Mining Association of Nova Scotia Profile picture
Feb 27, 2020 8 tweets 15 min read Read on X
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about sand and fieldstone in the world-class #gypsum deposit in #Milford, Nova Scotia. This thread is our answer:

#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #mining #geology @mmillershubie @SeanFraserMP ImageImage
327-342 million years ago, global sea levels rose and fell many times. This repeatedly flooded Nova Scotia with what we call the Windsor Sea. #NovaScotia was near the equator at that time so the sea also evaporated repeatedly in the tropical sun.
#nspoli #cbpoli #capebreton Image
This process gave us huge gypsum deposits because gypsum forms when water high in calcium and sulfate evaporates, leaving the calcium and sulfate behind as sediment. The sediment builds up and is eventually turned into gypsum rock by heat and pressure.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
#NovaScotia has traditionally been one of the world’s largest providers of #gypsum and #Milford is the world’s largest surface gypsum mine. It’s been employing #NovaScotians for over 60 years.

#nspoli #cbpoli #capebreton #mining #geology @mmillershubie @SeanFraserMP Image
Most of its #gypsum is used to manufacture wallboard/drywall – the walls of most homes and buildings in Nova Scotia contain gypsum from the site.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #mining #geology @mmillershubie @SeanFraserMP Image
Fieldstones are usually erratics: rocks carried by glaciers and deposited as the glaciers melt. Fieldstones were historically often used in walls and buildings because they could just be picked up and used - no extraction necessary.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #mining Image
The #Milford #gypsum deposit has pockets of sand and fieldstone in it. They were formed during the last ice age by running water from melting glaciers eroding out the pockets and depositing sand and fieldstone into the openings.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #mining Image
The sand and fieldstone were erratics carried to #Milford from northern Nova Scotia.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #mining #geology @mmillershubie @SeanFraserMP 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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