Mineral Resources of Northern Ontario

Mr. President and Gentlemen, Your President in his invitation to me to speak to you today on the Mineral Resources of the North, stated that he was sure I had a message for you. To some of you this message may not be new; nevertheless I offer no apology, for the subject of the Mineral Resources of the North is great and varied enough to warrant repetition. In order that you may the better realize how close to your doors lie these wonderful mineral storehouses, let us take the trip from your own city.

Boarding a Pullman at 8.45 p.m. a glance into the smoker will likely reveal a mining engineer or two, a prospector who has made his pile, or has just been to the city to close a deal that is going to make his fortune, and a sprinkling of commercial travellers. Already you get a glimpse of the new life you are going to live on the morrow, for the subjects of discussion are for the most part connected with mining.

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Arthur A. Cole, B.A.Sc., is a graduate of McGill University. After graduation he spent some years in the gold and copper industries of British Columbia and in the iron industry in Quebec. Some fifteen years ago he returned to Ontario as Mining Engineer to the T. and N.O. Railway Commission, and has played a part in the great expansion of the mining industry in north-eastern Ontario. He is chairman of the committee which has had charge of the experiments in the production of peat for the governments of Ontario and the Dominion.

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In the morning, unless you are an early bird, the bright northern sun will find you well north of North Bay, skirting the shores of lake after lake, any one of which would gladden the heart of the most exacting camper, passing rushing rivers and tiny streams, edged by beaver meadow or rocky bluff, and flanked by the virgin forest of pine, spruce, birch, cedar and poplar, for the hardwood forests are already left behind farther south. The charms of this district are typified in one island-studded lake. If you combine the beauties of the 1,000 Islands with those of the Muskoka Lakes and then double them, you have Timagami, the "Queen of the North." After 100 miles of this Campers' Paradise, we suddenly come upon the bare rocky hills containing the silver mines, clustering round the town of Cobalt.

Most of you have a pretty good idea of what the Cobalt camp has produced in the past, so I do not intend to bore you with statistics. It will be enough to say that since the discovery of Cobalt, in the fall of 1903, the camp has produced at the rate of two tons of pure silver for every working day for nineteen years, and at the present time is producing at the rate 13/4 tons per working day. You will perhaps be more interested in knowing what the silver district is likely to produce in the future, and I am glad to have this opportunity to correct a misconception that many otherwise well-informed people entertain. I venture to state that I could find a number of men in this very room who have the idea that the Cobalt silver district is worked out, and that silver mining in this area is not worthy of any further serious consideration. Let me quote you the opinion of Cyril W. Knight, Assistant Provincial Geologist, who has recently completed the most comprehensive and at the same time detailed examination of the area. Mr. Knight says "mining will doubtless be carried on for generations either in or around Cobalt, or in the outlying areas of Gowganda, South Lorrain, Casey, Montreal River and elsewhere." (Applause)

The geology of the Cobalt Silver District is much better understood now than it was in the early years of the camp's activities, and as a result of careful geological work, mining development is now carried on much more scientifically than formerly. A good example of this has recently been shown in the Keeley Mine in South Lorrain. Years ago rich silver veins were discovered on the surface of this property. Money was supplied by a bank manager, but after this money was spent, with indifferent success, the mine closed down, the promoter died, the bank failed, and the bank manager went to jail. The mine was sold for a song, and lay idle for several years. A mining engineer who had faith in the property, after carefully studying the geological conditions, secured an option on it for English principals. Then the war broke out and little active work was done until after the signing of the armistice. It was not until within the last two years that the careful development programme began to reap the hoped for reward. Within the last few weeks a vein was encountered which now looks as it would surpass in size and richness, anything previously found in the district. Considering the past record of the camp, this is no small boast. In one round alone $100,000 worth of silver was broken down by the use of $25.00 worth of dynamite. (Applause)

Properties that have been closed down are being reopened and new producers are appearing so that instead of decreasing, silver production is actually rising. Only two days ago a small high grade shipment came out from Elk Lake, the first ore from this camp for years. Considerable revenue was also obtained by some silver mining companies from the cobalt metal contained in their ore and the high price of arsenic proved a blessing to the refiners. Travelling north from Cobalt, a part of the rich agricultural "Clay Belt" is soon entered, which is traversed by the railway for 25 miles before the gold country is entered. Two belts of sedimentary rocks are found running east and west, one to the north and the other to the south of the height-of-land, and varying from twenty-five to forty miles apart. Where these sedimentary rocks have quartz-porphyry, or feldspar-porphyry, associated with them the conditions seem favorable for the deposition of gold. In the northerly belt the Porcupine deposits have been located on the west, with the Croesus Mine and the Lightning River area on the east of the railway. In the southern belt the most important part so far developed, is the Kirkland Lake area, with Matachewan gold district on the west and Larder Lake on the east. This belt extends well over into the province of Quebec so that its total length is over 100 miles.

We cannot say that this gold country is the most important in the world, but it is significant that while the productions from all other gold countries are decreasing, Northern Ontario alone is increasing. Last year the production in gold was $21,000,000, an increase of 40% over the previous year, and this production would have been still greater had hydroelectric power development kept pace with mining development. With an adequate supply of power, which now seems assured, further increases will be shown in the future, and it is likely to be many years before the maximum production is reached. By the end of this year there will likely be some fifteen gold producers. Of these, ten are Canadian controlled and financed, four American, and one English, but this latter was first brought into production by Canadians. The production last year of the McIntyre Mine was $2,000,000, of the Dome Mine $4,000,000, but the greatest of all and now in fact the greatest gold mine in the world, was the Hollinger, with a production of $12,000,000. Remember that this is new wealth added to the country, a large part of which finds its way into the business of the City of Toronto. You will thus begin to realize if you have not already found out, that the Mining Industry is the bed rock on which the business of the Nation is founded. (Applause) .If you will think of the silver industry of the Cobalt district as having many productive years ahead of it, and the gold industry of Porcupine and Kirkland Lake (with a present production of over $25,000,000 annually), asbeing only in its infancy, we will be ready to proceed north to the town of Cochrane.

The present northern terminus of the T. & N.O. Ry. is at Cochrane, the junction point with the Transcontinental of the Canadian National Railways. With the intention of eventually reaching a port on tide-water on James Bay, the Ontario Government has awarded a contract for a seventy mile northerly extension, and already forty miles of steel have been laid. But you will ask, what is the object of this extension and where is the business for it to come from? The distance from Cochrane to Moose Factory following the survey line down the valleys of the Abitibi and the Moose, is 188 miles. The country traversed may be roughly divided into two parts, the "Clay Belt," and the "Coastal Plain," with an intermediate sandy transition area of about twenty-five miles.

The first seventy miles north of Cochrane crosses the "Clay Belt," and as this is similar to, and in fact part of the "Clay Belt" along the Transcontinental and south along the T. & N.O. Ry., the extension of the railway northward may be considered as part of the general plan of opening up the country for agricultural settlement, for which purpose we know it is admirably suited. The "Clay Belt" is well timbered, the most abundant tree as well as the most valuable, being the spruce, suitable mostly for pulp manufacture.

Then the waterpowers are an important factor. Roughly speaking, there are at present on six rivers between the Transcontinental and James Bay, about 600,000 undeveloped H.P. Along the T. & N.O. extension there are three important falls on the Abitibi River.

At Mileage 11-Long Sault Fall ____________________ 65 ft.

At Mileage 44-Island Portage Fall ____________ 55 ft.

At Mileage 70-Burnt Wood Rapid Fall------60 ft.

Abitibi Canyon Fall __________ 180 ft.

TOTAL--360 ft.

The "Coastal Plain" is low and swampy, sparsely timbered with a stunted growth mostly along the waterways. By placing pulp mills at strategic points, such as at the mouth of the Little Abitibi River, pulpwood might be floated down for treatment at such points. The soil may eventually be opened up for agriculture, but much drainage would be required and a top covering of a foot or so of moss or muskeg would have to be removed. Good crops can be grown, as I can testify, having seen an excellent garden at Moose Factory the first week of last September. Although agriculture, waterpowers, and the pulp and paper industry would undoubtedly supply a considerable volume of business for a railway, these would not be the main reason for an extension to James Bay. The Fisheries, and general Tourist Trade will be important factors, but the Mining Industry is likely to prove, as heretofore, by far the largest revenue producer.

A better understanding of the subject will be reached if we scan some of the early pages of Canadian History. At the outset we encounter the old rivalry between the English and French. In 1576 Sir Martin Frobisher searching for the North West Passage to China, made the first of his three voyages to Canada exploring part of Baffin Land north of what is now known as Hudson Strait. Here he found what he thought was gold and so gave up for the time being his quest for a short cut to China. This was a quarter of a century before Samuel de Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence on a similar quest. In 1610 Henry Hudson also looking for China, sailed through Hudson Strait and into the great inland ocean that now bears his name. He wintered on the south shore of James Bay where he was abandoned to his fate by his crew the following spring. Other explorers followed from time to time and though they did not find China, they found, like the French to the south, enormous profits in the fur trade. In May, 1670, a charter was granted by King Charles to "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay," later known as the Hudson Bay Company. Since that time the history of the country is the history of the Hudson Bay Company, with its clashes from time to time with the French from the south. One of the reasons that the information regarding this immense country is so meagre is its inaccessibility, but another very important factor is that the Hudson Bay Company had practically a monopoly of trade and discouraged, in every way possible, others from coming in. These two causes, namely, inaccessibility and the policy of the Hudson Bay Company, explain why we know so little about the Hudson Bay country, although it was discovered over 300 years ago.

An interesting sidelight bearing on the arbitrary legislative powers formerly wielded by the Hudson Bay Company is well shown in the matter of religious training at the Company's posts. Last year on my arrival at Moose Factory I was greeted by an Anglican clergyman and all the school children. I found that all the inhabitants at this Post were Anglicans. Previously I had noticed at Timagami that all the inhabitants were Roman Catholics and wondered at this unanimity. On enquiry I found that an old decision of the Company was that after the founding of a Post the first missionary on the ground was given exclusive rights and all others were excluded. It was a plain business proposition on the part of the Company to keep out what otherwise might prove a fruitful source of discord.

Now let us take an inventory of what we actually do know. Take a look at the geological map of North America. The area coloured terra cotta surrounding Hudson Bay like a great horse-shoe is known as the Archaean Protaxis, composed of preCambrian rocks, the ancient back bone of the continent. The area covered by these rocks comprises about 2,000,000 square miles, of which only a few hundred have been worked over in detail. But what are the results of this detailed work? South of Lake Superior in a southern extension of these old rocks are the vast iron deposits of the Mesabi Range and the world-famous copper deposits of Michigan. Passing north into Canadian territory, we find the largest known copper-nickel deposits in the world at Sudbury. Still further north, the silver deposits of Cobalt, and the gold of Porcupine and Kirkland Lake have already been referred to. Surely such a start should convert the worst pessimist into a most enthusiastic optimist. Let me repeat, this is the record after working over in detail a few hundred square miles of the most accessible part of a total of two million square miles. The key to most of this vast area is Hudson Bay. With the possible exception of Northern Siberia, this is the largest unprospected area remaining in the world. No matter what your political colour, I venture to guess that no one here would prefer the present government of Siberia to that of Canada or its provinces.. The trips that have been taken through this country by competent explorers can almost be counted on the fingers of one's two hands, but the information that they have brought back has been such as to encourage us to think that we will have repetitions of the discoveries already made to the south. Although no workable deposits have yet been found, occurrences of the following metals have been noted by these explorers, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, nickel, and cobalt, while among the non-metallic possibilities are coal, peat, gypsum, and oil. (Applause)

About the beginning of June the spring breakup takes place in the rivers, and navigation on the bays can be resumed a few days later. This navigation can be continued with reasonable safety, for five months, or to the end of October and often to the middle of November. Navigation in the bays is not dependent on the condition of ice in Hudson Strait. Here only three months of clear navigation can be counted on, August, September, and October.

The expenses of prospecting in this vast territory have hitherto been almost prohibitive. Apart from this, also, the time consumed in going to and from the point where exploration was to be made, was in itself so serious an obstacle that only a few government exploration parties have penetrated the interior. The result was that even with government parties, where the necessary funds were assured, the only rational method of extending the length of the exploration season, in order to make the result at all commensurate with the expenditure, was to winter in the north so as to be able to take up the work without delay as soon as the spring breakup took place. With the railway completed to a point on tide water, such as Moose Factory, it is reasonable to suppose that small steamers will be placed on these inland seas to look after the summer coastal traffic. Such craft should be very sea-worthy, of considerable carrying capacity but of shallow draft. With such small steamers making regular trips on the bays, a party could outfit at tidewater and be at almost any coast point desired, by the middle- of June. The party would then have a clear four months for exploration before it would be necessary, to make the return trip. The cost should not be excessive considering the facilities provided. It will require only one good discovery to start the flow of fortune seekers into this great north land and the area to be covered is so immense that many years must necessarily elapse before the mineral possibilities can be made known, even in the barest outline.

The exploration of this almost limitless Northland will be undertaken by a very different band of prospectors from those that flocked into Cobalt in the early days. The experience gained in the Sudbury, Cobalt, Porcupine, and Kirkland Lake camps will be invaluable when pushing farther north. The Ontario Department of Mines has done excellent work in keeping well abreast of exploratory work with accurate geological reports and maps. The result is that today the average prospector has a good working knowledge of the geology of the above-mentioned districts and is keenly alive to the value of acquiring all geological information available on the district he intends to investigate. This will make exploration much more effective, as time will not be wasted in unproductive areas, and work can be concentrated where geological conditions appear favorable. The old haphazard prospector will be superseded by a trained field man, familiar with the geological formations that are likely to be most productive. The element of chance cannot of course be eliminated but it can thus be greatly reduced. Another factor that may materially assist in the exploration of this territory, is the use of flying boats for the transportation of men and supplies and also in preliminary photographic mapping and geological work. Last September I had an excellent opportunity of testing the feasibility of using a flying boat for such work. Leaving Remi Lake, which is located about sixty miles west of Cochrane, we reached Moose Factory in three hours and five minutes a distance of about 200 miles. The next morning, leaving the Moose River, we proceeded east thirty miles along the shore of James Bay to Hannah Bay where we turned south and followed the west river for about fifty miles to Kesagami Lake. After making an examination of this lake, we returned to Moose Factory for lunch. In the late afternoon we returned to our starting point at Remi Lake, having taken in all about thirty-three hours to make the round trip. Actual flying time was eleven hours, covering a distance of over 600 miles. To make the same trip by canoe would likely have taken at least thirty days. (Applause)

The only possible rivals to the T. & N.O. in making accessible these inland seas, are the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railways. The C.P.R. could build a line north from the east side of Lake Timiskaming, but this would mean an extension of about 350 miles, as against another hundred for the T. & N.O. Railway; the business at the Bay would also be cut in two, so that the proposition would be that much less attractive. Under the circumstances, we may say that if the T. & N.O. is pushed through to the Bay, the C.P.R. is not likely to parallel it at least for several years. The Canadian National Railways has a line running down the Nelson, commonly known as the Hudson Bay Railway. This line is completed to within 100 miles of tide-water. The last 120 miles of constructed line is now out of commission through disuse, landslides and floods, so that if required, would practically have to be rebuilt. Moreover, it is generally conceded that the harbour at the mouth of the Nelson is unsuitable and that Churchill harbour will be chosen instead. This change of terminus will lengthen the line by another 100 miles, bringing the total length of line to be constructed to over 300 miles. Churchill harbour is 750 miles north-west of Moose Factory, is well north of the timber line and has a shorter summer season (Moose Factory is 100 miles closer to Toronto than it is to Churchill). The object of building this part of the Canadian National Railways was to cut down the rail haul on grain from the northwest. Do you think that the Canadian National Railways will complete a line that will add the cost of construction of 300 miles of railway to its capital account, in order to cut down its rail haul and lessen by a corresponding amount its gross receipts? It seems to me that this leaves the field open to the Ontario Government Railway alone. To reach tide water on James Bay and thus make accessible the mineral resources of this vast northern heritage is to my mind the main reason for the extension of the T. & N.O. Railway to James Bay The benefits of such an extension would not be confined to the Province of Ontario, for in the opening up of the Ungava Peninsula the Province of Quebec would be greatly benefited; but would not this be a fitting method of wiping out an ancient feud--the English Province of Ontario assisting in the opening up of the French Province of Quebec, to their mutual advantage and benefit? (Applause)

PRESIDENT WILKINSON extended the thanks of the Club to the speaker.