THE BARREN LANDS OR “ARCTIC PRAIRIE”.
Economic Minerals.
Deposits of Native Copper in the Far North.—Several Areas West of
Hudson bay Contain Rocks Similar to Those at Sudbury.—Belts of
Huronian Rocks that are Expected by Geologists to be Eventually
of Great Economic Importance.—Vast Probable Mineral Bearing
Country in the Interior Which Can Now be Reached Via
Chesterfield Inlet.—Iron, Gold and Silver in Small Quantities
North of Lake Athabaska.—Free Gold in Melville Peninsula.—
Lignite and Soft Coal Along the Arctic Coast.
From time immemorial tradition has ascribed to the great northern
wilderness which we have come to know as the Barren Lands or Barren
Grounds, untold mineral wealth, and what tradition has so long asserted
is substantiated by the testimony of scientific experts.
The original exploratory expedition despatched into the country, that
under Samuel Hearne in 1771, was inspired by the desire of the Hudson’s
Bay Company to locate the copper mines in the far north of which the
natives spoke to the pioneer traders.
Many of the principal witnesses examined before the British
parliamentary committee of 1749 referred to the prospective mineral
wealth of the country northwest of Hudson bay. Mr. Joseph Robson, at
whose instance largely the investigation was held, testified that he had
seen copper worn by the Indians about their necks and arms. He had also
seen about a pound and a half of copper ore, which he understood from
the Indians they had brought from a great distance.
Another witness, Alexander Browne, who had been six years in the
company’s service at Hudson bay as surgeon, informed the Committee that
he had seen both copper and copper ore at Prince of Wales’ Fort on
Churchill river, which the northern Indians informed him they brought
from an isthmus of land which lies by a lake at the farthest extent of
their country. It was hard to ascertain the distance from the accounts
of the Indians, but he judged it to be about three or four hundred
miles. He never heard the Indians say whether there was a passage to
this place from Hudson bay by water, but they informed him their river
ran by it. They brought down the copper for ornaments, and the ore at
the request of Governor Norton. Witness had seen about four or five
pounds of it, both before it was smelted, and after, and he
TOOK IT TO BE A RICH ORE,
but did not understand metals. He had heard of lead ore at Hudson bay,
but never saw any. He never saw the Indians smelt the copper, but they
informed him that the earth was washed from the ore by showers, and that
they smelted it on a fire until it ran, and then beat it, it being very
malleable. Witness never heard of a copper mine on the large arm of the
sea, but the ore was brought down by canoes to the open sea, and the
rivulet which washed the said copper is not known to have any
communication with Hudson bay, the mine being about fifteen miles from
the open sea, by the accounts of the Indians. He believed that the
Indians came a little to the northward of Whale cove, “which bears a
point or two to the west of the north from Churchill.” If the Indians
were encouraged they would bring great quantities of ore, as well as
smelted copper to Whale cove, but if persons were sent up to the mine
they would labour under a difficulty for want of fuel, the country
producing no wood, and what the Indians smelt, they do in small
quantities with moss.
Doctor Thompson, another of the company’s surgeons, testified that he
had heard the natives talk of a sea to the westward, which, by their
accounts, is not far distant, and of a copper mine, which lay on the
side of a “Streight”, which takes them five days in crossing. They
described the water of this “Streight” to be very deep, and they could
not reach the bottom with two deerskins cut into thongs. If a sloop
could be brought alongside this copper mine, they say they could fill
it, in a little time, and by their account, this “Streight” has a
communication both with the bay and the south sea.
Doctor Thompson further informed the Committee, “that he went with
Captain Middleton on the discovery of the North-West-Passage, and
likewise with the last adventurers.”
Christopher Bannister, who had been armourer and gunsmith to the
Hudson’s Bay Company, and had resided in the bay about twenty-two years,
informed the Committee that he had seen lead ore at Moose river, which
came from the northward, but he could not say whence. He had seen a good
quantity of it, and some of it was tried by Mr. Longdon’s apprentice,
and it seemed extraordinary good lead, the boy
MAKING A PAIR OF BUCKLES OF IT.
The witness could not say what proportion the lead bore to the ore. The
boy put in a piece of ore as big as a man’s fist, and got lead enough to
make a pair of large buckles. The witness was sure nothing was put in
but the ore, none being present but himself, and the boy who brought it
down. That was about three years previous to the investigation and
witness never saw any lead ore at any other time. He had seen copper
frequently brought down by the northern Indians, a piece of which he
produced before the committee. He said he had seen great quantities of
it there, and was informed by a young man, who is now at Hudson bay that
the Indians told him that it was brought from a mine, in search of which
the young man would gladly have gone.”
HEARNE AT THE COPPER DEPOSITS.
In the record of his famous trip (pages 173 to 176) Hearne makes the
following references to his investigation into the subject of the
traditional copper mines of the Indians on Coppermine river:—“After a
sleep of five or six hours we once more set out, and walked eighteen or
nineteen miles to the south-southeast when we arrived at one of the
copper mines, which lies, from the river’s mouth about south-southeast,
distant about twenty-nine or thirty miles. This mine, if it deserve that
appellation, is no more than an entire jumble of rocks and gravel, which
has been rent so many ways by an earthquake. Through these ruins there
runs a small river, but no parts of it, at the time I was there, was
more than knee-deep. The Indians who were the occasion of my undertaking
this journey represented this mine to be so rich and valuable, that if a
factory were built at the river, a ship might be ballasted with the ore,
instead of stone, and that with the same ease and despatch as is done
with stones at Churchill river. By their account the hills were entirely
composed of that metal, all in handy lumps, like a heap of pebbles. But
their account differed so much from the truth, that I and almost all of
my companions expended near four hours in search of some of this metal,
with such poor success, that among us all, only one piece of any size
could be found. This, however, was remarkably good, and weighed above
four pounds. I believe the copper has formerly been in much greater
plenty, for in many places, both on the surface and in the cavities and
crevices of the rocks, the stones are much tinged with verdigrise.
“Before Churchill river was settled by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which
was not more than fifty years previous to this journey being undertaken,
the Northern Indians had no other metal but copper among them, except a
small quantity of iron work, which a party of them who visited York Fort
about the year one thousand seven hundred and thirteen, or one thousand
seven hundred and fourteen, purchased, and a few pieces of old iron
found at Churchill river, which had undoubtedly been left there by
Captain Monk. This being the case, numbers of them from all quarters
used every summer to resort to these hills in search of copper; of which
they made hatchets, ice-chisels, bayonets (sic), knives, awls,
arrow-heads, etc. The many
PATHS THAT HAD BEEN BEATEN
by the Indians on these occasions and which are yet, in many places,
very perfect, especially on the dry ridges and hills, is surprising; in
the valleys and marshy grounds, however, they are mostly grown over with
herbage, so as not to be discerned.
“The Copper Indians set a great value on their native metal even to this
day, and prefer it to iron, for almost every use except that of a
hatchet, a knife, and an awl; for these three necessary implements,
copper makes but a very poor substitute.
“There is a strange tradition among these people, that the first person
who discovered these mines was a woman, and that she conducted them to
the place for several years, but as she was the only woman in the
company, some of the men took such liberties with her as made her vow
revenge on them, and she is said to have been a great conjurer.
Accordingly when the men had loaded themselves with copper, and were
going to return, she refused to accompany them, and said she would sit
on the mine till she sunk into the ground, and that the copper should
sink with her. The next year, when the men went for more copper, they
found her sunk up to the waist, though still alive and the quantity of
copper much decreased, and on their repeating their visit the following
year, she had quite disappeared, and all the principal part of the mine
with her, so that after that period nothing remained on the surface but
a few small pieces, and those were scattered at a considerable distance
from each other. Before that period they say the copper lay on the
surface in such large heaps, that the Indians had nothing to do but turn
it over, and pick up such pieces as would best suit the different uses
for which they intended it.”
Sir Alexander Mackenzie is authority for the statement that there was a
tradition among the Chipewyan Indians that their ancestors first reached
the continent of America at Coppermine river. “Where they first made
land, the ground was covered with copper, over which a body of earth had
since been collected to the depth of a man’s height.” The tradition is
interesting as indicating the fact that the Indians knew of the famous
copper deposits for many generations.
[Illustration: Some of the Difficulties of Northern
Transportation:—Crossing a Swamp.]
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN’S VISIT.
When Sir John Franklin’s party in 1821 visited Copper mountains they
found only a few small pieces of native copper. Franklin says in his
narrative (p. 340) “The annual visits which the Copper Indians were
accustomed to make to these mountains when most of their weapons and
utensils were made of copper, have been discontinued since they have
been enabled to obtain a supply of ice chisels and other instruments of
iron by the establishment of trading posts near their hunting grounds.
That none of those who accompanied us had visited them for many years
was evident from their ignorance of the spots most abundant in metal.”
Doctor G. M. Dawson, director of the Geological Survey of Canada,
examined before the Senate committee of 1888, stated that as to the
Barren Lands, it was a fact that an immense district—nearly half a
million square miles of country—was at that date, except along its
watercourses, as utterly unknown as the interior of Africa. Coppermine
river runs through the Barren Lands and so does Back’s Great Fish river,
on which there are mineral indications. There was every reason to
believe that there is a repetition along Coppermine river, and in its
vicinity of those rocks which contain copper, on Lake Superior and which
have proved so rich there. At the time Doctor Dawson gave his evidence,
he stated, it seemed to be beyond the reach of the prospector. The
Hudson’s Bay Company sent Hearne up there in the latter part of the
preceding century to discover where the copper found in the hands of the
natives came from, but he could do nothing but report that he found
copper there. The sea to the north was ice-bound, so he did not see his
way to utilizing it. Hearne travelled the barren grounds more than any
one else, but he was not a scientific explorer. He travelled with the
Indians in winter under circumstances of great hardship, and Doctor
Dawson said he believed we had not yet got sufficient information up to
that date about these “Barren Grounds.” What mineral discoveries might
be made there it was impossible to say.
Bishop Clut informed the same committee that copper was found on
Coppermine river in great pieces. Witness had seen little crosses made
of it by the savages themselves when they were not able to have other
metal.
SIMILAR TO LAKE SUPERIOR DEPOSITS.
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in his paper read before the British Association for
the Advancement of Science at its Toronto meeting in 1879, mentioned
that the descriptions of Doctor Richardson, who visited the locality of
Coppermine river in 1821 and again in 1826, show that some of the rocks
which occur on the banks of the Coppermine are precisely similar to
those on Dubawnt and Baker lakes, though they also indicate the
occurrence of the underlying Animikie series, and they also show that
the conditions under which the copper there occurs are very like those
under which it occurs on the south side of Lake Superior.
The Keewenawan rocks (so called from the district so named on the shore
of Lake Superior) would appear, according to Mr. Tyrrell, to have been
first seen by Doctor Richardson on Red Rock lake, a short distance below
Point lake, on Coppermine river, and thence they occupy the banks of the
river through most of the distance down to its mouth.
Continuing to discuss Doctor Richardson’s report, Mr. Tyrrell proceeds
in his paper to say:—“At ‘Rocky Defile,’ ‘the walls of the rapid’ are
said to ‘consist of a very dark purplish red, compact felspar rock,
alternating with a rock which is composed of a light reddish and greyish
felspar and quartz, the former indistinctly crystallized,’ evidently
referring to different varieties of quartz-porphyry or porphyrite. ‘This
rock is everywhere exposed in the bed of the river for ten or twelve
miles below the rapid.’
“In the beds of the torrents flowing into the main river he (Richardson)
found many rock fragments, most of which were probably derived from rock
in places in the vicinity, and the list might readily be duplicated from
the copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior; he mentions ‘fragments of
reddish grey, granular, foliated limestone, of deep red sandstone, of
gray sandstone, of red syenite. There also occur fragments of pale red
sandstone, composed principally of quartz and a little felspar, with
imbedded circular concretions of quartz, and of reddish quartzite
sandstone. Fragments were also found of dark-greenish felpathose trap,
of greenstone, of dark flesh-red felspar in granular concretions, with
imbedded patches of hornblende, of red felspar partly coloured with
hornblende, and containing amygdaloidal portions of prehnite.’
COPPER MOUNTAINS.
“Copper mountains consist principally of trap rocks. The great mass of
the rock in the mountains seems to consist of felspar in various
conditions; sometimes in the form of felspar-rock or claystone,
sometimes coloured by hornblende and approaching to greenstone, but most
generally in the form of dark reddish brown amygdaloid. The amygdaloidal
masses contained in the amygdaloid are either entirely pistacite
(epidote), or pistacite enclosing calc-spar. Scales of native copper are
very generally disseminated through this rock, through a species of trap
tuff which nearly resembles it, and also through a reddish sandstone on
which it appears to rest. The rough, and in general rounded and more
elevated parts of the mountain are composed of the amygdaloid but
between the eminences there occur many narrow and deep valleys, which
are bounded by perpendicular mural precipices of greenstone. It is in
these valleys, among the loose soil that the Indians search for copper;
masses of epidote containing native copper; of trap rock with associated
native copper, green malachite, copper glance or variegated copper ore,
of greenish gray prehnite in trap with disseminated native copper; the
copper in some specimens was crystallized in rhomboidal dodecahedrons.
We also found some large tabular fragments, evidently portions of a vein
consisting of prehnite, associated with calcareous spar and native
copper. The Indians dig wherever they observe the prehnite lying on the
soil, experience having taught them that the largest pieces of copper
are found associated with it. The Indians report that they have found
copper in every part of this range, which they have examined for thirty
or forty miles to the northwest. We afterwards found some ice-chisels in
possession of the Esquimaux, twelve or fourteen inches long and half an
inch in diameter, formed of pure copper.”
“The surrounding country is underlain by a light-brownish red sandstone
and gray slate clay in horizontal strata, cut here and there by dykes of
greenstone.
“It is hardly possible to imagine two more similar sets of conditions in
such widely separated localities, as in Copper mountains and on Keewena
point (Lake Superior), the native copper occurring in both places
associated with prehnite and epidote, chiefly in an amygdaloid, cut by
dykes of greenstone.
LONG RANGE OF COPPER-BEARING ROCKS.
“The copper-bearing rocks would seem to extend along the Arctic coast,
both east and west of Coppermine river, for about five hundred miles in
all, and probably many of the smaller islands off the coast are also of
the same rocks and the total area covered by these rocks undoubtedly
amounts to many thousands of square miles.
“Comparing the early account of the occurrence of native copper on Lake
Superior with the accounts which we now possess of the copper on
Coppermine river, and considering the enormous extent of the northern
deposit, we have reasonable grounds for hope that before many years the
Coppermine area will produce as much copper as is now mined in northern
Michigan. The amount mined there in 1896 was one hundred and forty-four
million pounds, valued at between fifteen and sixteen million dollars,
or about a sixth of the total amount of copper mined in the world that
year.”
A RECENT VISIT TO THE COPPER COUNTRY.
In the spring of 1902, having spent the winter with the Eskimos, Mr.
David T. Hanbury made an examination of some of the places along the
Arctic coast where the natives obtain copper for their implements. He
was first informed that the copper deposits were to be found on Dease
strait, but later ascertained that the islands in Bathurst inlet are the
source of supply, and proceeded thither. Mr. Hanbury from the natives on
Fitzgerald islands obtained a good many copper articles, such as
snow-dags, ice-chisels, etc. They appeared to be rich in copper
implements. They stated that some of their copper had been obtained in
Victoria Land, and some from the islands to the north.
Shortly after landing on Barry island in Bathurst inlet, two small
fragments of copper were picked up by one of his Eskimos. Mr. Hanbury
proceeds, in his book, “Sport and Travel in the Northland of
Canada”:—“The next day we devoted to examining the rock formation and
searching for copper. We were successful in finding the copper, which
appears to be abundant and widely distributed. Whether it would ever be
worth working is another matter, and one on which I am not competent to
give an opinion.
“The underlying basalt dips west at an angle of about twenty-five
degrees, and it is in this rock that the native copper occurs. The
copper is plentiful, for the quantity we obtained was found after but a
brief search, and on a neighbouring island, Kun-nu-yuk, a mass of copper
had just been found, so large that a man could hardly lift it. There
also copper is found in the tide-way. The whole of the lower levels on
Barry island are covered with debris from the basalt, and where the rock
has been disintegrated by weathering,
COPPER HAS FALLEN OUT,
so that flakes of the metal may be found along the seashore. In many
places, too, green patches indicate that nuggets or flakes of copper
have recently fallen out from their matrix.
“The copper-bearing rock also contains crystalline quartz some of which
forms beautiful amethystine veins, of which some specimens were taken.
There is here some further evidence of coastal elevation in the
occurrence of saucer-shaped lines of water-worn debris at from twenty to
forty feet above the present level of high tides.
“The question whether it would ever pay to work the native copper of
these regions remains for the consideration of experts. I have always
understood that native copper occurring in small flakes or nuggets and
sparsely distributed, is of but little practical value, and that copper
can only, as a rule, be successfully worked from ores that are rich and
easy of access. Much depends doubtless on its abundance and regularity
of distribution. This island, Barry island, or Iglor-yu-ullig, is
several miles in length, and perhaps three or four miles across. The
island to the south-southeast, Kun-nu-yuk, is still larger, besides
which there is an island to the southwest which has given much copper,
and there are copper-yielding islands to the north. The copper-bearing
formation holds good everywhere except on the summit cappings of the
islands.”
Later Mr. Hanbury examined a part of Lewis island also in Bathurst
inlet. He relates in his book:—“At the northwest point of Lewis island,
Bathurst inlet, we stopped to smoke. The formation of rock being similar
to that on Barry island we commenced to search for copper, which proved
to be plentiful. First of all only a few flakes could be found, but the
longer we searched the more plentiful did the copper become. Finally
IT GOT TOO COMMON
and we resumed our journey. The metal occurred in flakes and small
chunks; the former were wedged in the rock always vertically. The rock
was easily knocked to pieces by a light tap with the axe, the cleavage
being both vertical and horizontal. Between two and three pounds of this
native copper were picked up in the course of half or three-quarters of
an hour, while we rested. The metal appeared to be very persistent in
its occurrence in the partly decomposed basalt of which all the islands
we passed that day consisted. The flakes of copper seemed to be always
vertical when in their rock matrix. The rocks of this island, where they
are not disintegrated, are well smoothed by glacial action, and the
striæ are numerous and distinctly trend south and southeast.”
Writing of a more northerly point on Lewis island, also visited, Mr.
Hanbury (p. 266) writes:—“Although we did not find so much copper here,
the green marks on the rocks were more numerous, but we did not spend an
hour altogether in the search. One of our Eskimos knew of a large mass
of copper on the southwest shore of the island, which he stated to be as
much as five feet in length and three inches thick. It protruded from
the rocks under the water, it was said, but there was too much ice for
us to find the copper. A piece of quartz with copper ore and native
copper was picked up on the seashore. Another specimen of the
copper-bearing rock here is a decomposed basalt, fine grained, and
vesicular.”
Ascending Kendall river on his way to the headwaters of the Dease,
whence he descended to Great Bear lake, Mr. Hanbury relates:—“We had
the good luck to meet the Eskimos from the Arctic coast, who resort to
this river to obtain wood for their sleighs. These natives had never set
eyes on a white man before, and had no articles of civilization
whatever. They were all dressed in deerskins, and armed with long bows,
arrows and spears,
BEATEN OUT OF NATIVE COPPER.
The use of tobacco was quite unknown to them, and firearms they had only
heard about. They gave me a good deal of information about their country
and the copper deposits along the Arctic coast, and I obtained from them
several copper implements, such as dags, spear and arrow-heads, needles,
etc., all beaten out of native copper, giving them in exchange knives,
files and needles, which last appeared to have by far the most value in
their eyes,”
Mr. Wm. Beech of Churchill, in a communication to the press in 1911,
stated that he had noticed that the Eskimos who visit Churchill yearly
have nearly all their tools, such as snow-knives, ice-chisels, and
fish-hooks, made out of native copper. They use copper tops over their
pipes while smoking, and any break in their guns is usually mended by a
strip of native copper.
So much for the deposits of native copper along the northern sea coast
of the Barren Lands and on the islands off the coast, which were the
means of originally attracting attention to the mineral wealth of this
vast region.
Unquestionably the most comprehensive review of the geological features
of the Barren Lands with respect to the prospective development of the
country’s mineral resources was that made by Mr. J. Burr Tyrrell in his
paper read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science
at Toronto in 1897 on the resources of the Barren Lands. The review in
question was so thorough that no excuse is needed for quoting it here at
length. Mr. Tyrrell wrote:—“It is to the minerals of this region that
we must look for any large contributions to the national wealth, and
failing these it is difficult to see how the country can be any thing
but a serious burden on those Canadians who live in the midst of more
congenial surroundings. What are the prospects of finding minerals of
sufficient value to induce people to open easy means of communication
with that northern country, and to settle in it? Let us examine this
question ground for hope in the future of
A SUB-ARCTIC MINING PROVINCE.
“The western arm of the Archaean horseshoe, around which the remainder
of the American continent has been built up during successive geological
ages, strikes the west coast of Hudson bay near Churchill, and thence
extends northward, with an average breadth of from five hundred to six
hundred miles to Arctic ocean. This Archaean belt is composed chiefly of
Laurentian and Huronian rocks, but in the depressions are some large
areas of rocks of a later age.
“As the only exact geological information at present available is that
collected by the two expeditions sent out by the Canadian Geological
Survey in 1893 and 1894 which I had the honour to lead, I shall describe
the rocks as seen on those two expeditions and afterwards attempt to
bring together such other information as has been recorded by others,
and assign to it such value as it would seem to possess.
“The Laurentian system, as here seen, consists almost exclusively of
crystalline, massive, or altered crushed and contorted rocks of the
‘Basement Complex’, consisting of granites and diorites, and granite and
diorite gneisses. As a rule, the massive and foliated rocks are very
similar in composition being probably different phases of the same fluid
or semi-fluid magma. These rocks are so similar to the Laurentian rocks
of the northern Ontario, which are familiar to any one who has spent a
summer in Muskoka or in Thousand islands, that it is unnecessary to
describe them in greater detail here. They are not usually rich in
valuable minerals except where they come in contact with the overlying
Huronian rocks.
“On Dubawnt river they underlie the country northward from Daly lake,
and thence continue northeastward along the west shore of Dubawnt lake
and down Dubawnt river to Lady Marjorie lake, over which distance they
were often seen in contact with overlying Huronian and Cambrian strata.
North of Lady Marjorie lake they disappear under the Cambrian
sandstones, and they were not again seen until the Cambrian belt was
crossed and the north shore of Schultz lake was reached.
“On Kazan river they extend from Ennadai lake to beyond Yathkyed lake,
with the exception of a small Huronian area near Angikuni lake.
“On the low flat shore of Hudson bay, between Seal river and Cape
Eskimo, the few rock exposures seen were of granite and gneiss of
typical Laurentian aspect. For forty miles north of Cape Eskimo no rock
in place was seen, and thence northward to Baird bay some of the points
were seen to consist of granite and gneiss, though the shore generally
was underlain by Huronian rocks.
“On the upper portion of Ferguson river Laurentian rocks prevail and
similar granites and gneisses occur along the north shore of Baker lake,
and down both shores of Chesterfield inlet to its mouth, whence they
extend southward along the shore of Hudson bay to a short distance north
of Baker’s foreland. Any information which we possess about geology of
Great Fish river and Coppermine river would seem to show that the
Laurentian granites and gneisses outcrop with greater or less frequency
along their banks, so that we may safely infer that the Barren Lands are
largely underlain by these ancient igneous rocks, and consequently there
are large areas which will not produce valuable minerals.
“But as farther south we find quartzite, greywackes, and highly altered
eruptive rocks of Huronian age, folded in here and there with typical
Laurentian rocks, so in the far north we may confidently expect to find
the same set of conditions prevailing.
“Such is to be found the case in the country lately examined immediately
west of Hudson bay, where several areas of Huronian rocks, precisely
similar to
THOSE FOUND AT SUDBURY,
Lake of the Woods, and at many places around Lakes Huron and Superior,
have been discovered. The largest of these areas extends more or less
continuously for one hundred and twenty miles along the west coast of
Hudson bay, from near Baker’s foreland to a point forty-five miles north
of Cape Eskimo, and from the bay shore for seventy miles inland on the
course of Ferguson river. A smaller area crosses Dubawnt river between
Schultz and Baker lakes, a third occurs on the Kazan river below
Angikuni lake, a fourth was recognized in the basin of Ennadai lake.
“Two more areas are represented by outcrops of white clastic quartzite
on the north shore of Dubawnt lake, and on the east shore of Wharton
lake.
“The rocks constituting the system in this region have been divided into
three more or less distinct groups, viz: Marble island quartzites; the
greenish quartzites and greywackes; and the more or less highly altered
and often schistose diabases and gabbros.
“The Marble island quartzites are composed of hard white quartzite,
consisting of more or less rounded grains of quartz, of fairly regular
size, cemented together by interstitial silica. They are distinctly
stratified in thick and thin beds, and the surfaces of the beds are
often covered with beautiful ripple-markings. The thicker beds also
often show distinct false bedding. They are usually in a more or less
inclined position, but they were nowhere seen to be very much crumpled
or squeezed into minute folds. These quartzites on the north shore of
Quartzite lake dip regularly northwestward, away from a hill of diabase
which lies to the south, and the latter therefore probably underlies the
quartzite, though it is not necessarily older than it. In other places
very little evidence was obtained of the relative ages of the white
quartzite and the other parts of the Huronian. However, it would seem
probable that, in the region near the shore of Hudson bay, this
quartzite is
THE OLDEST PART OF THE HURONIAN,
and that the diabases, and other basic eruptions which are associated
with it, have been intruded beneath it, and have also flowed over it.
That Marble island quartzites were once spread over a large portion of
the region under consideration is shown, not so much by the few
scattered outlines here mentioned, as by the fact that the overlying
Cambrian conglomerates, which cover large areas between Dubawnt and
Baker lakes, are composed chiefly of pebbles of this white quartzite.
“Dark green eruptive rocks, chiefly diabase, are largely developed in
the Huronian, composing a considerable proportion of the rocks of the
system. In many cases these rocks have been crushed and sheared, a slaty
cleavage or schistose structure has been superinduced, and the original
minerals have been broken and altered, both in their shape and
composition. In other cases the rock remains massive, or there is
developed in it a concretionary or bomblike structure, the bombs, often
a foot or two in diameter, being usually separated by somewhat schistose
bands, which differ slightly in colour from the rest of the rock.
“On the east side of Hudson bay this rock was found to have,
disseminated through it, a large amount of both iron and copper pyrites,
while these minerals were often found collected somewhat more closely
together in the numerous veins of quartz and calc-spar which almost
everywhere traversed the rock. No large deposits of the sulphides were
seen, but when they are so freely distributed through the mass of the
rock it is not at all improbable that large masses may be found
segregated out along the zones where these green schists are in contact
with masses of eruptive granite or gneiss. Very little of the vein rock
has been collected for assay, but some pieces of vein quartz, picked up
by Doctor Rae near the south side of Corbett inlet, were found to
CARRY A SMALL AMOUNT OF GOLD.
“On Great Fish river, Mr. Pike speaks of the ironstone formation, of
dark fissile slates or schists, probably belonging to the Huronian
system extending down the river from Musk-Ox lake to Beechey lake, a
distance of seventy-five miles.
“The shores of Point lake, one of the expansions of Coppermine river,
have been described by Sir John Richardson, who passed through that
country in company with Sir John Franklin in 1821, and from his
descriptions there is no difficulty in recognising the Huronian rocks.
The following is his description of the rocks, slightly
condensed:—Greywacke passing into greywacke slate, greywacke with small
imbedded crystals of hornblende, dark greenish or blackish grey clay
slate. Several of the islands in the lake consist of greenstone. A rock
standing apart from the neighboring hills on the border of the lake,
having a rounded summit, but bounded on three sides by mural precipices
about two hundred feet high, is composed of compact earthy greenstone,
containing disseminated iron pyrites, covered with layers of greenstone
slate. On the north side of the lake there is a high bluff hill with a
precipitous side, which seems to consist principally of a conglomerate.
The basis is earthy-clay slate. The embedded masses have an ellipsoidal
form and smooth surface, are from one to two feet in diameter and appear
to consist of the same material as the basis, but impregnated with much
silica, and not showing evident slaty structure. When broken they
present an even fine-grained fracture.
“‘During our first and second days’ journey down Point lake from the
above mentioned encampment, being eleven and one-half miles on a
west-northwest course, the rocks we had an opportunity of examining
consisted of greenish grey clay-slate, generally having a curved
structure, and splitting into slates of very unequal thickness.’
“From these few isolated and widely separated occurrences it may be seen
that, as in the Archaean areas of northern and western Ontario, so on
the Barren Lands, Huronian rocks occur at more or less frequent
intervals, squeezed in between adjacent areas of Laurentian granite and
gneiss.
“That these belts of Huronian rocks will eventually prove
OF GREAT ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE,
there can be no doubt whatever. In Ontario the wonderful general
richness of these rocks is just beginning to be recognized, but from
them were taken in 1896 gold to the value of one hundred and twenty-one
thousand dollars, nickel to the value of one million one hundred and
eighty-nine thousand dollars and copper to the value of three hundred
and twenty thousand dollars; while in the states adjoining Lake Superior
the total production of iron ore in 1895 from these rocks was ten
million two hundred and sixty-nine thousand long tons, valued at about
twenty million dollars. This was 62·31 per cent. of the total amount of
iron produced in the whole United States. The rapid progress with which
these mines are being developed is shown by the fact that the Mesabi
range was first opened up in 1892, and in 1895 the product of the mines
in the range was two million eight hundred thousand tons. Thus you will
see that in these rocks there is a prospect of discovering extensive
deposits of valuable minerals.
THE LOWER CAMBRIAN ROCKS.
“But perhaps the most interesting rocks known in the Barren Lands are
those which are regarded by the Canadian Geological Survey as being of
Lower Cambrian age, and which are very similar in character to the
Nipigon or Keewenawan rocks of Lake Superior.
[Illustration: A Survivor of Sir John Richardson’s Arctic Expedition
wearing the Arctic Medal given him for that Expedition.]
“In the exploration of this country recently made these rocks were first
met with about the centre of the west shore of Dubawnt lake, whence they
were found to extend north-northeastward for one hundred and twenty-five
miles to the forks of Dubawnt river. From this point they were traced
eastward for one hundred and seventy-five miles to the outlet of Baker
lake, at which point they veered off to the south. Towards the west this
series probably extends a long distance up the valley of Thelon river,
and may perhaps cross the low watershed and connect with similar beds on
the shores of Great Slave lake.
“The basal portion of this series is here represented by reddish
thick-bedded sandstones and conglomerates, which are comparatively
unaltered and undisturbed over large areas. In some places, as on the
islands near the northwest shore of Dubawnt lake, they dip regularly at
a moderate angle. The pebbles in the conglomerates are well rounded and
water-worn, and consist almost entirely of white clastic quartzites like
that of Marble island (Huronian) beds. The occurrence of quartzite
pebbles, to the almost total exclusion of pebbles of Laurentian or other
rocks, would indicate that these Cambrian strata were deposited off a
shore composed very largely of Huronian quartzites. The sandstones and
conglomerates are cut by dykes and masses of both acid and basic
eruptive rocks. The acid eruptions were first met with on a hill of red
quartz-porphyry at Teall point, on the west shore of Dubawnt lake. A
similar massive quartz-porphyry forms a heavy east and west dyke, some
distance farther north on the shore of the same lake, and in the
vicinity of the dyke the surrounding conglomerate is very hardened, so
that it breaks indifferently through the matrix or through the pebbles.
“Towards the north end of Dubawnt lake the orthoclase in the rock is
replaced by plagioclase, the porphyry thus becoming a porphyryte. This
porphyry is largely developed, and seems to underlie a large tract of
country, along Dubawnt river between Lady Marjorie lake and the Forks,
and again it was found on the island towards the east end of Baker lake.
“Dark-green basic eruptions, chiefly, or perhaps exclusively, in the
form of dykes, are extensively developed throughout the area covered by
the rocks of the Cambrian system. On Dubawnt lake and on Dubawnt river
near the Forks, most of these dykes
ARE OF TYPICAL DIABASE,
with interlocking lath-shaped crystals of plagioclase, between which are
crystals, or crystalline masses of augite, often altered to chlorite.
“A heavy diabase dyke, crossing Dubawnt river at Loudon rapids, cuts the
surrounding acid eruptions, and is clearly newer than they. It is also
interesting to note that the rocks in this vicinity are very freely
stained with green carbonate of copper, indicating the presence of a
considerable amount of copper disseminated through the rock, just as
copper occurs under similar conditions in similar rocks south of Lake
Superior.
“Lithologically the whole of this terrain presents a remarkable
resemblance to the red sandstones and quartz-porphyries of the
Keewenawan (copper-bearing) rocks of Lake Superior. This resemblance is
so strongly marked that small hand-specimens of the rocks from the shore
of Dubawnt lake are usually indistinguishable from specimens from Lake
Superior.
“Native copper was nowhere found, but it is not unlikely that it may
occur in the vicinity of some of these basic dykes.”
Mr. Tyrrell then proceeds to discuss the deposits of native copper in
the far north as already quoted in this chapter and continues:—
“Besides copper a narrow vein of pure galena has been found on the shore
of Bathurst inlet.
“Whether any other metals but copper and lead will be found in that
region remains to be discovered, but the evidence of the presence of
Animikie slates and limestones would indicate the possibility of the
occurrence of silver, such as was found at Silver islet on Lake
Superior.
“This northern country, which, as we have seen, gives abundant evidence
of rich mineral wealth, has up to the present been very remote from any
settlements, but now it can actually
BE REACHED WITH VERY LITTLE TROUBLE
and expense either from Mackenzie river or from Hudson bay, and its
general even unmountainous character would render the building of roads
across it a matter of comparatively little difficulty.
“From Mackenzie river to Great Bear lake is only sixty-five miles, and
from that lake to Coppermine river only another sixty-five miles, while
the Keewenawan rocks on Baker lake may be reached by ocean-going
steamers which can ascend Chesterfield inlet to its head, which is open
for three months of the year. From the head of Chesterfield inlet it is
only four hundred miles, over a gently undulating country, to the east
end of Great Slave lake, or five hundred and eighty miles to Copper
mountains west of Coppermine river.
“South of Chesterfield inlet good harbours exist, from which the
Huronian rocks could readily be explored, or, if rich mines were
discovered, would serve as means of access and outlet to and from these
mines.
“Churchill, at the southeastern extremity of the Barren Lands, has long
been known as an excellent harbour, having been surveyed by Joseph
Robson, an engineer, as long ago as 1746. On an average it is open five
months of the year, from June 19, to November 18, the shortest open
season known being four months and eight days, and longest season five
months and eighteen days.
“It is true that in going to live in that northern land, one would leave
far behind the forest, meadows, and pleasant orchards of this beautiful
province (Ontario), but the wealth torn from the rocks would enable the
people to procure all the products of more genial climates, and with the
health and strength derived from a well-fed, but active and energetic
existence, the country would be covered with homes as happy as could be
found in any part of the world.”
IRON, GOLD AND SILVER.
Mr. Tyrrell was examined before the select committee of the Senate in
1907 and in his evidence upon that occasion stated that north of Lake
Athabaska, for a certain distance, there are Huronian and Keewatin rocks
which certainly contain iron and small quantities of gold and silver,
but larger quantities have not yet been discovered. Ore being a mass of
mineral that can be worked at a profit, no ore has yet been found there,
but there are precious minerals. The country north of Lake Athabaska is
one of the most likely looking mineral countries that Mr. Tyrrell had
ever been in. After leaving the Huronian rocks north of Lake Athabaska,
one then strikes through a granite country for seven hundred miles on
the routes that he travelled which does not show much evidence of
minerals. Then as he got to Dubawnt lake he got on copper-bearing rocks
similar to the copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior, and those are
undoubtedly the same copper-bearing rocks which extend across Coppermine
river, and which have there been known to produce native copper—at
least the Esquimaux bring in the copper from Coppermine river to make
implements.
Mr. Tyrrell said he would not expect to find silver in connection with
the copper. They do not find silver in any quantity with the copper of
Lake Superior. They do find silver in places, but not on the Calumet
peninsula. The silver appears in a slightly different formation. While
it occurs in rocks of somewhat similar age, still it is not immediately
associated with copper, and the rocks that one finds from Dubawnt lake
northward, covering quite a large area, are very similar to the
copper-bearing rocks on Lake Superior. Taking a set of specimens from
the copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior, Mr. Tyrrell declared he could
duplicate them almost exactly from a set of specimens from these
northern rocks in all the peculiar minerals—and there are a great many
of them. He saw a small amount of copper in many places in these rocks,
and we know that it occurs in the rock, because the Esquimaux pick up
native copper and make their implements from it. So that he looked for a
large development at some time of a copper industry in that country
between Chesterfield inlet and Coppermine river. He had never been at
Coppermine river himself. Really the principal exploration of Coppermine
river, he explained, was done nearly one hundred years ago, and there
has been very little exploration of it since. It was visited by Doctor
J. M. Bell some three or four years previous to 1907, but he just barely
touched it, and Sir John Richardson, in the early part of last century,
really furnished all the information that is known about Coppermine
river.
A LARGE AREA OF MINERAL COUNTRY.
In the far northern region, Mr. Tyrrell stated upon this occasion, there
is a large area of mineral bearing country. As you come out to the mouth
of Chesterfield inlet there is an area of Keewatin and Huronian rocks,
similar to the conglomerates of northern Ontario, which have been found
to be so rich there, and these rocks are known to contain a certain
amount of gold and copper. Mr. Tyrrell saw them himself there, and he
had, he said, every confidence that that area too will produce minerals
of value—workable ores. There was no indication of nickel in any part
of the country.
Mr. A. P. Low, of the Geological Survey of Canada, who was a witness
before the same committee, stated that he had spent one winter at Cape
Fullerton, north of Chesterfield inlet. He explained that on the
mainland where there are marked indentations, there is a large
development of Huronian rocks, which contain four per cent. of copper
pyrites. These rocks have not been properly prospected yet, and there
have been no claims taken up on them. They have not been proven in any
way. Between Chesterfield and Fullerton there are several fairly decent
deposits of iron pyrites, and some of these contain small deposits of
gold. Gold was found by Doctor Wright somewhere in Whitcher inlet, but
beyond those discoveries nothing of a definite character is known of the
minerals of the far north.
The island of Southampton east of Fullerton is formed of limestone, and
a band of ancient Huronian Laurentian rocks, which crosses at the north
side of it.
FREE GOLD IN MELVILLE PENINSULA.
Examined before the select committee of the Senate in 1887, Doctor Robt.
Bell of the Geological Survey stated that free gold had at that date
been found in quartz in Repulse bay, south of Melville peninsula, which
is the extreme northeastern point of the continent, and considerably
north of Fullerton. The free gold he spoke of as coming from Repulse bay
was noticed by Professor James Tennant, of King’s College, London,
England. Plenty of copper had been found up there. Witness had found it
in small quantities himself, and it had been found as occurring in large
quantities among specimens brought from the west coast of Hudson bay by
others.
Speaking of his voyage by sea to Hudson bay, Doctor Bell said he had not
had an opportunity to satisfactorily investigate the mineral resources
of the country. His own opportunities for discovery had been limited on
account of the fact that when he was at the most likely places for
finding gold or silver he had very little chance to get ashore. He had
to take just what opportunity he had when going ashore with boats for
ballast or to land materials at the stations. The main object of all the
expeditions was to establish and supply the stations. If he had had an
expedition under his own control, fitted out for that object, he had no
doubt he could make valuable discoveries of minerals. He saw some quartz
ledges himself. They varied in size. He could not look entirely for
economic minerals, for in the few hours he had at any place he had to
ascertain as much as possible of the geological structure of the
country, and incidentally, if he found anything worthy of notice, he
brought away specimens. He saw many large veins of quartz, but those
from which he brought the specimens which happened to contain gold and
silver were not so large as others he had seen. Some were several feet
wide. He did not find visible gold at all.
As to the gold prospects in the central part of the Barren Lands,
Inspector Pelletier, Royal Northwest Mounted Police, states in his
report:—“In many places along the Thelon, great sand bars are
prominent, creeks flowing into it do so over gravel beds and when this
country is prospected I expect to hear of placer gold discoveries. It is
a good country for prospectors. A prospecting outfit going there would
find plenty of good timber to build their camp, and any amount of fuel.
They would have to carry only certain kinds of provisions, for fish is
abundant. Musk-ox and deer at certain times of the year are very
numerous.”
LIGNITE AND SOFT COAL.
Large areas of lignite and soft coal have been discovered along the
shores of Arctic sea between the Mackenzie and the Coppermine and in the
islands off the coast.
Doctor Richardson in 1826 found the Arctic coast east of Cape Bathurst
to consist of precipitous banks, similar in structure to the bituminous
shale cliffs at Whitby in Yorkshire. This shale was in a state of
ignition in many places.
According to the same authority “carboniferous limestone exists on the
northwestern coast of Banks island, on Melville and Bathurst islands. At
Village point, in latitude 76° 40′ and longitude 97° west, at Depot
point, Grinnell land (of Belcher), latitude 77° 5′ north, and at various
other places in the carboniferous limestone tract there are coal beds.
These coal beds are considered by Professor Houghton to be very low down
in the carboniferous series.”
In a valley in Banks island some distance from the coast and three
hundred feet above sea level, Richardson relates that Captain McClure
and Doctor Armstrong visited a carboniferous deposit. “The ends of
trunks and branches of trees,” says the last-named officer, “were seen
protruding through the rich loamy soil in which they were imbedded. On
excavating to some extent we found the entire hill to be a ligneous
formation, being composed of the trunks and branches of trees, some of
them dark and softened, in a state of semi-carbonization.”