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By C. J. Mwenifumbo

Preservation of groundwater quality is a major environmental concern. The disposal of hazardous material from urban waste dumps, milling wastes in tailings ponds, and industrial wastes in injection wells may contaminate potential sources of potable groundwater. The containment or migration of contaminants in the subsurface depends on bedrock characteristics and type of overlying sediments. Fractured bedrock and permeable sediments that may provide pathways for the transport of potentially harmful contaminants should be avoided when selecting a disposal site. The role of borehole geophysics in hazardous waste-site investigations is reviewed in three categories: (I) site selection; (2) determination of the extent of contamination at existing sites; and (3) long-term monitoring of migration of contaminants. In the first category, borehole geophysical techniques developed for lithology and fracture identification, and for porosity determination, provide some of the necessary information for understanding the subsurface hydrogeology. Lithological information can be obtained from gamma-ray, electrical resistivity, induction, magnetic susceptibility, and sometimes induced polarization logs; fracture detection and characterization can be accomplished with the use of caliper, density, resistivity, temperature, and acoustic televiewer logs. Estimates of porosity are derived primarily from neutron-neutron, resistivity, density, and soniclogs. Borehole geophysical techniques used in water quality determinations include self-potential, fluid resistivity, Eh (redox potentials) and pH measurements, and these can be used to map the extent of contamination at an existing waste site. Cross borehole and borehole-to-surface electrical methods can also be used in this application. Long-term monitoring of contaminant migration in boreholes can be accomplished with techniques that respond to changes in electrical conductivity, temperature and fluid chemistry caused by the presence of contaminants.

Jan 1, 1993

By D. E. Macdonald

"Approximately 2.0 million tonnes of phosphate rock is imported from the U.S. to Alberta annually and is used in the production of agricultural fertilizers. No phosphate rock is presently mined in Canada, although sources of igneous phosphate have been mined in the past. Sedimentary phosphate rock is found in nine geological units within the Cordilleran Foothills and Front Ranges region of Alberta. The Devonian-Mississippian Exshaw Formation, Permo-Pennsylvanian Rocky Mountain Supergroup, and the Jurassic Fernie Formation have the best potential f or future development. Most of the phosphate rock in Alberta is of low grade and lies within restricted land use areas. The best over-all resource potential lies in the Fernie basin area of southeastern British Columbia, in the Fernie Formation. The possibility of deep phosphate rock deposits in the plains region should be examined.Phosphate rock is mined in Idaho, Utah, Montana and Florida, and is shipped to Canadian fertilizer plants for processing. Raw phosphate rock is acidified, usually with sulphuric acid, by a wet process. Varying amounts of ammonia are added, and the fertilizer is pelletized. Future research, in western Canada, is needed in the beneficiating of low-grade ores and in the area of in situ mining. At the present time, phosphate rock sells for around US$50Itonne, and Alberta fertilizer companies probably pay in the range of C$7D-$85Itonne for U.S. phosphate rock delivered to the plant. Environmental concerns about phosphate rock processing are centred around gypsum tailing ponds, and radioactive wastes.U.S. supplies of phosphate rock are secure until the year 2000; however, by this time, the richer deposits in the U.S. may be exhausted. Alternate deposits, such as the ones in Alberta and British Columbia, might then be considered. Phosphate byproducts, such as uranium, vanadium, fluorine and rare earth elements, may help in making the processing of low-grade Canadian phosphates economically feasible."

Jan 1, 1988

By M. Cossette, V. H. Tran

"How can the durability of asphalt pavement be doubled without increasing highway budgets? Asphalt containing asbestos can provide the desired performance with additional costs being made up by longer life. The addition of a low percentage of asbestos to an asphalt mix permits a higher asphalt content without any consequent loss in stability. It is mainly the higher asphalt content that provides improved performance and durability, although the fibrous reinforcement plays a key role in preventing the propagation of micro-fissures. As well, several international studies show that, thanks to the latest production techniques, no environmental hazards need be incurred.RésuméComment doubler la durée des chaussées d'asphalte sans augmenter les budgets de voirie? L’asphalte contenant de l'amiante peut offrir les performances souhaitées et l'augmentation des couts initiaux peut être rapidement compensée par une durée prolongée. L’addition d'une faible teneur en amiante courte il l'enrobe de bitume permet des teneurs en bitume plus élevées sans subir une perte de stabilité en conséquence. C'est principalement la teneur accrue en bitume qui assure un améliorations propriétés physiques et une augmentation des performances mécaniques, ainsi qu'on prolongement de la durée. Cependant, le renforcement fibreux joue un rôle clef en prévenant la propagation éventuelles micro-fissures. Les nouvelles techniques évitent tous risques environnementaux"

Jan 1, 1991

By R. M. BUCHANAN

The segment of Canadian industry based on smelting of alum in um and manufacture of consumer products is based entirely on imported alumina and bauxite. In the absence of Canadian bauxite deposits, consideration of anorthosite, a less desirable aluminous rock, is being undertaken as one alternative in maintaining assurance of supply. Anorthosites in Canada cover many thousands of square kilometres of the Precambrian Shield. Although compositions vary widely among Canadian anorthosites, many appear to exceed the specified minimum of 25% A I 20 3 in bodies containing more than the required JOO million tonnes. A lthough most Canadian anorthosites are of Precambrian age, one located in British Columbia has been identified as being Middle _Cretaceous.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. Kouame, M. D. Everell, D. Hodouin, T. Kasongo

"To properly operate a mineral beneficiation plant it is often necessary to have systematic evaluations of the performances of a piece of machinery, of one of the processes or of the plant as a whole. The state of a process can be described from a collection of data: flow-rate values, particle-size distributions and chemical compositions of the various streams of the circuit studied.However, the obtained raw data are generally redundant and inconsistent from a material balance viewpoint, due to natural disturbances, sampling errors, unreliable instrument readouts and laboratory analysis inaccuracies.BILMAT is a computer program which upgrades mineral processing data, adjusting them in a least-squares sense in order that they may verify material conservation constraints. As a consequence, the program is able to calculate the best values of unmeasured flow rates (such as. circulating load ratios). BILMAT is a very general program in the sense that it can accept various data from any type of mineral processing circuit, and its usefulness is demonstrated here for three processing circuits of a pyrochlore concentration plant: grinding, desliming and flotation.IntroductionComputation of the material balance around any metallurgical process, that is the determination of stream flow rates and composition. is a basic step in its evaluation. In spite of the simplicity of the physical laws of mass conservation. and of the very fundamental need to know the flow of components around a process. it appears, particularly in mineral processing. that material balancing is quite often a difficult task. The reasons for this involve the problems associated with collecting measurements in mineral dressing plants. They are generally poorly instrumented and invariably data must be collected through hand sampling. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the streams, segregation occurs and samples are often not adequately representative, a problem made worse by the lack of circuit sampling facilities, which are often completely ignored by plant designers. Furthermore, the nature of the measurements to be performed (for instance particle size distributions in the fine range) frequently gives inaccurate results."

Jan 1, 1981

By Charles G. Kemsley

MR. C. R. WHITTEMORE: It is interesting to note that the mining industry is making increased use of alloy steels for drilling. They will undoubtedly lead to greater footage at lesser cost. Mr. Kemsley states that, for use in hard ground, the shanks are brought to a hardness of 435 to 440 Brinell by heating them to approximately l,800°F. It seems to me that this temperature is excessively high-it is considerably above the critical point of the steel. The only effect of such a high temperature is to lessen considerably the impact resistance of the steel. The possibilities of an oil quench, followed by a tempering draw which does not lessen the hardness of the steel too much but increases its toughness, might well repay further study; also the temperature control, a factor which depends on the composition of the steel. However, service results are undoubtedly the best criterion of practice. MR. KEMSLEY: I would like to point out that the steel is not quenched at 1,800°F. After heating to this temperature, it is laid aside to cool gradually; this high temperature is necessary to produce the required hardness by simple normalizing-cooling in still air. We all know that ideal conditions for hardening steel demand salt baths and furnaces with automatic temperature control, but for most companies the cost of such equipment having sufficient output capacity is prohibitive. The end we are trying to attain is to make good drills at a cost that will be within the means of any mine.

Jan 1, 1942

By Nigel J. Cook

"Detailed mineralogical examination of gold-bearing rocks, ores, concentrates and other samples should be considered an integral part of any study of a deposit for which exploitation is being planned. Adequate mineralogical study, although time consuming and often costly, can significantly improve understanding of the mineralization, can help to optimize the results of any metallurgical testing and can be of great value in case of potential trouble-shooting. The advantages and disadvantages of various examination techniques are discussed with reference to a number oj mineralogical studies oj Canadian gold-bearing samples.IntroductionVarious authors, notably Gasparrini (1983), Harris (1989) and Henley (1990), have stressed that mineralogical study of gold ores is critical to successful and efficient beneficiation. Only in cases where diagnostic cyanide leach testing is successful can detailed mineralogical examination be disregarded. Such examination of gold-bearing rocks and metallurgical products is all too often neglected because the methods involved are believed to be time-consuming, costly, and may carry a considerable degree of inaccuracy. Commonly, bulk metallurgical testing is, carried out without prior or concurrent mineralogical examination, causing the results of the testwork to be difficult to interpret, or in some cases, misleading. This, in turn, may lead to> significant delays to the project at the feasibility stage or mean that understanding of the sample is limited, preventing the introduction of prudent modifications at a later stage if problems arise. Mineralogical studies may guide the successful implementation of a metallurgical test program."

Jan 1, 1990

By A. B. Szwilski

"The various elements of longwall mine design are reviewed, particularly as they apply to condition s in the coalfields of the Plains region of Alberta. The following recommendations are made: (1) optimum panel lengths of 1000 to 2000 metres; (2) face lengths of 100 to 150 metres; (3) the use of retreat methods; (4) the restriction of floor undulations to less than 15 degrees. IntroductionThis article considers the elements of longwall mine design and is part of a short study that has been made of the feasibility of longwall mining in the Plains region, Alberta, Canada. The Plains region, with about 20 million tonnes, accounts for more than 80% of the coal resources of Alberta. The coalbearing strata in the Plains region cover an area of about 95,000 square miles. The geological formations dip very gently toward the southwest and, from a mining point of view, may be considered horizontal. The depth of the coal seams varies from several metres to over 650 metres. However, it is not anticipated that underground mining will be extended beyond the depth range of 25 to 250 metre s.The coal seams in the Plains region have been subject to many small mining operations in the past. The majority of these small mines were limited to a depth of about 50 metres, working mainly by room-and-pillar methods, although hand-filled longwall mining was often used.The development of new underground mining operations in the Plains region will have to be on a 'start-from-scratch' basis, especially regarding the installation of equipment. Longwall mining is more mechanized than any other method of mining and requires careful attention for the selection of new and expensive equipment. There have been many proven longwall advance and retreat systems in Europe and North America; mining conditions in the Plains region are more similar to those in the United States. Therefore, it will be essential for new mining pro jects in the Plains region to commence with proven system s and equipment; in time, perhaps an experimentation process could be attempted as experience is gained.Generally, the coal face is the key factor in mine productivity, which depends a great deal on equipment reliability, training and experience of the operators. The original design of coal faces must be flexible enough to cater for potential improvements so that running time can be increased."

Jan 1, 1980

By K. Tsuchihashi, A. Kishimoto, T. Uda, Y. Kado, S. Maruyama

We recently proposed a continuous production process for titanium metal with some experimental results. In the process, titanium tetrachloride is reduced by Mg in the presences of Bi to form a Bi-Ti alloy at 900ºC. At this temperature, the obtained alloy is liquid and allows for the continuous removal of product and heat from the reaction vessel. The obtained Bi-Ti alloy was vacuum-distilled at 1000ºC for 24 hr, and 98 at % (92 wt %) titanium, which was easily crashed to powder, was obtained. Bi solvent was selected because of the highest titanium solubility at 900ºC and the moderate vapor pressure among the candidate metals (Bi, Sn, Pb, Zn, and Sb).

Jan 1, 2014

By K. Turgeon, D. Larivière, L. Whitty-Léveillé, J. -F. Boulanger, C. Bazin

"The processing of ore containing rare earth elements leads to the production of an impure solution of these elements. The separation of the rare earths from the impurities and the production of individual elements is usually carried out by solvent extraction. The effectiveness of the extraction conditions and of the reagents is generally tested in the laboratory. This paper deals with the processing of results from solvent extraction laboratory tests planned to generate data redundancy. A method is proposed to take advantage of the data redundancy by accounting for the pH variation during the extraction. The parallel processing of several tests also allows estimating the equilibrium constants for the extraction. The proposed method produces equilibrium constants that are more reproducible than values estimated using conventional approaches. The method is illustrated with solvent extraction tests conducted on synthetic solutions of rare earth elements.INTRODUCTIONThe processing of ores containing rare earth elements (REE) usually includes the production of a concentrate of the minerals carrying the REE. These minerals, for instance monazite and bastnäsite, contain the 14 elements from La to Lu plus yttrium and scandium. As an example monazite has the general formula of (La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Eu,Gd,Tb,Dy…Lu)PO4 with a typical lanthanum content of 20-26%, cerium content of 40-50%, praseodymium of 4-6%, neodymium of 16 to 20%, and decreasing concentrations of heavier elements (Gupta & Krishnamurthy, 2005). During the processing of a REE mineral, it is generally not possible to isolate and separate a single REE from all the rest. The mineral molecules need to be broken (usually via a heat treatment followed by leaching with a base and/or an acid) to produce an aqueous solution of the REE of the ore. After purification of the solution, the REE can be precipitated as a bulk concentrate and sold to a refinery that separates the REE into particular groups of REE such as the light versus heavy REE or into individual elements such as lanthanum, neodymium, or europium oxides to yield value-added products."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ronald E. Pike

"PREFACEAt the CIM Annual General Meeting in Quebec City, R.E. Pike of The Toronto-Dominion Bank described how the Canadian banking industry worked with the minerals industry to assemble the large capital requirements for resource projects in Canada and overseas. He developed a profile of the mining industry and Canadian banking, both being important sectors of the Canadian economy and global in context. He also outlined the banking and financing partnership that existed in the past. In looking to the future and challenge that lies ahead f or each industry, Mr. Pike questioned whether the financing practices of the 1970s will be acceptable over the next decade. In that regard, he highlighted the risks that impact on each industry and illustrated how that financing partnership might evolve in response to those forces. The folio wing is a synopsis of his paper.IntroductionThe Canadian mining and metals industry is prominent in the domestic economy and respected internationally. Any measure of its performance illustrates that status-percentage of GNP, employment, exports, capital investment, size relative to other producing nations, etc.Energy, Mines and Resources Canada has forecast that the non-fuel minerals industry will grow in real terms by an average annual rate of 3.0% over the period 1981 to 1991. Using the GNP as reference, that growth in non-fuel mineral production will represent 7.7% of GNP. In translating that growth to capital expenditure, the EMR Canada estimates the aggregate amount at $43.8 billion ('79 dollars) or approximately 12% of total business investment in Canada during the 10-year period.About half of the $43.8 billion will be devoted to the ferrous sector-$8.4 billion in iron ore mining and $12.4 billion in the steel industry. Capital investment in nonferrous s projects is estimated at $13.3 billion, and it is projected at $6.7 billion for industrial minerals. The residual $3.0 .billion is exploration spending."

Jan 1, 1982

By Cale J. Dubois

At Cameco Corporations' Cigar Lake Project, large excavations are developed on the 480 Level and 500 Level must remain stable for at least 15 years to host underground processing infrastructure. Following the successful dewatering of the mine in October 2009, subsequent internal rockmechanics investigations augmented by third party technical investigations; determined that to keep the back of the Water Flush Crusher/Run-of-Mine (WFC/ROMs) excavation stable; required a rehabilitation strategy to mitigate deterioration/deformation of the WFC walls and intersection pillars. The mechanism of failure propagating the movement of the excavation walls is understood to be controlled by the presence of a dominant E-W striking and steeply dipping foliation within a relatively weak and mildly altered rockmass sub-parallel in strike with 14 meters high walls and an intersection span approaching 15 meters. The application of open and resourceful communications between site mining engineers, geologists, contract mining staff, construction management experts, corporate mining and civil engineers, and third party technical experts resulted in a multi-faceted short-term ground support strategy consisting of standard bolting and screening, deep-seated modified-strand cable bolts coupled with heavy gauge mesh straps, rockmass reconditioning using low-pressure grout injection, and horizontal cable-lacing for the intersection pillars applied in lifts using a top-down methodology. The intention of the short-term strategy was to stabilize the excavation so that a long-term structural steel support installation - consisting of composite concrete walls, and arch support applied to the side walls and crown of the back - could be constructed safely. This paper summarizes the evolution of the short and long-term ground support strategy and criteria for the WFC/ROMs excavation developed using elements of civil, mining and hydrogeologic design.

Nov 1, 2011

By G. Landry

"IntroductionThe Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC) is constantly searching for new technologies that will enhance the marketability of its coal. One technology which shows promise in utilizing Cape Breton coal while at the same time addressing the traditional problem of high sulphur inherent in the Sydney coalfield, is coal-water fuel (CWF).The CWF process incorporates a physical change of coal by grinding it to a flour-like consistency and then mixing additives with it to make a fine coal slurry. The result is a liquid dispersion of fine coal particles that looks like oil, stores and flows like oil but burns like coal. The equipment used in the CWF process is standard mineral processing equipment but application of the equipment to manufacture a specific coal particle size and the specified additives used in the mixing make it a unique technology.The product, which CBDC calls Carbofuel, consists of 70% coal, 29.5% water and 0.5% chemical additives. The key properties of the product are: (I) high solids loading, (2) medium viscosity levels, (3) stability against sedimentation, and (4) good atomization behaviour. Carbofuel specifications are presented in Table I. Carbofuel ProductionThe production of Carbofuel is based on the controlled processing of coal. This involves wet grinding of the coal to a specified fine size (-250 um), cleaning this fine product to remove mineral impurities and formulating (with chemical additives) a finalproduct from the cleaned coal. The flow diagram in Figure 1 indicates the processing circuit for Carbofuel production.CBDC operates a 7-tonne-per-hour continuous production plant complete with state-of-the-art control, full laboratory services, product storage and loadout facilities. The plant has operated since 1983 and has produced over 12000 tonnes for several major demonstrations. The plant is shown in Figure 2."

Jan 1, 1987

The Autogenous milling of ores holds an increasing attraction as the focus moves towards reducing energy usage, both direct and embodied in grinding media. However, most of the early AG mills were converted to SAG for improved stability and increased throughput. This imposes a huge penalty in steel grinding media consumption. The LKAB iron ore operations in Sweden process highgrade magnetite through fully-autogenous milling lines to a final product P80 of about 45µm. The outcomes of P9O AMIRA research surveys, covering a wide range of mill fillings and throughputs and with different feed blends, are presented. Insights are provided on operational strategies, opportunities, the influence of feed size control and balancing the blend of competent gangue and softer magnetite. Areas of importance in the successful operation and control of energy-efficient autogenous circuits are highlighted.

Jan 1, 2012

By V. Itkin

"Three methods were tested for the beneficiation of aluminum scrap, generated by heavy medium separation of non-ferrous automobile scrap residue. These were: crushing in a shredder followed by screening; grinding in a ball miff followed by screening; and eddy current separation. The best results were obtained with the grinding-screening method. IntroductionThe usual method of aluminum alloy reclamation from non-ferrous automobile scrap residue consists of a two-step heavy medium separation to remove materials lighter than and heavier than aluminum. The resulting aluminum scrap still contains over 15% impurities such as stones and glass, heavy rubber, insulated copper wire , plastics and heavy metals entrapped by macerated aluminum piece s, composite fragments, etc.(2). Upon melting, these impurities create difficulties and yield a low ingot recovery-65% to 70%, hence small foundries avoid this material.There are a number of ways to improve the quality of aluminum scrap such as:(1 ) crushing of the scrap, which powders the brittle content , a major impurity component, followed by screening out of the dust(2) eddy current separation , which removes metals from the material flow, and(3) implement better methods for density separation.The eddy current separation and two variants of the comminution-screening technique were studied by Intermetco Ltd., Hamilton , Ontario."

Jan 1, 1986

By The Staff

"IntroductionThe published information concerning treatment of uranium ores has been very limited as far as Canadian ores are concerned. Such information has dealt mainly with refining processes for concentrates or rich ores, designed to recover radium rather than uranium; these methods could not be economically applied to low-grade ores.The purpose of this paper is to describe treatment possibilities for some of the .ores that have been treated at the Mines Branch, and .to show how the character of these ores influences methods and results.What is a Uranium Ore?Prospecting for uranium has been extremely active during the past two years and a great many occurrences of radioactive minerals have been recorded. Such prospecting has been based to a large extent on the use of the Geiger counter in the fie1d. This equipment is an invaluable aid when the results are properly interpreted.Most definitely, indications of high radioactivity do not always prove the presence of a valuable orebody. First we have to determine:(1) Is the radioactivity due to uranium or to thorium. There is no immediate market for thorium.(2) Can the uranium in the ore be economically recovered.Chemical analysis is the most exact method of determining uranium content, but a fair estimate of the uranium, and also of the thorium, content can be made from the difference in gamma and beta activity. The Mines Branch guards against misinterpretation by determining both beta and gamma activities and, if more than a minor amount of thorium is indicated, then a Chemical analysis is made."

Jan 1, 1950

By Philippe Monier, Frank C. Basham

"This paper outlines the scope and applications of 'COALMOD', the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources' computerized financial simulation model for coal mining developments. After a description of the computer system and language of implementation, the logic and scope of current model sub-routines are presented. This is followed by a presentation of examples on the current applications of the model to public policy evaluation, including benefit-cost analysis, fiscal analysis and evaluation of the effects of public infrastructure investments made in support of mining projects.IntroductionThis presentation has been developed in response to a number of requests from coal mining companies and various public agencies who have indicated interest in understanding our application of contemporary analytical techniques to public policy in the coal sector. In particular, the subject of this paper is an explanation of COALMOD. a mnemonic given to a computerized, mine-specific, financial simulation model which is assisting the Government of British Columbia in evaluations of new coal projects, assessment of public sector investments made in support of these projects and. more generally, measurement of the financial effects of current or proposed government policies, and factors outside immediate government control such as coal prices and transportation costs."

Jan 1, 1981

By C E. Gordon Brown

Aircraft utilization, weather and cost data are given for three separate projects north of the sixtieth parallel in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory. These operations, carried out by helicopter-equipped geological and prospecting parties, have cost $24 to $30 per square mile, depending principally on the distance from the base. They provide adequate surface exploration of areas with 40 to 50 per cent rock outcrop. A good one-inch-to-one-mile geological map can be made. T HE exploration of the Canadian northland has been given increasing attention by the mining industry during recent years. In many cases, the initial problem is to make an adequate reconnaissance of a large area where existing geological information is meagre. The Geological Survey of Canada pioneered the use of helicopter-equipped geological parties for mapping at a scale of eight miles to the inch.

Jan 1, 1964

By G. Macfarlane

"In 1985, a crushing plant, located in the feed preparation area of Kidd Creek's copper smelter, was modified. The plant, which originally had treated only copper-bearing materials for the smeller, at a rate of 10 tonnes per hour, was expanded to 40 tonnes per hour capacity and modified to treat silica ores to meet the smelter’s flux requirement and also gold ores from the company's Hoyle Pond property. In the storage area adjacent to the crushing plant a 300 tonne per day gold mill was constructed.This paper outlines the construction and first year of operation of the crushing plant and gold mill with emphasis placed on the capital and operating advantages to be gained by utilizing an existing metallurgical infrastructure.IntroductionThe Kidd Creek Mines Ltd. copper-zinc-silver orebody is located 24 km north of Timmins, in Northern Ontario . Mining of this massive sulphide de posit commenced in 1966 and, in the ensuing years, a concentrator and zinc plant were constructed at the metallurgical complex, approximately 17 km by rail from the mine site . At this same site, in 1981, a copper smelter and refinery were commissioned. The smelter which utilizes the Mitsubishi smelting process for the continuous production of blister copper from copper concentrate, has been comprehensively described in previous papers.At the time of the smelter construction, a small (10 tonnes per hour) crushing plant was installed in the smelter's feed preparation area. This plant was used to treat the copper-bearing revert material produced by the smelter, and, apart from periods when slags and matte were produced through furnace drainage at the end of each operating campaign, it was generally under-utilized. This fact, together with the requirement to devise a more cost effective method of providing silica flux for the smelting operation, was the basic rationale for modifying and expanding and crushing plan t. At the same time, development at Kidd's Hoyle Pond orebody had progressed to such a stage that a gold mill of 300 tonnes per day was warranted."

Jan 1, 1988

By Andrew Cormier

"The Early YearsThe Grand Lake coal fields in New Brunswick undoubtedly can claim the distinction of being the first part of North America from which coal was mined and exported. The diaries of the Governor of Massachusetts during the first half of the 17th century clearly establish this fact. There is also a reference in the Massachusetts Colonial Records which indicate that coal exports to New England were carried on as early as 1639.It has generally been believed that Cape Breton mined and exported the first coal; but no account has yet been found to show that this took place earlier than 1676. Both at Grand Lake and Cape Breton the coal was near the surface and removed by hand.When the country passed entirely into British control, Joseph Garrison, a grantee of Maugerville in 1765 moved to Jemseg. While surveying the north side of Grand Lake he discovered outcroppings of coal on the shore of the lake and further inland along the banks of streams. It was he who named Newcastle Creek in reference to Newcastle in England, which was widely known for its coal mines. Joseph Garrison died in 1783, the same year that an influx of United Empire Loyalists increased settlement in Newcastle Creek in the area now known as Minto. Many Loyalists also settled on the shores on both sides of Grand Lake.At a number of points where streams cut channels through the overlying strata, the coal seams were exposed and it was at such outcroppings that the early operations were carried on. A tunnel was driven in the seam from the foot of the bank, affording both an outlet for the coal and natural drainage from the workings. The coal was loaded into boxes and wheeled over wooden tracks to a point on the surface where it could be dumped into wagons and hauled either direct to destination or to where it could be loaded into boats and conveyed via Grand Lake, Jemseg and Saint John river to points of distribution.In the latter part of the 18th century and first years of the 19th century, farmers were undisturbed by mining the coal found on their lands. This was soon to change and resulted in many years of contention between landowners and the Legislative Assembly.New Brunswick became a separate province from Nova Scotia in 1784 and the seat of government moved from Saint John to Fredericton in 1788. The new province had its first priorities; the establishment of counties, the building of roads, and the development of its natural resources. From 1805, records of coal and land development are fairly complete. These records show the increasing interest of the Province in developing the coal fields. This interest resulted in the granting of coal leases to many friends of the government, without any regard for the wishes of the farmers who owned and had occupied the land for many years. The farmers fought back with lawsuits and other forms of dissension but with little success. By the end of the 19th century there were very few farm operators left in the area."

Jan 1, 1992