MINING IN CANADA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19143, 8 October 1925, Page 14

MINING IN CANADA.

MANY NEW DISCOVERIES. NORTHERN ONTARIO FIELDS. . RECORD GOLD PRODUCTION. OVER £50,000 WORTH A DAY. [from our own correspondent.] TORONTO, Aug. 29. Never has there been keener interest in mining in Canada than at the present moment. Almost weekly there is a report of some new discovery of precious metal in Northern Ontario, or Manitoba, or British Columbia,, or Quebec, and every little while there is an old-fashioned"rush" of prospectors to some new field. But the interest has a much more solid foundation than prospectors' samples or gold rushes. Actual production on a scale never before equalled is the feature of the season's operations in the mining camps of Northern Ontario. Gold at the rate of more thac. 250,000 dollars a day is being taken from the mines of the Porcupine and Kirkland Lake districts. Each quarter, each month, is making a new record. On the basis of the' programme of the present producing mines, without taking into account possible new discoveries, it is estimated there will be an increase in production of 5,000',000 dollars each year for several years to come, and 50,000,000 dollars a year, four years from now. From discoveries made in Ontario 15 years ago, more than dollars in gold has already been produced. One mine has produced almost 90,000,000 dollars. Two others are in the 20,000,000dollar class. And seven or eight others are in the category of substantial producers, to say nothing of the potentialities of hundreds of prospects. One competent mining authority estimates that by the end of the year gold ore reserves in Northern Ontario, that is, ore actually in sight ready to be mined, will amount to 200,000,000 dollars. The Hollinger Goldmine. Hollinger, Ontario's premier goldmine, is well on its way to become the greatest gold-producer in the world. In 1924, with a production of 5000 tons of ore daily, Hollinger yielded 13,429,000 dollars in gold. With power and other difficulties solved, Hollinger now aims for a tonnage of 8000 tons daily, and an annual production of perhaps 24,000,000 dollars, or 2,000,000 dollars a month. It is interesting to compare these figures with those of the big producers on this Rand. The Crown mines last year produced 18,405,000 dollars, and the New Modderfontein 22,176,000 dollars. Average ore value* of the Hollinger last year were 9 dollars 10 cents, against 8 dollars 50 cents for the New Modderfontein and 6 dollars 20 cents for the Crown. In profits and in dividends paid, Hollinger greatly exceeded the Crown and ran the New Modderfontein close. The Cobalt silver mines were for years the sensation of the mining world, and still are great producers. But Porcupine gold already is producing values 50 per cent, higher than those of Cobalt silver at the height of its production. Since the beginning of the century, Ontario has distributed in mining dividends upwards of 250,000,000 dollars. To this nickel has contributed the largest proportion. The nickel companies do not issue statements, but it is estimated they have paid out ].00,000,000 dollars. Cobalt 1 silver has already paid almost an equal amount in dividends, and now gold dividends are hitting their stride. Hollinger alone is paying out dividends at the rate j of nearly half a million dollars a month. Important Developments. Two years ago important discoveries of gold were reported from Northern Quebec, in the Rouyn township, in about the same latitude as Porcupine in Ontario, and not far from the interprovincial boun- j dary. In a sense, these discoveries have been a disappointment, In another sense they have far exceeded all expectations. Owing to a curious quirk of the Quebec Government the area is still without im- j mediate prospect of a railway and development has accordingly been hampered. This has been a, disappointment. Further, hopes based on sensational suriace discoveries, that Ronyn would quickly develop into another gold camp- like Porcupine, seem likely to prove illusory. There is gold in Rouyn, all right, but gold now seems likely to be a side issue. Copper, it is said, will prove the sensation ] of the camp. Nickel, too, has been revealed and also zinc and silver. The present impression is that Rouyn contains one of the"" most important bodies of ore discovered in many years. It is, however, a rich man's proposition. The ore requires smelting. Plans are far advanced for the establishment of great smelters. This means population and permanence. The Rouyn Copper Field. Rouyn is undoubtedly the most important copper discovery made in Canada and some engineers claim it is going to surpass the sensational copper field of the United States. To illustrate: most of the copper mines of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah carry three per cent, ore; the aver-, age on the Noranda-Horne area in Rouyn is 15 per cent. Moreover, Noranda-Horno ore carries important percentages of gold and silver. Engineers claim that the mine wil] tshow a profit either as a gold or as a cojsper producer, leaving the other as velvet. Despite the area's inaccessibility, it is the scene of much activity, communication being by canoe routes and aeroplane. One claim changed hands recently for 600,000 dollars. A number of important syndicates are operating, including Noranda, Amulet, Quebec Gold Belt Company, Hurcnian Belt (Anglo-Canadian), and Victoria Syndicate, the latter sponsored by ' Mond Nickel Interests and the Central Mining Group of South Africa. Noranda stock already commands a price of from 450 dollars to 550 dollars a share. There is much new mining activity, too, in British Columbia, which already has the sensational Premier gold mine, Sullivan copper mine and the Brittania zinc mine. Canada produces:—4 per cent, each of the world's gold and copper, 12 percent, of the silver, 85 per cent, of the nickel, 88 percent, of the asbestos and 90 per cent, of the cobalt. In the first two, Canada's percentages are likely to be greatly increased in the next few years. Prediction by Engineers, , • Canadian mining engineers enthusiastically predict that before long, perhaps in this generation, Canada will be the mining centre of the world. Their hopes, geologically, are based on what is known as the great pre-Cambrian Shield. This is a great U-shaped shield of pre-Cambrian rock formation, which surrounds Hudson Bay and is so wide in area that it covers half of Canada. This rrck formation is the oldest on the earth's surface. At one time it was regarded as utterly barren, but now it is recognised as the most promising of all geological formations for the discovery of metal. About thre>9 per cent, of the Pre-Cam-brian shield is found south of the international boundary line. There is a enrner of it in New York State and another portion in Northern Michigan, Minnesota and Wisc*isin. What has happened there is well known. Calumet Copper Mines have 'been world famous for 75 years. So has Lake Superior silver, while Lake Superior iron ore is biting produced at the rate of Vf.000.000 tons a year and helps to support, directly or indirectly, perhaps onenjarter of the total population of the United States. That is all from pre-Cambrian rock. Canada has 1,750,000 square miles on the •nainland, to say nothing of the Arctic 'slands, of pre-Cambrian rock formation. T t covers two-thirds of tho Nrrih-wost territories, a corner of Alberta, one-third of "Saskatchewan, two-thirds of Manitoba, three-fourths of Ontario, and nearly 95 per cent, of Quebec.