Mining Association of Nova Scotia Profile picture
Apr 10, 2020 16 tweets 24 min read Read on X
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about historical #gold mining in #CaribouMines in northeastern #Halifax County. This thread is our answer:

#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX ImageImage
Josiah Jennings and a Mr. Harrington are believed to have been the first to find #gold at Caribou in 1864 while hunting with Mi’kmaq guide Francis Paul.
Gold mining began in 1867.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
For the first few years the property was quite active with several shafts sunk and a number of mines opened. There were seven main sites, each of which was known as a separate mine.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch #gold @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
Prior to 1890, mining was mainly on shallow, near-surface veins of quartz with #gold in them, which was the usual practice in that era.
Mines in Caribou went deeper post-1890. One mine, the Lake Lode, reached a depth of 1000 feet in 1904 - the length of 22 school buses!
#nspoli Image
Lake Lode is tied with the Brookfield Mine in #QueensCounty for deepest gold mine shaft in Nova Scotia. It produced over 50,000 tons or ore prior to 1909 when the 1000 feet level was closed due to a fire that destroyed the equipment at surface.
#nspoli #novascotia Image
Between 1900 and 1934 only sporadic, small scale mining was done.
In 1908, a large part of the Caribou Gold District was consolidated under one company, Caribou #Gold Mines Limited.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX
The company was owned by Minnie Ross Holman – the first female owner of a #gold mining company in Nova Scotia.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
Mrs. Holman was from #Rockland, #Maine, and she purchased the properties belonging to the Baltimore & NS Mining Company and the NS & Mexican Mining Company and consolidated them to form Caribou #Gold Mines Limited on March 30, 1908.
#nspoli #novascotia Image
Caribou #Gold Mines Limited carried on mining and development work until 1934 when its holdings, and those of Nova Scotia Gold Mines Limited, were acquired by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
From 1936-1937 over 2,743.2 metres of drifting (horizontal tunnelling) and crosscutting (horizontal tunnelling at right angles to the veins) was carried out. Mining was continuous until 1947 at which time it was thought the ore reserves were exhausted.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
The property lay idle until 1957 when some surface diamond drilling was done. In 1973 samples from waste dumps at the Nova and Caribou workings were analysed. During 1974-1975, geological mapping and sampling of the old mill tailings took place.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
In 1977 it was estimated that 250,000 tons of #gold-bearing material was still to be found underground, suggesting there is still significant potential in Caribou for modern mining.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
Several companies did exploration work in Caribou in the 1980s and early 2000s, and exploration is also being done today.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
Since mining began in the Caribou Gold District in 1867, it has produced approximately 90,459 ounces of #gold. Of this total, almost half, 43,205 ounces, was produced by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Limited from the Holman Mine between 1934 and 1947.
#nspoli #novascotia Image
The Holman mine was named for its owner when it was first dug in 1908, Minnie Ross Holman.
Caribou was the second most productive #gold district in the province historically.
#nspoli @SeanFraserMP @SteveStreatch @LarryHarrisonPC #cbpoli #novascotia @MikeSavageHFX Image
Caribou grew quickly from fifty residents in 1871 to 450 in 1891. Stores, hotels, and boarding houses were quickly constructed. The Caribou #Gold Mines School was established in 1869. The school was rebuilt in 1935 with funds from the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company. 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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