OM 1911(A) REPORT ON MINING OPERATIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DURING THE YEAR 1911 province of O.11CbCC, Callan DEPARTMENT OF COLONIZATION, MINES AND FISHERIES MINES BRANCH HoNoltABLE C. R. DEVLIN, MINISTER; S. DUFAULT, DEPUTY-MINISTER; THEO. C. DENIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF MINES, REPORT ON MINING OPERATIONS IN THE, PROVINCE OF QU DURING THE YEAR 1911 QUEBEC PRINTED BY L. V. FILT.EAU, Printer to His Most Excellent Majesty the King, 1 9 1 2 province of (2uebec, Canada DEPARTMENT OF COLONIZATION, MINES AND FISHERIES MINES BRANCH HONORABLE C. R. DEVLIN, MINISTER; S. DUFAULT, DEPUTY-MINISTEa; THEO. C. DENIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF MINES. REPORT ON 1VIINING OPERATIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DURING THE YEAR 1911 QUEBEC PRINTED BY L. V. FILTEAU, Printer to His Most Excellent Majesty the King, 1912 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE. Letters of transmittal 4-5 Statistical Review 7 Progress of Mining Industry 8 Mining law 11 Asbestos 17 Copper and Sulphur ores 21 Gold and Silver 23 Chromite 25 Iron 25 Zinc and Lead 26 Mica 28 Phosphate 29 Graphite 30 Peat 31 Building Materials 31 Mining Accidents 42 Report on Montreal quarries.. 52 Report on Titaniferous iron ores 71 Report on Magnetic Sands 135 Report on Keekeek and Kewagr va lakes region 160 PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DEPARTMENT OF COLONIZATION, MINES, AND FISHERIES To the Honourable C. R. DEVLIN, M.L.A., Minister of Colonization, Mines and Fisheries, QUEBEC, P.Q. SIR,- I have the honour to transmit herewith the Report of the Superintendent of Mines, on the Mining Operations in the Province of Quebec, during the year ending December 31st,. 1911. I remain, Your obedient servant, S. DUFAULT, Deputy Minister_ Quebec, May 3rd, 1912. PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DEPARTMENT OF COLONIZATION, MINES, AND FISHERIES MINES BRANCH MR. S. DTFAULT, Deputy Minister Colonization, Mines and Fisheries, QUEBEC, P.Q. DEAR SIR,- I beg to transmit herewith the Annual Report on the Mining Operations in the Province of Quebec for the year ending Decem- ber 31st, 1911. As in previous years, this report was preceded by a short Pre- liminary statement, published in February, which gave statistics of the Mineral Production. The figures were given subject to revision. They are now presented as finally established, and this report therefore supersedes the Preliminary statement. I remain, Yours obediently, THRO. C. DENIS, Superintendent of Mines. Quebec, May 3rd, 1912. MINING OPERATIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DURING THE YEAR 1911 STATISTICAL REVIEW. According to the returns received by the Quebec Mines Branch from the producers, the mineral production of the Province dur- ing the year 1911 reached a total value of $8,679,786. This re- presents an increase of $1,356,505 as compared with the previous year, when the value of the mineral production was S7,323,281. It is gratifying to note that the last ten years present an un- broken record of yearly increases, which shows that our mineral industry is on a well established basis and although no specta- cular discoveries of new mining districts have been made, the development has been continuous and steady and is likely to progress for a long time to come. The following table gives the total value of the mineral pro- .duction of the Province of Quebec for each year since 1899 Year. Value 1899 $2,083,272 1900 2,546,076 1901 2,997,731 1902 2 ,985 ,463 1903 2,772,762 1904 3,023,568 1905 3,750,300 1906 5,019,932 1907 5,391,368 1908 5,458,998 1909 5,552,062 1910 7 ,323 ,281 1911 8,679,786 Table of the Mineral Production of the Province of Quebec in 1911 Quan- Value in Number of Salaries Value Workmen tities 1919 Asbestos, tons 2,911 $1,228,071 10'2,221 $3.026,306 $2,677,829 Asbestic, tons. 25,733 19,8021 17,612 Copper & Sulphur. Ore, tons 178 100,130 38,554 240,097 145,165 Gold, oz 590 11,800' . Silver, oz 23,(1(1(1 11.500 ,~~ . ... Bog Iron Ore, tons. si8, 6,100 931 4,041 4,406 Ochres, tons 50 I 15,518 I 3,612 28,174 33,185 Chromite, tons 13 I 3,08.5 197 2,469 3,734 Mica, lbs 186 48,101 76,428 51,901 Phosphate, tons.. 5 ~ 595 5,832 3,182 Graphite, lbs 274 I 64,535 753,405 33,613 15,896 Mineral Waters, gals 36 5,645 1 168,489 65,648 68,155 Titaniferous Ores , tons 26 724 3,789 5,684 5,292 Slate 25 7,599 8,248 18,492 Cement, bbls.. 627 443,842 1,588,283' 1,931,183 1,954,646 Magnesite, tons.... 81 3,194 8851 6,-116 2,160 Marble 170 105,739 143,457 151,103 Flagstone, squares.. 2 500 6 I 500 890 Granite 423 239,704 308,545 291,240 Lime, bushels 226 118,171 1,284,914 284,334 279,306 I Limestone 1,255 569,818 1,128,402 503,173 Bricks, M .... 1,280 362,663 176,532 j 1,129,480 906,375 Tiles, Drain & Seweri Pipe, Pottery, etc. 21 3,922 142,223 197,526 Quartz, tons. 500 I 1,125 2,013 Feldspar, tons 30 : 600 Peat, tons 12 3,000 175 700 Glass Sand 2 413 440 1,179 Sand... .. 68 34,206 62,000 Totals 7846 $3,365,803 $,8,679,786 $7,323,281 TEE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 9 PROGRESS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY. For the years previous to 1899 the statistics collected by the 'Quebec Mines Branch are incomplete. If we compare the total for 1899 with that of the past year 1911, we see that the increase in twelve years has been 316°x, a very creditable showing indeed. In this conection, it may be interesting to compare the pro- gress of the mineral industry in Canada and in the other prow' inces during these twelve years, from 1899 to 1911. For the sake of uniformity in the comparisons, the figures, as established by the Federal Department of Mines, are taken as basis. It 'may be said that these figures are always higher than the ones given by the Provincial Departments of Mines, owing to differ- ,ent methods of computation of value of the metallic substances, but this does not affect the relative proportions. COMPARISON OF THE VALUE OF THE MINERAL PRODUCTION, 1899-1911. Proportional Production in Production in Increase in 1899 1.911 12 years. 'Canada $49,234,005... $102,291,696.... 107.7% Ontario 9,819,557... 42,672,904.... 334.5% British Columbia . 12,653,860... • 21,237,801.... 67.9% :Nova Scotia 6,996,041... • 15,354,928.... 119.5% 'Quebec 2,585,635... 9,087,698.... 251.5% We see by the above table that the proportional progress of -the mineral industry of the Province of Quebec has only been exceeded by Ontario. The production of the Cobalt camp is -responsible for this remarkable increase in our sister province. "There are in Northern Quebec and more particularly in North- western Quebec, large tracts of country which have been ex- plored only in the most superficial manner. The geological con- ditions in these regions appear to be very similar to those which accompany the metalliferous deposits of Cobalt, Porcupine and Sudbury. Should similar resources be discovered on the Quebec -side, the future proportional increase would rise considerably. 10 MININO Or'ERATIONS N L N]'ROSPECTED AREAS N THE PROVINCE OF QTTEREC. The Province of Quebec, until lately, comprised an area of . about 852,000 square miles. On May 1.4h. 1912, the super- ficies of the Province was more than doubled by the addition of Lngava. Of this vast territory of more than 708,000 square miles, an area of approximately 50,000 square miles is settled and comparatively well known from the standpoint of its nun- eral resources. It is a remarkable fact that these colonized agricultural regions are wholly responsible for the total of our - mineral production and that the unsettled parts of our province have not vet contributed to it. When we consider the remain- ing hundreds of thousands of square miles which are practically unprospected, and which are fraught with mineral possibilities,_ a great future can safely be predicted for our :Mineral Industry. RATL\AYS IN NORTHERN QTTE131;C. \ ithin a comparatively short time, trains will be running on the National Transcontinental Railway from Quebec City to Lake Abitibi. A railway line along the Quebec side of Lake Temiskaming, connecting the agricultural settlements of North- ern Tenuisk,uning with the main line of the Canadian Pacific- Railway, is practically an assured fact. This line will, in all probability, he extended northward to the Transcontinental Railway. Another railway is projected to connect the mouth of the Nottaway, on James Bay, with Montreal. These arc apart from the numerous branch lines which always are a natural consequence of main lines, and which act as feeders. RAILWAYS AN]) THI? MINERAL IVDUSTRY. The building of all these railway lines rests primordially on the agricultural and forest resources of the regions traversed, and' as means of transportation to connect Western Canada with the. East, but it is very probable that the mining industry will even- tually greatly contribute its share to the success of the railways. There have been many precedents in this respect. In our owner THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 31 Province, the Quebec Central Railway, connecting Sherbrooke and Quebec, was built to afford transportation along the rich. agricultural valleys of the Chaudière and St. Francis Rivers, but at present the asbestos mines of Thetford and Black Lake, which were discovered on the railway lino during construction, are the main freight contributors.