Economic Minerals.
A Large Amount of Iron Ore in the Northeastern Corner of the Region, on the North East Side of Lake Athabaska.—Indications Favourable for the Discovery of Coal.—Nickel and Traces of Cobalt on Reindeer lake.—Medicinal Waters.—Bituminous Springs and Pit Coal on Cree river.—Tar Sands Near Buffalo lake.
In the report of his explorations in 1892 and 1893, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell notes the occurrence of several areas of Huronian quartzite along the northeast side of Lake Athabaska. In one case, he states:—“At a distance of a mile and a half from this island (four miles and a half east of Beaver Lodge island) in a direction north 66° east, a conspicuous red hill rises one hundred and twenty-five feet above the water, its abrupt red cliff standing out boldly towards the southwest. On its northeastern side, at its base, it is composed of thinly fissile quartzose schist, very much reddened, striking north 30° west, and dipping south 60° west, at an angle of 10°. Farther up the side of the hill the rock is a quartzite, interbedded with layers of hematite, which in some places forms the larger part of the mass. The summit of the hill, several hundred yards in length, is composed of a highly hematitic quartzite, mingled with a large quantity of limonite, especially on the higher points. In places the rock is a conglomerate, with quartz pebbles, and a matrix of limonite. Other similar red hills can be seen in the distance on the strike of the rocks, and the total amount of iron here and in the vicinity is doubtless very large.”
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that from a line at Cumberland House, on Saskatchewan river, northwestward to Churchill river, and westward along Churchill river, the country to the south is underlaid by the more recent clay rocks of the plains, and the mineral wealth that is to be looked for there is
Coal and Iron.
He had considerable confidence in both those most useful products being found in that country. Coal is found on Saskatchewan river at Edmonton, and on Pembina river, west of Edmonton, and there are several more outcroppings of coal down Saskatchewan river as far as Prince Albert. Most of the country north of Saskatchewan river had not been explored for coal. It is a country of gentle slopes covered with grass and wood, and the coal outcropping in such a country is certain to be covered. There is no possibility of seeing it as a natural outcrop. It has to be looked for, but it has not been looked for in that country sufficiently to find it, so he was perfectly confident that the same seams that outcrop on the Saskatchewan, in the west at all events, would be traced much further north.
Writing in his report of his survey of the west shore of Reindeer lake, Mr. Dowling states:—“From Priest’s point (proceeding southward), the lake gradually narrows from a minimum width of four miles, to a narrow inlet less than a mile wide at the outlet, and the course of this part lies very nearly southwest and northeast following in a general way the strike of the rocks. A band of dark mica-schists is crossed, reaching from near Priest’s point to twenty miles southwest, and along the course followed through the islands many small dykes of a quartzose fine-grained granite were found, in which iron pyrites is freely developed. The beds of fine-grained gneiss on Camping island, ten miles south from Priest’s point, are also found with many veins of pyrites and on the hill in the centre of the island many of the beds are very much rusted and decomposed. The pyrites are found to contain a small percentage of
Nickel and Traces of Cobalt.
At the north side of a small creek on the west shore, southwest from Camping island, the Indians report a soft soapstone or serpentinous rock from which they make pipes, but a visit to the locality did not result in finding this rock, which was then said to be obtained in small pieces from the shore and generally under the water. The rock there was, however, a light green sericite-schist, and it is possible that unfoliated or less cleavable portions of this might be soft enough for the purpose named. The stratigraphical relations of this band with the surrounding gneisses, could not in the time at the disposal of the party be made out, so that it is problematical whether this may be a small area of highly altered Huronian beds or not. The next rock occurring to the south is a dark garnetiferous gneiss, followed by reddish granitic gneiss to the outlet of the lake.”
Mr. Dowling mentions that in descending Reindeer river his attention was attracted by the red colouring of a hill near the river, below the mouth of Stump river. He states:—“On a nearer view, this red colouring is found to be due to the debris of a decomposed band occupying the crest of the ridge. The rock has been very highly charged with iron oxides and pyrites. The strike of the beds is south 10° east, with dip eastward at angles varying from 60° to 80°. Several large seams of red granite cut into the hill and break up the beds somewhat.