Mining Association of Nova Scotia Profile picture
Feb 5, 2020 13 tweets 20 min read Read on X
Check out this thread for the history of the General Mining Association and how it built #NS' coal industry!

In 1826, King George IV granted his brother, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, all mineral rights in Nova Scotia that had not previously been granted.
#nspoli #cbpoli ImageImage
These rights were, in turn, given to the General Mining Association, a company formed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, the Royal Goldsmiths from 1797-1843.

#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB ImageImage
The Duke of York, who was known for his free-spending ways, was heavily indebted to RBR. He gave them the mineral rights in exchange for clearing his debts and 25% of the GMA's profits.

#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB ImageImage
The GMA quickly developed coal operations at Albion Mines, a town it founded and which was renamed Stellarton in 1870.

#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB ImageImage
#CapeBreton wasn’t part of #NovaScotia when the mineral rights grant was first conceived under the previous king, George III, so GMA had to negotiate with the Crown for Cape Breton’s mineral rights. It then developed mines in the #SydneyMines area.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NS #CB Image
GMA invested heavily and brought the industrial revolution to #NovaScotia. Our first steam engines were built by the GMA to power pit hoists and pumps, and to drive coal ships.

#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB Image
#NoveScotia's first railway (meaning it was powered by steam, not horses) was the Albion Mines Railway, built in 1839 to haul coal from the #Stellarton mines to docks in Pictou Harbour. It was only the 2nd steam railway in Canada. It operated until 1961.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NS #CB Image
GMA also helped professionalize (by the standards of the day) #NovaScotia’s mining industry by founding permanent mining communities and bringing skilled British miners to the province.

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While GMA did many good things for Nova Scotia, its monopoly, and the heavy-handed ways it enforced it, was resented by many, including by other entrepreneurs prevented from pursuing mining opportunities.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB Image
In 1856, public pressure on #NovaScotia’s legislative assembly resulted in a delegation being sent to England asking that the mineral rights given to the Duke of York be rescinded. #NS' legislative assembly passed a bill in 1858 that repealed them.
#nspoli #cbpoli #capebreton #CB Image
GMA remained influential for many years until it sold the last of its assets to the Dominion Coal Company and the #NS Steel and Coal Company in 1900.
Rundell, Bridge and Rundell closed its doors in 1843 after losing much of its royal patronage and market share to competitors. Image
The Duke of York died in 1827 – within months of making his deal with Rundell, Bridge and Rundell.

#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB Image
Today, the #Stellarton coal mine is a reclamation mining project that is fixing subsidence issues caused by 200 years of pick-and-shovel mining, including many bootleg mines. The mine is stabilizing the site and making it possible to build on.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #NS ImageImage

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More from @MiningNS

Feb 25, 2021
@nsgov announced new rebates for electric vehicles yesterday. Mining makes #greentech like electric cars possible because they are mostly made of minerals and metals.
#nspoli @KeithIrvingNS @IainTRankin @NS_Energy_Mines @ns_environment @ChenderMLA @AllanMacMaster @MLAChuckPorter Image
For example, an e-car has 183 pounds of copper wiring in it because copper is used in every major component from the motor to the inverter and the electrical wiring. There is about four times more copper in an e-car than in a car with an internal combustion engine.
There are about 400 electric cars on Nova Scotia roads - a total of over 73,000 pounds of copper!
An electric car uses 25-50 grams of silver, so Nova Scotia’s 400 e-cars contain about 15,000 grams of it.
Read 9 tweets
Sep 23, 2020
The Morris Street Engine House has been declared a municipal heritage property!
#Halifax’s Fire Station #2, as it is also called, was built 1907-08 of reinforced concrete.
Here's the story!
#nspoli @HFXFireHistory @HRMFireNews @hfxfire @HFXFirefighters @hfxgov @MikeSavageHFX
Concrete is a mixture of aggregates and paste. The aggregates are sand and gravel or crushed stone; the paste is water and portland cement. (The terms cement and concrete are often used interchangeably, but cement is actually an ingredient of concrete...
#nspoli
...Cement is the glue that holds concrete together.)
Reinforced concrete means the concrete is poured over a frame, usually steel bars, that give the structure greater strength.
#nspoli
Read 12 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about sinkholes and whether they are a risk when walking in the woods.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton @oxfordsinkhole ImageImage
The short answer is yes, sinkholes are real but no, they are not a major risk and should not prevent you from enjoying outdoor activities.
Most natural sinkholes are caused by groundwater naturally eroding rocks like gypsum, salt and limestone which are water-soluble.
#nspoli Image
The water erodes the rock, leaving an underground cavern. Eventually, the weight of the rock and earth above the cavern causes the sinkhole to form. Sinkholes can form either gradually (i.e. a small depression appears and perhaps grows larger over time) or by sudden collapse. Image
Read 18 tweets
Sep 20, 2020
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about the historic #NewCampbellton coal mine in #VictoriaCounty.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #nshistory
@JaimeBattiste ImageImage
The New Campbellton coal mine was opened in 1862 by Charles J. Campbell, a former Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly and executive council member. The community had been named Kelly’s Cove but was changed to New Campbellton in 1862 in honour of Mr. Campbell. Image
A sample of New Campbellton’s coal was sent to the 1865 Dublin Exhibition and “was very favorably noticed by the Judges,” according to a report.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #nshistory Image
Read 18 tweets
Sep 19, 2020
Mining built #NovaScotia!
#Halifax was founded in 1749 and its first court house is reported to have been built by 1754 on the northeastern corner of Buckingham + Argyle streets. After the building burned in 1789, the courts were temporarily housed in various buildings.
#nspoli ImageImage
In April 1851 a bill to provide Halifax with a county court house was passed. Mr. H.G. Hill, a prominent #Halifax architect, prepared a plan for a wooden building.
However, since the records of the county, wills, deeds and other papers of public office were...
#nspoli #novascotia Image
...to be stored in the court house, it was important that the building be fire-proof. Also, a number of serious fires in #Halifax in 1857 led to the passage of a bylaw that required large buildings be made of stone or brick, so Hill's plans for a wooden building were abandoned. Image
Read 10 tweets
Sep 18, 2020
The Sullivan Creek #coal mine, before and after!
It's one of several mines reclaimed around #AlderPoint #CapeBreton in the late 1900s/early 2000s - examples of how mining makes temporary use of land and then land can be used other ways.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia @JaimeBattiste ImageImage
The first mine in the area was the Scotia Mine, or #NovaScotia Steel & Coal Company No. 4 Colliery, on Toronto Road, which operated on the Sydney Main (Harbour) Seam from 1915 to 1921.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia @JaimeBattiste ImageImage
Coal quality and structural issues (including water inflow) plague the Harbour Seam west of Florence so upon closure of the colliery, production on the Harbour Seam was limited to the Company’s No. 3 Colliery in Florence, which had opened in 1902...
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia ImageImage
Read 19 tweets

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