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By Charles Graham

It is the general belief that the coal deposits on Vancouver Island are extremely large, and easily available. Indeed, they are frequently described by prominent public men and by writers in the press as "illimitable" and "inexhaustible." It is well that the facts that have been established as a result of seventy years of surface prospecting, underground operations and extensive diamond-drilling in this coalfield should be disclosed. HISTORY The presence of coal on the coast of British Columbia was first made known by Dr. W. F. Tolmie in 183 5. This coal was brought to him by Indians from the north-east coast of Vancouver Island, probably from Suquash. In 1850 the existence of coal at Nanaimo was announced by Mr. ]. W. MacKay. Development was started in 1852, and coal was shipped before the close of 185 3. The first operations were carried on by the Hudson's Bay Company, who operated the mines until 1861, when they sold them to the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company. Practically all of the operations in the immediate vicinity of Nanaimo have been carried on by this Company and its successors. In 1869, Mr. Robert Dunsmuir discovered coal about five miles north-west of Nanaimo, at Wellington. The Welling-ton Colliery Company was organized, and began to produce coal from the Wellington mines in 1871, the coal being shipped from Departure bay. This colliery was a large producer for several years, but was finally closed in 1900.

Jan 1, 1924

By W. M. Goodwin

The gold district of northwestern Quebec, though it has attracted such widespread attention during the past year, is still in the prospect stage throughout, and one must preface any remarks about it with the plain statement that its capacity to produce gold commercially is still subject to proof. However, this proof may be forthcoming any day, and from widely separated localities. Consequently it is of interest to note some of the features of the region and of the prospects now being developed. First I shall note the relation of this mining development to the province of Quebec and to the Dominion; then will follow a brief resume of the known geological facts; and finally I shall describe briefly some of the more advanced prospects developed during the past twelve-month. Those that have followed closely the fortunes of the new gold-field will find little that is new in what follows, but it may serve a useful purpose for others by bringing together scattered items of information and presenting them as a whole. GOLD MINING AND AGRICULTURE First let us consider the gold belt in its relation to the province of Quebec. Apart from the world-renowned asbestos camp south of the St. Lawrence, it is the only mineral development of major importance the province has experienced. It is the first important development in the province's vast area of Precambrian rocks, most of which remains as yet totally unexplored and unprospected. The relative importance of this first mining camp in northern Quebec cannot as yet be gauged, but it is bound to stimulate an active interest in the other mineral-bearing areas now known to exist, and in the vast unexplored spaces.

Jan 1, 1924

By R. B. Harkness

Many of us are familiar with the history of oil in the Province of Ontario, but for the benefit of those who have never heard the story I will repeat it. In 185 7 J. H. Williams, of Hamilton, an old-country Scotchman, who had the advantage of experience gained from the primitive methods used for refining the oil collected at seepages in Roumania, heard of the "gum beds" along Black creek in Enniskillen township, Lambton county. He erected a small plant in the bush and refined illuminating oil, where the village of Old Springs now stands. The labor of collecting this thick ?gummy substance from the sluggish water of the creek, prompted him to dig a well, the next year ( 1858), in the hope of obtaining a greater quantity. When his excavation reached a gravel bed on top of the rock, oil, resembling "lubricating oil of commerce", rose several feet. Several of these wells were dug and his refining business flourished. The following year the Drake well, in Pennsylvania, was drilled into rock, resulting in an oil find which encouraged one James Shaw to make a similar attempt on Black creek. With a spring-pole drill he completed his well in the spring of 1861 to a depth of 160 feet, and at that depth struck a gusher that flowed uncontrolled for several days. Great excitement followed and the village of Oil Springs had a mushroom growth. The Petrolia field was discovered in 1865. Lick followed up the Thames with a spring-pole rig testing the formations along that river and discovered the original Bothwell field in 1865. During the sixties wells were drilled in many counties in southwestern Ontario.

Jan 1, 1924

By L. Heber Cole

The search for potash in western Canada during the years of the great war led to the staking of claims on many of the "alkali lakes" and sloughs which occur in numerous localities in the morainic areas of the prairies, as well as in British Columbia, in the hope that potash salts would be found in commercial quantities. While the search for potash, up to the present time, has been disappointing, the prospecting of these areas has demonstrated that Canada possesses large reserves of sodium and magnesium compounds, principally in the form of sulphates, carbonates and chlorides. he writer first became interested in these deposits in 1911 while investigating the sodium chloride springs of northern Manitoba. In the fall of that year a number of the sulphate ? deposits in Saskatchewan and Alberta were visited, but owing to the excessive rains at that period, all the deposits were under water and only a few brine samples were obtained. Owing to pressure of other work investigations of the alkali deposits in western Canada, by the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines, could not be undertaken until the field season of 1921, but since that time the work has been continuous. During the summer of 1918 a reported discovery of a large deposit of potash bearing salts was featured in western papers and in a short time practically all the lakes and sloughs of the prairie provinces, which showed the least indication of being saline, were staked for potash. This reported discovery was not substantiated on investigation and many of those who had staked claims allowed them t~ lapse without the slightest effort to determine the character of the material in the deposits which they? had leased.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. C. Beidelman

One of the oldest settled portions of Canada is that "strip of land" extending into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, known as the Gaspe peninsula, with the Bay of Chaleur on its southern boundary. This "strip of land" is still so very sparcely populated that only at a few places does settlement extend more than a few miles from the coast. ? The peninsula is 160 miles long, 75 miles wide and with the exception of the above mentioned settlements is a mountainous wildness-void of all roads or inhabitants. Developments in the interior, of all nature, out-side of the cutting of timber by limit holders, was entirely lacking until the year 1915, when mining was first commenced. In the summer of 1844 Sir William Logan made a preliminary survey across the peninsula, from Cape Chat on the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cascapedia on the Bay of Chaleur, passing through a country ?of which very little was known at that time. After a rather rough trip to the headwaters of the Grand Cascapedia river, Logan's party descended this river to its mouth, passing ten miles west of what is now known as the Federal mines. There is no record of Logan, or of any of his party, finding zinc or lead ores of any character on their journey across the peninsula, and until 1909 no precious or base metals were discovered within reasonable distance of Logan's survey.

Jan 1, 1924

By Arthur M. Whiteside

Discussion of the laws bearing upon the economics of mining in this province at once resolves itself under three headings: (a) The rights and obligations of holders of mineral bearing lands; (b) Taxation of mines; (c) Regulation of methods adopted in financing mining operations. Titles: The law relating to titles is contained in the Mineral Act, Placer Mining Act and Coal Mines Prospecting Act. Origin: Mining laws in force in this province and elsewhere on the continent had their origin in the rule-of-thumb regulations adopted by prospectors themselves, when, far from the centres of civilization and the seats of the courts of justice, they found it necessary, for mutual protection, to fix the conditions of possession by right of location, and to prescribe the duties to be performed in order to enable the individual to maintain his ground against all comers. These regulations have been codified and added to by legislatures, until we find adequate protection and safeguard to property in the laws of this province.

Jan 1, 1924

IT has often been stated in the past that the materials known as inert fillers were merely adulterants nsed in the manufacture of paint, and that their purpose was to cheapen paints made from more expensive pigments, such as zinc oxide or white lead. In recent years, however, practical tests in various parts of the world have proved that many of the inert fillers, when used with wisdom, possess very definite and advantageous properties.Another oft-repeated statement which had a far-reaching effect in the past, and which is not without influence to-day, is that the very best paint must always be made from a pure pigment, without admixture with either a fellow pigment or an inert filler. Both or either of these statements may be true in a few isolated instances, but for the vast majority of ordinary painting conditions there is an abundance of experimental evidence to prove that neither is true.With the desire to further investigate these points and po 'determine the best combination of pigments and fillers for use as an outside white paint on plant buildings, a number of panels were prepared in the laboratory of this company.

Jan 1, 1924

By G. C. Mackenzie

At the last Annual Meeting of the Institute, Dr. C. V. Corless sketched the potential mineral wealth of Canada so clearly, graphically and with-all so entertainingly that one's imagination was fired with the promise held out to future generations for the tremendous expansion of the mining industry in the Dominion. Posterity will undoubtedly witness the fruit of much of the geographical search and survey that is now carried on by our government mining departments. Year after year the work advances, slowly but surely, new areas are . explored, older areas are surveyed in detail, the information being compiled in maps and reports of incalculable value to the prospector, the engineer and the general public. The immensity of the task of exploring, geologically, the outlying portions of the country, with the ultimate view of making valuable mineral discoveries, may be visualized from a study of Dr. Corless' paper and the subsequent discussion which took place and one becomes impressed with the fact that three-quarters or more of the problem can be included under the word "transportation". For instance Dr. Corless said, "The few geological explorers who have penetrated to these remoter regions . . . . . . have as a rule been compelled to stick closely to canoe routes,"; Dr. Goodwin remarked, "This barren Laurentian granite, which is put down on the maps as covering the greater part of this area, is the best guess the geologist could make from travelling along watercourses Within the next few years . . . . . . the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario railway will undoubtedly be extended to James Bay . . . . . . In order that we may be prepared for the probable influx of prospectors when transportation facilities to tidewater are provided, I think all available information on this district should be gathered together in handy form." All three-Corless, Goodwin and Cole-emphasize the well-known fact that explorers, geologists and prospectors working in new country must stick to the watercourses and that transportation by rail, road or water has always been the all-important deciding factor in facilitating the exploration and development of remote districts. Dr. Corless did, however, suggest other means of transportation in stating, "The aeroplane will be of assistance in future study of some parts of these remote areas."

Jan 1, 1924

By F. C. Houghten, R. R. Sayers, C. P. Yalaglou

"Introduction.Atmospheric conditions relative to high temperature and humidity are of great importance in mining, as well as in such allied fields as railroad and vehicular tunnels. An extended investigation into the effect of these factors on men has been in progress for some time, both in the field under actual working conditions, and at the Pittsburgh experiment station of the bureau in cooperation with the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers and the U. S. Public Health Service.For several years one of the writers (Dr. Sayers) and L. Harrington, supervising mining engineer of the bureau, have been studying the effects of hot humid atmosphere in metal mines on the comfort and efficiency of the workers. Some of the reactions experienced in still and in moving saturated mine air at temperatures of 90 to 100°F., with men at rest are presented in a recent paper.****The present paper is based on experiments made under carefully controlled conditions to determine the relative feeling of warmth experienced by men in atmospheres of various degrees of temperature and humidity. The work was conducted by the research laboratory of the American society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, at the Pittsburgh experiment station of the Bureau of Mines, in special physchrometric chambers built for this purpose. It was carried on under the direction of F. Paul Anderson, director of the laboratory, Dr. R. R. Sayers and A. C. Fieldner of the Bureau of Mines. The results given in this paper are for still air only. Investigations of the effects of moving air are being continued, and will be reported later."

Jan 1, 1924

GREETING Hail! Hail! the Coal Miner, Damn the operator, damn the operator, Hail! Hail to mining coal We'll tell 'em how to run the mines. Oh, we'll send out a questionnaire And we'll quiz 'em, we will razz 'em for fair, We'll ask about the profits and order them to stop it Tell the world we're going to stop right there. Hail! Hail! etc. NASH AND PRYDE Tune, "Gallagher and Shean" There are two mining men, the best I've ever spied, One is Mister Harry Nash, the other Mister Pryde. When these two fellows meet it surely is a treat, The things they do, and the things they say, And the funny way they greet. Say, Mister Harry Nash, Oh, Mister Harry Nash, Tell me what's on your mind this evening, Mr. Pryde; I have heard an awful lot of that steep coal mine you got, And I wondered if some one had up and lied. Oh, Mr. Pryde, Oh, Mister Pryde, It's so steep it seems to lie upon its side. If it were steeper than it is, it would put us out of biz, Absolutely, Mister Harry Nash, positively, Mr. Pryde. Oh, Mister Harry Nash, Oh, Mister Harry Nash, Somebody said that at this new mine you've begun 'Fore you mined a lump of coal, had to burrow like a mole, And of rock you dug out many a million ton. Oh, Mister Pryde, Oh, Mister Pryde, I hate to think of all the dough I supplied. I believe the Moffat Tunnel bore won't cost a single dollar more I don't think so Mister Harry Nash, I agree with Mister Pryde. PARTING Tune, "Leave Me With a Smile" Though a sea of strikes and low price squabbles, Follow us the while; Once a year we gather just to show them whether We still wear-a smile; Rocky music coal still packs a barrel full Of timely fun sans guile, Rocky Mountain Institute can follow such And smile its yearly smile.

Jan 1, 1924

By W. S. Dyer

The Minto coal basin lies in the central part of the province of New Brunswick, near the head of Grand Lake. The village of Minto which is the centre of mining activity of the district, lies about 35 miles east of Fredericton and somewhat greater distances to the north and west of the cities of St. John and Moncton respectively. Although coal has been mined in the basin for a number of years, it was not until recently that the production became sufficient to warrant a thorough geological investigation. The summer of 1922 was spent, in accordance with in structions from the Director of the Geological Survey, in making a detailed study of the geology and coal resources of the Minto coal basin, which is covered by the Minto and Chipman map sheets, each embracing an area of 200 square miles. The present paper is a short outline of the principal results obtained in the field. The writer wishes to acknowledge the assistance cheerfully given him by the managers and officials of the various companies operating in Minto. He wishes especially to thank Mr. W. B. Evans, Manager of the Rothwell Coal Company, for assistance in the collection of fossils and for the generous supply of information relative to the early history of the coal field.

Jan 1, 1924

Jan 1, 1924

By Ralph L. Rutherford

Geologists or mining engineers familiar with geology are frequently requested by mine operators to give correlation in-formation regarding some mining property with respect to an adjacent area on one at some greater distance. It is the object of this article to mention a few of the difficulties involved in securing this information and to point out some of the salient factors upon which correlation is dependent. In view of the nature of the following discussion, a brief statement of the general character of coal formations .. seems appropriate. Coal formations, by reason of their environment of deposition which is in fresh or brackish water, exhibit the features common to continental deposits, in contrast to those of marine deposits. Such deposits are characterized by rapid variation in thickness and in lithological character both later-ally and vertically. (Plate 1 A). They consist essentially of sandstones and clay shales with all gradations between them, and also a few beds of coal and frequently some conglomerates.

Jan 1, 1924

By James McMahon

Although doubt has been expressed many times as to who first brought self-contained breathing apparatus to this side of the Atlantic, there is none whatever that the first organized station was established at Glace Bay, N .S., by the Dominion Coal Company, in 1907. This station was started with 20 sets of 1907 "Draeger" apparatus and all necessary station equipment and supplies. After the fire at No. 1 pit, Sydney Mines, in 1908, the Nova Scotia Steel Company installed 15 sets of "Draeger" and sup-plies, which were housed in a rescue car (a converted pull-man.) In 1909 or '10 a fire occurred at the Back Pit, Stellarton, where the apparatus from Glace Bay was used, and subsequently the Acadia Company erected a station and in-stalled 10 sets of "Securitas" apparatus. In 1912 the station at New Waterford was opened and equipped with "Draeger," and the same year the station at Springhill was built and equipped with the same type. Sometime during past years the Nova Scotia Steel Company acquired a couple of "Proto" machines, and after the explosion at the Allan shaft in 1918 the Acadia Coal Company added some "Gibbs" to their station. From this it will be seen that when the coal-fields were organized under the British Empire Steel Corporation the equipment was rather mixed, therefore steps were taken by the executive to stanardize the whole of the rescue and recovery work.

Jan 1, 1924

By Staff

This paper contains an outline of the history of the Sullivan mine, now owned and operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company of Canada, Ltd.; some account of the various methods by which the ore has been treated in efforts to solve the metallurgical problems which its complex character presents, and, finally, to give, as concisely as possible, an outline of the present mining and metallurgical practice along with a description of the mining and milling plant at Kimberley and the smelter and refineries at Trail, in British Columbia. EARLY HISTORY In May, 1892, Pat Sullivan, John Cleaver and Mike Holland left the Coeur d'Alene country, in the State of Idaho, to seek their fortunes in the Kootenay lake district in British Columbia. They were aided in their venture by James Cronin, afterwards locator and owner of the St. Eugene mine at Moyie. Two months later the party broke up, Sullivan and Cleaver crossing the mountains from Crawford bay on Kootenay lake to the head waters of the St. Mary's river, the course of which they followed down to Fort Steele. Here they found a good deal of excitement about the North Star mine, and, joined by "Ed." Smith, who was familiar with this part of the country, they determined to return and prospect in its vicinity.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. C. Nicholson

The "V" system was first introduced by the West Virginia Coal & Coke Company at their No. 9 mine, Norton. Norton is a small mining village on the B. & 0. railway, about seven miles from the town of Elkins. This year, accompanied by G. D. MacDougall, I visited this mine to obtain first-hand information regarding this modem system and to determine its adaptability to conditions in Nova Scotia. The following is a brief account of my observations. The seam that is being worked is known as the Lower Kittaning, which, at this point, has an average thickness of 7 feet. This includes a band of hard clay varying in thickness from 8 to 14 inches, which occurs about 2 feet from the pavement, also 8 inches of inferior coal at the roof. The latter is not recovered, which leaves to be mined about 5 1/2 feet of clean coal. The roof is slate and shale for the first 30 feet, followed by 40 to 60 feet of sandstone; the total cover is from 80 to 250 feet thick. The seam lies very flat, with a dip of only 2 per cent., and, as the dip is toward the main entrance, it' is in favor of the load, also providing natural drainage for any water the mine makes. As the mine is not gassy, and there is no water to be pumped out, one can understand that mining conditions are practically ideal.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. W. Paul

This paper deals with the second phase of an extensive research on coal-mine ventilation factors. A comprehensive report of the entire work is in course of preparation, but abstracts of the various chapters are being prepared in order to make the results public as rapidly as possible. Part 1 dealt with the resistance of unobstructed entries and was issued as Serial 2621 of the Bureau of Mines, in July 1924. Description of tests. After the resistance of an unobstructed entry to flow of air had been determined by tests in the Experiment mine, mine cars were; run into the test section in various arrangements and the increase in resistance was determined. The cars used were of the wooden type with loose end gate, and would hold about one ton of coal, level full. They were 7 feet long. 4 feet 2 inches wide above the wheels, 3 feet high, and had a cross-sectional area of approximately 10 square feet. The average area of the entry was about 57 square feet, the ratio of unobstructed to total area being about 17.6 per cent. The track gage was 42 inches and the wheel-base 20 inches.

Jan 1, 1924

The principal dirnensions of the chimney were fixed as follows: Height from formation to coping, 328 ft. 8 in.; inside diameter concrete shell, 13 ft. Gin.; inside diameter of the 4~-in. brick lining. 11 ft. (j in. ; shell thickness above flue inlet at a point 39 ft. above formation, 1 ft. 8in.; shell thickness at coping, 6 in. That is, the inside of chimney is cylindrical, wldst the outside is gradually stepped inwards with of 1 in. and less until the shell is 6 in. thick only at the top. With these dimensions in mind, it will be seen that some close thought was necessary to ensure a satisfactory of fonn which could be kept rigid and plumb to a height and at the same time provide safe working conditions for the labourers employed.FOUNDATIONSThe spread base of the chimney is 45 ft. in diameter, and foundations were carried down to a depth of 8 ft. 6 in. below natural surface into good hard clay which was known to be the best foundation obtainable in the vicinity being capable of withstanding, when dry, a load of 3 tons to 4 tons per square foot, whereas dead load is 1A tons per square foot and the maximum load expeeted under the most severe wind condition is 2 tons per square foot to ensure the foundation being kept dry and unaffected by ground water, the site was surrounded by a ring drain at a distance of six feet from edge of concrete foundation and at a minimum depth of one foot below bottom of concrete. Open-jointed pipes were laid in the bottom ofthe drain and graded to a pipe drain with outfall clear of the site.

Jan 1, 1924

By H. M. Chance

Recent research work has shown that coal can be produced, at reasonable cost, from almost all coal-mining districts containing not more than 3 to 8 per cent. of ash. From coal so produced, an abundant supply of coke, suitable for blast-furnace operation, can be made containing from 12 down to 6 per cent. or less of ash. These statements apply broadly to the Appalachian coal belt, including most of the mining districts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. The exceptions will generally be found among those coals carrying a prohibitive percentage of sulfur. Any gravimetric heavy fluid method of separation will effect a reduction in the percentage of sulfur, but this reduction may not be sufficient to produce, from coal unfit for metallurgic use, a product that can be so used. When a large part of the sulfur is in the form known as "organic sulfur, "or is present as very finely disseminated and homogeneously distributed pyrite, possibly it cannot be eliminated from the low-ash coal produced. When the sulfur exists as pyrite in distinct layers, bands, or nodules, or when it is finely disseminated but is irregularly distributed, often a low-ash coal low enough in sulfur to make good metallurgic coke can be produced from relatively impure coals. It has generally been assumed that the quality of coke on which blast furnaces must be operated depends on the geographic location of the furnace, and that the grade of coke on which a blast furnace must operate is that produced from the best coal obtainable by careful mining; or if the coal is prepared by washing, hand picking, or other means by which the foreign impurities are removed, that the grade of coke on which the furnace must operate depends on what has been termed the "inherent ash" of the particular coal. The term "inherent ash " is generally understood to mean the percentage of ash present after all removable (free) impurities, slate, fireclay, high-ash bony coal, and pyrite have been removed, and is usually applied to the percentage of ash present in run-of-mine coal from any mine after these impurities have been removed. Perfect washing, or perfect preparation, is understood to be attained when the percentage of ash in the washed coal is reduced to the percentage of inherent ash; that is, of ash that cannot be removed by the washing processes in common use. Wash-

Jan 1, 1924

By G. A. Vissac

In this paper we intend to deal particularly with the economic side of coal washing as it applies to our mines. We will then discuss why the dry-cleaning process has been selected, and give a brief description of our plant, dwelling only on its specific features and referring the reader to the numerous papers published on the subject for any details on the principles and machinery used in dry cleaning. ECONOMIC DISCUSSION The washery introduces an extra cost for depreciation, operation, and loss in treatment. A certain proportion of the coal, now being sold, and which the miners have been paid for. will have to be wasted. As a whole, the total increase in cost would be approximately 60 cents per ton. On the possibility of recovering this amount depends the success of the washery. There are two advantages to be expected from the washery, the first, which occurs at the mine and which will be certain; the second, more difficult to estimate, because it depends upon convincing our customers that they should pay more for a better product.

Jan 1, 1924