Canada's metals : a lecture delivered at the Toronto meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, August 20, 1897 / by Professor Roberts-Austen.

  • Roberts-Austen, W. C. (William Chandler), Sir, 1843-1902.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Canada's metals : a lecture delivered at the Toronto meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, August 20, 1897 / by Professor Roberts-Austen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ancient Archaean and Palaeozoic rocks, with some Laurentian, Permian and Triassic deposits. The great central division, on the other hand, is Cre- taceous, approximating to the chalk period of Europe, the beds having been deposited horizon- tally and being scarcely disturbed. Passing to the western division, and taking the fiftieth parallel as a base, Palaeozoic rocks are again met with, among which limestones predominate and exist as bold peaks of great beauty, ranging in height from 10,000 to 16,000 feet, and then, after descending the great valley, through which course the upper waters of the Columbia and its tributary, the Kootenay, the Selkirk range is reached, with rocks which appear to be Archaean. Canada’s principal metals are the following:— gold, silver, copper, nickel, lead and iron. Man- ganese, antimony, mercury, chromium and zinc,1 are met with, and there is platinum with the associated 1 Of these metals the amounts actually extracted are inconsider- able. Of manganese some;386 tons were mined in 1883, and of manganese ore 1,194 tons. [Canadian Economics, British Asso- ciation Meeting, 1884.] In 1896 the amount of chromite is given as 2,362 tons, and of manganese ore only 12 tons. Mineral Statistics and Mines. Summary of the Mineral Production of Canada for 1896, by Elfric Drew Ingall. There is an excellent collection of minerals at Ottawa, and there is also one at the Imperial Institute, London, to which the Curator of the Canadian section, Mr. Harrison Watson, is constantly making additions.