WORLD'S ANCIENT MINES

Opunake Times, 19 August 1932, Page 3

WORLD'S ANCIENT MINES

THE PALM TO CORNWALL. STILL PRODUCING ORE. The province oi' Quebec, according to a recent statement, has an iron mine that was opened, a little more than two centuries ago and continued in operation untij well into the present century., This record gives the Canadian mining industry a respectable antiquity, but it does not compare in age with ore production activities in other parts of the world. Probably the oldest mines still producing ores are the tin and lead lodes of Cornwall, England, which date from the days when there was no recorded history. The ancient duchy, with its "stannaries," or tin mines, has been famous in mining history for hundreds of years. Near the tin mines are bodies of lead ore which have been worked nearly as long as those of tin. The latter were first opened in or before the Age of Bronze, have never been shut down completely and are, therefore, the world's oldest mines in continuous operation. A few years ago there was a revival of business at the Cornish mines, accompanied by the sinking of new shafts and the discovery of new lodes. It is believed that Cornwall was the source of supply of the tin that was used in making the bronze' of the British Age of Bronze. Ancient Greek historians spoke of the "far islands" of Britain, whence came tin and copper, centuries before the Christian era, and almost 500 years before Caesar visited the British Isles the Carthaginians went to Cornwall for tin.

Among the other ancient mines of the earth that are still adding to the world's stock of minerals are copper mines of the Island of Cyprus, coal mines of Manchuri. and quicksilver mines of the Iberian Peninsula—the world's greatest sources of mercury—were worked before the beginning of the Christian era. In the United States the oldest mine in continuous operation was, a few years ago, the La Motte lead mine of Missouri, more than 200 years old. Some of the Michigan copper mines and the metal mines of the south-west are also ancient. They were worked by the Indians and possibly by the predecessors of the Indians.