Mining Association of Nova Scotia Profile picture
Apr 29, 2020 16 tweets 18 min read Read on X
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about historical copper mining around the #WaughsRiver in Tatamagouche, #CumberlandCounty. See this thread!
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton
@MLAElizabethNS @SeanFraserMP @Cumberland_NS @ZannLenore ImageImage
There are a number of copper occurrences around #WaughsRiver but only a modest amount of actual mining took place.
After their arrival in #Tatamagouche by 1710, the #Acadians attempted smelting small quantities of copper they found around the North Shore, but with little success. Image
For example, they had a small #copper mine on Mine Hole Brook, where it joined with #WaughsRiver from the west (close to where Black River joins the Waugh from the east).
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
Later settlers believed the sharp turn in the Waugh there was an unnatural one caused by the river overflowing into the mine, and that water covered the original workings.
Mining tools and partly-smelted copper ore from the Acadian period were later found in an adjacent field. Image
The potential for copper under the water attracted interest in the mid-1860s and the mining rights were bought by Cullen Ayer of Boston. He sold the property in 1867 to the Boston Mining Association, making an impressive profit - he paid $2,000 and received $35,000.
#nspoli Image
The Boston Mining Association reportedly diverted the water to its natural course to uncover the old workings and enough ore was extracted to load a 100-ton schooner. Unfortunately, it didn’t last and the mine was again flooded.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
The bad luck continued: the schooner ran aground and was trapped in ice off Steele's Island (near #Tatamagouche). Not long after, the ship burned and the crew escaped to the island. Locals believed the crew lit the fire to avoid having to spend the winter on the ship.
#nspoli Image
Years later lumps of the ore, half-smelted by the fire, were salvaged along the shore by the Stirling Mining Company.
There was also a mine in Oliver on the French River, west of #WaughsRiver.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
In 1857 Abraham Patterson got a 30 year lease for the property but only extracted a sample to send to England. The property was then idle until 1866 when shallow drifts were sunk on the north-west side of the river.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
Work stalled again until 1876-77 when six months work by twelve men produced about 36 casks of ore, each averaging about 900 pounds each, or a total of 18.5 tons. The ore was valued in New York at $120.00 per ton. The mine was then abandoned.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
In 1905, the Sterling Mining Company worked on Black River, not far from Mine Hole Brook. By 1907, an estimated 650 tons of ore was mined and 240 tons were shipped to the United States in 1908.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
On the north side of Woodlock Brook, one mile southeast of Tatamagouche Station, trenches and a 50-foot prospecting tunnel were dug to investigate the site’s potential but no actual mining took place.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
There are also copper occurrences at the mouth of the French River, Falls Bridge (near Balmoral Mills), Balmoral Brook, Bailey Brook, at the junction of the Yellow Brook and the Waugh River and Balfron (where a little historical extraction took place).
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
Calling a site an “occurrence” means a mineral has been found but there is either very little of it or exploration has not shown there to be a significant quantity of it.
It’s also important to note that many historical mines were not mines in the sense that we use the word now. Image
They were often pits just a couple feet deep, or a small shaft or two, often even without a mill for processing. There was often very little actual mining or production in historical mines.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
The name #Tatamagouche is derived from the #Mikmaq term “Takumegooch” which means, roughly translated, “meeting of the waters,” because it's where the Waugh and French Rivers run into a harbour.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton 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.
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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.)
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#nspoli
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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
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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
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Sep 19, 2020
Mining built #NovaScotia!
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#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.
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#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
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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
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#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia ImageImage
Read 19 tweets

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