
MINING PROGRESS IN CANADA DURING 1901. 
At the annual meeting of the Canadian Mining Institute Mr. B. T. A. Bell gave a 
report on the mineral development of the Dominion during 1901. 
British Columbia. — This province occupied the leading position among the mineral- 
producing territories of the Dominion, the value of her mineral production in 1901 having 
increased from §16,344,751 in the previous year to §20,713,501. The value of the output in 
lode-mines showed an increase of about 40 per cent, and in coal coke, over 10 per cent. 
There was a decrease of 35 per cent, in the production of gold in the northern districts, due 
in the Cariboo district to a lack in the water supply. 
In East Kootenay, lode-mining is largely confined to low grade silver-lead ores, and the 
market price for such has been so low that little or no profit is obtained. Relief from these 
conditions is hoped for by the establishment of a lead refinery now under construction. In 
West Kootenay, in spite of numerous labour troubles, there was a general increase in mineral 
production. 
Yukon Territory. — While there was a shrinkage in the value of gold production, the 
progress of mining in the Yukon has been entirely satisfactory, the total output during the past 
year being estimated at §18,500,000 compared to §28,000,000 in 1900. During the last 
five years gold to the value of over §73,000,000 has been produced. Mining has assumed a 
condition of much greater stability than prevailed during previous years. Some of the richest 
spots on Eldorado and Bonanza Creeks have been almost worked out, but there still remain 
extensive tracts in the bottoms of valleys underlain by gravel rich in gold from which large 
quantities will be obtained for many years to come, but with the depletion of these deposits, 
which encouraged extravagance of every kind, the wealth of the country will depend on the 
lower grade ores, and it will be necessary to introduce more economical methods with better 
machinery and organisation. In 189S the method of mining all the deeper gravels which are 
frozen from the surface down to the bed rock was, in winter, to pick down through the frozen 
wall and by means of fires to thaw the frozen gravel. The hoisting was performed by hand- 
windlasses and the gravel jfiled in dumps to be washed when the streams began to flow in the 
spring. As the ordinary rate of wage for labour of all kinds was §1 per hour, this style of 
mining was very expensive and only the richest grounds could be worked at a profit. In the 
following year boilers were imported and the ground was thawed by means of steam or hot 
water, and steam power was also used for hoisting purposes. 
The Commissioner, the Hon. J. IT. Ross, in his report points out that the great require- 
ment of the territory is cheaper transportation. Every reduction in freight rates, and the 
cost of living in the Yukon, makes possible the introduction and operation of a higher class 
of machinery and cheaper production of gold. At the present time ground that could not be 
worked at a profit a year or two ago can now be successfully mined, and it is confidently 
anticipated that large areas that have already been worked will soon be wholly re-worked at 
handsome profits. The expense, not only of getting things into the country, but of moving 
them from one place to another, has been enormous. He has endeavoured to aid in the 
cheapening of transportation by constructing a circle of roads connecting all the important 
mining creeks with Dawson, which is the centre of supply for the territory. 
The output of coal at Rock Creek and Cliff Creek is estimated to have been about 
5,000 tons, of a value at the pit of §125,000; silver to the estimated value of 
§125,000 was also won. 
The total royalty collected up to the 1st July last year, after deducting the exemption 
allowed by the regulations, was §2, 192,645 , 4i, of which §596, 368 ‘03 was collected 
during the year ended 30th June last. Up to 31st July there were recorded 24,524 placer 
claims, 2,793 quartz claims, 16,573 renewals and re-locations, and 25,000 assignments 
of claims. Leases now in force to dredge for minerals in the submerged beds of rivers in the 
Yukon cover 270 miles. The total amount of revenue received by the Dominion Government 
from there up to 1st July, 1901, amounted to §139,655*50. 
In the North-West territories gold-dredging is emerging from the experimental stage, 
and gives promise of becoming a successful industry. Three dredges have been tried on the 
Saskatchewan, but only one has proved successful, and this not entirely satisfactory, owing to 
the weakness of the machinery. 
Alberta . — The outputs from the collieries at Anthracite and Canmore were 14,742 and 
88,499 tons respectively, as compared to a total of 98,000 tons produced in the previous year. 
The Lethbridge collieries of the Alberta Railway and Coal Company also show an increase 
in production amounting to 35,233 tons, the output for the year being 217,034 tons, as 
compared with 181,801 tons in 1900. The price of these coals f.o.b. at Winnipeg was 
9*00 dollars for anthracite and 7*50 dollars for bituminous coal. 
Assiniboia. — The production of lignite at Roche Percee showed an increase, it being 
estimated that fully 43,000 tons were consumed in Manitoba and the territories as far west 
as Regina. The price varied from §2‘6o at Melita to §3*75 at Winnipeg. 
Manitoba.— Of the large number of quartz claims that were taken up in 1898, 1S99 and 
1900, not more than fifty are to-day in existence, and little or no development has taken 
place in any of them. 
Ontario. — ' The mineral industry in Ontario made satisfactory, and in some branches rapid, 
progress during 1901. The chief metals of the province are iron, nickel and copper. The 
production of iron ore last year amounted to 272,533 tons, as against 90,302 tons raised in 
1900. The greater portion of the ore came from the Helen mine at Michipicoton. Search 
for other ore bodies has been active and energetic ; prospecting with diamond drills has been 
carried on in the Iron Ranges. Three blast furnaces running steadily throughout the year 
made 116,370 tons of pig iron, valued at §1,701,703, as compared with 62,386 tons, 
worth §936,066, in 1900. Steel was produced to the amount of 14,471 tons, valued at 
§347,280. 
The nickel mines of the Sudbury region increased the quantity of their output by 
25 per cent., and the value by 130 per cent. During the year the Mond Nickel Com- 
pany at Victoria mines put their smelters in blast, and are now turning out an 80 per cent, 
matte by the Bessemer process. The bulk of the production, however, remains to the 
credit of the Canadian Copper Company, whose low grade mattes are ground, calcined, 
and re-smelted at the Ontario Smelting Works erected by Colonel Thompson, of the Orford 
Copper Company, which came into operation last year. A noticeable feature of the year was 
the opening of the Creighton mine in the south-west corner of Snider township, from which 
500 to 600 tons of ore are being shipped daily to the smelters at Copper Cliff. This mine 
has every indication of being an enormous deposit. The Manitoulin and North Shore 
railway, extending westward from Sudbury, serves this mine as well as several other nickel 
properties, two of which — the Gertrude and Elsie — are owned by the Lake Superior Power 
Company. The yield of precious metals was somewhat smaller than in 1900, 14,293 ounces 
of gold, Worth §244,443, as against 18,676 ounces, worth §297,861, the previous year. 
The Mikado, Sakoose, and Sultana mines in north-west Ontario have remained steadily at 
work, and the Black Eagle, formerly the Regina, recommenced about the beginning of 1902, 
with a new thirty-stamp battery. In Eastern Ontario, the Deloro and Belmont mines have 
been doing good work, and the production of arsenic at the former has greatly increased. 
The yield of silver was 151,400 oz., valued at §84,830, as against 160,612 oz., valued 
at §96,367, in 1900. Consolidation has recently taken place by which the West End, 
Porcupine, Badger, East End and Keystone mines have passed under the control of a 
new company. The output of non-metallic minerals showed a small increase in value 
over 1900. There was a decrease in petroleum, due partly to the natural diminution 
in the output, and a decrease in natural gas due to the stoppage by the Ontario Govern- 
ment of the export from the Essex Field to Detroit, which took place near the close of the 
year. Of cement there were 489,288 barrels made, and carbide of calcium to the value 
of §168,792; corundum worth §53,115, and arsenic worth §41,677, were also notable 
products. 
Quebec, — The production of asbestos was the outstanding feature of the year’s mineral 
industry, the value of the output being estimated at about one million-and-a-half dollars, 
the largest in the history of the industry. Three modern and splendidly equipped milling 
plants were installed at Thretford mines, three at Black Lake, and one at Broughton. Seven 
companies operated all the year round, and three others intermittently, occupying about 
1,500 men. The output of chromite was valued at §50,000. 
Nova Scotia. — Mining progress was chiefly remarkable for the continued expansion in 
the production of coal, coke, iron and steel. The total output of coal for the twelve 
months was in excess of 3,800,000 tons, an increase of 500,000 tons over the production in 
1900, and very largely due to the Dominion Coal Company, which raised 2,561,783 tons as 
compared to 1,999,737 in 1900. This company delivered 863,633 tons to St. Lawrence 
ports ; it exported 600,000 tons to the United States, principally for gas- and coke-making ; 
and the balance of its production went to the Sydney steel works. The Dominion Iron and 
Steel Company has now its furnaces and converters working, and operations will shortly be 
conducted on a large scale. The Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company have continued their 
regular operations at the Sydney mines pit, and have completed the construction of an up-to- 
date coking plant. They are engaged now in building a new shipping pier, and in opening 
the Lloyd’s Cove seam. In Pictou County, the only development of note has been the 
opening of one of the Marsh seams by the N.S. Steel and Coal Company. The coke made 
amounted to 241,936 tons, to which the Dominion Company contributed 192,873 tons. 
The production of pig-iron was 137,807 tons, of which the Dominion Company made 
111,014 tons, the N. Scotia Company the remainder. The latter company also made 
25,678 tons of steel ingots. 
Gold-mining in Nova Scotia has remained practically stationary, the output being 
31,000 oz. The Richardson, Blue Nose, and Brookfield mines reported satisfactory 
yields. The most encouraging feature of gold-mining in the province is the preparation 
being made to open Dolliver Mountain district by an American syndicate. This lies in the 
same belt as the Richardson, and is believed to contain even larger beds of medium grade 
ore. An up-to-date mining and milling plant is being installed by the company. The 
exploitation of the copper ores of Cumberland and Colchester Counties is being continued, 
and a smelter of capacity of 25 tons a day is being erected at Wentworth. 
The bounties paid by the Dominion Government on pig-iron amounted to §351,259, on 
puddled bars §16,703, and on steel ingots §100,057. 
The production of nickel matte was valued at §627,080. Mica to the value of §200,000 
was produced by Ontario and Quebec. Iron ore to the amount of 553,003 tons was imported, 
of which Newfoundland supplied 418,130 tons, and the United States 100,154 tons. 
Tiif. Mineral Production of Canada. 
Province. 
Gold. 
Coal. 
Iron Ore. 
Copper. 
Lead. 
Silver. 
Pig Iron. 
Dollars. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Dollars. 
Lbs. 
Dollars. 
Tons. 
Yukon 
18,000,000 
5,000 
— 
— - 
— - 
125,000 
— 
British Columbia 
5,596,7°° 
1,529,210 
— 
4,951,698 
50,529,260 2,624,002 
— 
N.W. Territories 
40,000 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— - 
— 
Nova Scotia 
620,000 
3,834,360 
18,619 
— 
„ 
— 
137,707 
Quebec 
1,440 
— 
I3,55S 
— 
554,000 
5,000 
6,356 
Ontario 
244,443 
■ — 
272,538 
627,080 
— 
84,830 
H5,I35 
New Brunswick . 
— 
10,000 
— 
100,000 
— 
— - 
■ — - 
Alberta, Assini- 
boia and Mani- 
toba 
— 
370,275 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
Total . 
24,502,583 
5,74M45 
304,715 
5,678,778 
51,083,260 
2,838,832 
255,198 
QUEENSLAND COALFIELDS. 
The output of coal in the State of Queensland amounted to nearly half-a-million tons 
during the year 1900, while that of New South Wales was over five million tons, and yet 
Queensland possesses immense deposits of coal much of which is superior in quality to that 
mined elsewhere in Australia, and the recent report on the Dawson and Mackenzie Rivers coal- 
field by Mr. B. Dunstan, of the Geological Survey, shows that this district will be able to 
supply a coal similar to Welsh steam coal, which should do much towards producing a 
prosperous coal industry in Queensland. 
The coalfields at present worked are situated in the south-east of Queensland, and the 
most important in regard to output is the Ipswich (West Moreton) coalfield. The strata in 
which the coal-seams of this field occur belong to the Trias- Jurassic period and cover an area 
in S.E. Queensland of 12,000 square miles, extending southwards into New South Wales, 
where they are known as the Clarence Series. In these latter five seams are known to occur, 
but the coal is inferior and only used locally. In the vicinity of Ipswich eight seams outcrop, 
but as the strata are much faulted and folded, the extension of these in a workable condition 
is uncertain. The field is divided into a north and south part by the river Bremer, and though 
the same number of seams occur in each they have not been correlated. The principal seam 
in the southern field is known as the Aberdare, and has a thickness of 14 feet containing 12 
feet of good coal. At the Aberdare colliery it is worked by three shafts at depths of 235 
feet, 450 feet and 520 feet respectively, and shows a gradually increasing dip to the west, 
being about 25 degrees at West Moreton colliery, and the depth from the surface is 630 feet. 
North of the Bremer river the Eclipse or Bishop’s seam, which attains a thickness of 8 feet 
in localities, has been worked at Waterstown. 
In the Darling Downs district the Gowrie colliery works a seam of coal 5 feet thick 
at a depth of 50 to So feet below the surface. The strata are almost horizontal. 
The Burrum coalfield extends from the mouth of the Ivolan River to Noosa Head, but it 
is only in the township of Howard that coal has been worked. The country is flat and the 
seams seldom come to the surface, and the strata containing the coal-seams are covered 
unconformably by a more recent horizontal deposit of sandstone, clay or loam from 15 to 20 
feet thick. The age of the coal-bearing strata appears to be intermediate between the 
Bowen River beds (Permo-carboniferous) and the Ipswich beds. They extend from the coast 
