Phase Three, 1894 - 1906: The Return of Capital and an Improved Science and Technology

The Return of Capital and an Improved Science and Technology

The year 1894 marked the beginning of a new era in Goldenville⁽¹⁾ Ironically this same year was one of recession in other gold districts, reflecting economic difficulties in the United States, the source of much gold mining investment capital.⁽²⁾ However, it appears that the source of capital for these late 19^th-century developments in Goldenville was not the United States, but rather Nova Scotia, actually Pictou and Antigonish Counties. The Stellarton Gold Mining Company, The Springfield Gold Mining Company under the management of R MacNuaughton, as well as the activity of one John McQuarrie on the old Wentworth property brought welcome relief to the dullness of the previous years. In 1895 the New Glasgow Company began to develop some of the old properties. The following year, the Blue Nose Mining Company, organized by Thomas Cantley of the Springfield, Caledonia, Woodbine and Coburg properties. Gradually the production of Goldenville returned the Sherbrooke Gold District to the important rank it once had held.⁽³⁾

In addition to the return of investment capital in the '90s, there was an improvement in mining technology. The period following 1883-'84 saw the introduction of more systematic methods of exploration and development, as well as improved mining and milling techniques. Sections 5.2 and 5.4 include discussions of new mining techniques and their impact on Goldenville operations.

The improved and more efficient methods made it feasible to mine large quantities of low-grade ores profitably. Previously, mining had been restricted to the 'rich, coarse' gold, which was visible in narrow leads.

F.W. Christie, a mining engineer of the 1890s, compared the new to the old system of mining in the following manner:

The development of ideas … is illustrated by the change that is seen in comparing the workings of a mine in the earlier seventies with the workings that are now to be seen of later design. As the rich coarse gold was found in narrow main leads, this class was hunted for, the nature and value of deposits alongside was overlooked. A good example is illustrated by the sketch of the Lawson mine at Montague, where the workings were arried on in a lead four to six inches in thickness, giving as high as forty ounces to the ton, making an average as high five and one-half ounces to the ton for the work of the season. The workings were carried down on the lead for 300 feet and along its course about 50 feet. This narrow width of quartz in this extent of workings yielded about $200,000 giving about $100,000 such a narrow width of rock at the prices charged at that time for supplies and crushing, the work was stopped when the quantity of rich ore at the bottom decreased. Many mines worked in the earlier days on similar narrow leads, can now be worked by wider work reaching across several leads, or the quarry system of working by "open cuts" make it possible to select the quartz at a profit, and handle very large quantities of so-called black rock.⁽⁴⁾

Another development that facilitated a more systematic method of mining was the extensive topographical survey work of the various gold districts by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) throughout the 1880s and 1890s. E. Rodolphe Faribault's summers of fieldwork for the Geological Survey provided interest with the necessary data to develop more systematic exploration methods. The work also paved the way for Faribault's theory of deep mining which substantially transformed mining methods.⁽⁵⁾ (ILLUS. 18)

The earlier period of gold mining in the province had been marked by inexperienced miners and a technology that was, to some extent, still in its infancy. Channels of communications had been limited. Earlier discoveries had been reported with great detail in the Halifax and local newspapers but debates about latest techniques did not get the type of coverage that was available as Transactions of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia, the Industrial Advocate or even the Canadian Mining Manual.

The contribution of local, as well as national and international, scientists and mining interests had been an important element during the early phases of gold mining.

However, during the decade of the '90s this element of articipation increased.⁽⁶⁾ Mining engineers and geologists participated on a much wider scale than previously. Schools of engineering had been developed at Queen's University in Kingston, McGill University in Montreal and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Both graduates and professors of the above institutions were actively involved in the development of mining activities in this later period. In addition, the methods of professional scientists of this period often produced more detailed records and plans than had been available earlier.⁽⁷⁾

In spite of all these apparent advances, the mining developments of the '90s were short-lived. The Blue Nose ceased operations in 1904 after extensive operations since 1897; the Royal Oak, formed in 1899, suspended work in 1906. Again, in the early 1890's, the provincial mining department received no reports of activities in Goldenville.⁽⁸⁾ It is difficult to know precisely why operations ceased, especially after such a period of positive development and activity. However, the price of gold remained fixed at $18.00 per ounce although the costs of production had increased. In addition, the relationship between extensive underground and surface operations and actual gold production was not always a straight and narrow one. As had been the case previously, and would be again, much of this activity may have been a reflection of attempts to bolster the value of mining properties on the stock exchange more than an accurate reflection of the amount of gold being produced.⁽⁹⁾

1.

¹ G. R. Evans, op. cit., p. 110 - 11; Malcolm, op. cit., p. 232.

2.

² J. Morrison, Kejimkujik National Park: "We've Held Our Own", Manuscript Report Number 238, (Parks Canada, 1977) p. 78.

3.

³ W. Malcolm, op. cit., p. 232 - 33; B. T. A. Bell, Canadian Mining Review, 1899, lists dates of incorporation and boards of directors for Nova Scotian mining companies.

Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report, v.X, 1897, Summary Report, p. 110A: "The district once a center of much activity …, has been little worked the past 15 years, but within a year or two abandoned properties have been re-opened and worked with satisfactory results." B. T. A. Bell, ed., op. cit., 1897, p.117.

4.

⁴ F. W. Christie, "Gold Mining in Nova Scotia", Industrial Advocate, (Halifax),

xx, v.III, n.7 & 8, May and June 1898

G. W. Stuart, The Mining Number, 1903 (Halifax), p.32. Stuart described the old system of mining as simply "following the single veins, taking out as little as possible, doing all the drilling by hands besides the quartz vein proper doing the blasting with charcoal or black powder."

5.

⁵ W. Malcolm, op. cit., p. 14 - 18; See also Faribault's Map "Plan and Section of Goldenville Gold Mine District, 1897". Malcolm and H. C. Cooke, "Gold Deposits of Nova Scotia", (N. S. Department of Mines, Halifax), ILLUS. 18, in this report, p. 2; Geological Survey of Canada (hereafter referred to as GSC), Annual Report, v. XV, 1902 - 03. p. 422 - 23A.

6.

⁶ Names such as Gesner, H. Y. Hind, Silliman, and Hunt dominated the reports of the earlier phase of mining - see W. Malcolm, op. cit., p. 13 - 14. During the later period many of the mining interests were often related to academic institutions such as John Hardman, professor of mining at McGill as well as President of the Nova Mining Society and of the Canadian Institute of Mining; F. H. Mason, a lecturer of metallurgy at Dalhousie; F. W. Christie, mining engineer; and professor E. A. Holbrook. See W. Malcolm, op. cit., p. 14 - 15 and 311 - 319,; Wallace Dictionary of Canadian Biography, (Toronto: MacMillan Co. 1929) and H. Morgan, The Canadian Men and Women of Their Times: A Handbook of Canadian Biography of Living Characters, (Toronto: William Briggs, 1912).

7.

⁷ GSC, Annual Report, v.X, 1897, p. 104A; W. Malcolm, op. cit., p.16.

8.

⁸ W. Malcolm, op. cit., p. 232 - 36; N. S. RDM, 1897 - 1910.

9.

⁹ An Examination of the correspondence between J. B, Neily, President of Goldenville Mining Company and R. V. Neily, local plant manager, reveals how much of the activity in the mine was not financed by the gold production but rather capital raised on the American stock exchange. Throughout the summer and fall months of 1914, there was not enough gold being produced in the mine to regularly the mine's labour force. Neily Correspondence, May - September 1914. File @ PANS.