Part 2 (2/2)

Four miles farther down the line of railway froroup of asbestos mines, situate at Black Lake

The pioneer of these mines was a Mr Noel, now resident at Richmond, near Sherbrooke, in the same province, who, in 1881, discovered and opened up acharacter here, which in 1882 he sold to Mr Charles Lionais, as until recently the resident er of the mines owned by the Scottish Asbestos Cohton

The mine first opened here was called by Mr Lionais the ”Eureka,” and some time afterwards he opened another on the same estate which he named the ”Emelie” The property on which these two mines are located subsequently came into the possession of the late Mr Senecal, and was by hilo-Canadian Asbestos Company, Limited,” on the formation of that company in London, in the autulo-Canadian Coe of 1,350 feet extending backwards over the hills as far as Lake Cariboo Until recently this was the only place in the district where et out the ore

The peculiar characteristic of this property, as distinguished froly heavy work, necessitating of course great expense and showing very poor results, ood veins, if any such exist, as it is believed they do, are reached Much of this has already so far been done at the Eth this portion of the property bids fair, in capable hands, of proving to be amine

Great results were prophesied from it at first, but so far it has by no means realised expectations

The surface veins, not only at the ”Emelie” but all over the property so far as yet proved, are not only thin, but are much discoloured by the infiltration of water which is so strongly inated with the oxide of iron as alht, and as it would appear with soreatly ih there has undoubtedly been a sensible i Started as a No 3 mine, as such in all probability it will continue The output from this Company's mines for 1886 was 330 tons

The No 3 quality of asbestos, which has hitherto been the main produce of this mine, fetches so low a price in theThis, as already explained, is eneral coarse quality This latter having somewhat improved, a considerable proportion of the produce would cease to be classed as No 3 if it were not for the bad colour It therefore occurred to ht be possible to re the fibre, and in consequence I had some experiments made with this object in view, and ulti the discoloured fibre by one sufficiently bright to enable it to take rank as No 1 These experiments, it is true, were only conducted on a limited scale, but, so far as I am aware, there is no reason why it should not be done on a large scale, which would very materially increase the value of the article

There is a up in a more judicious way on other parts of this property on what see this without incurring any further expense ht easily be devised, and, if this were done, other seaht be hit upon

Another point in the company's favour is that, if judiciously selected, there is abundant roorounds--a most important matter when consideration is taken of the enormous quantity of waste rock to be here encountered and res on the estate are well constructed, and are in an efficient state of repair, but at present there is an insufficiency of dwelling-houses on the property These are a necessity in the district, for securing and retaining a better class of labour No great expense would have to be incurred in supplying this deficiency Lus in themselves, moreover, would always return a fair interest on the outlay

The property on which the ”Martin” Mine is located closely adjoins the last mentioned This has recently been acquired by ”The Scottish Asbestos Co it in conjunction with theirby the elaborate preparations for hich are being s and machinery, it is evidently the coorously in both places

Their property at Black Lake covers 102 acres, and is described as being a iven as 300 tons, but I should doubt very round here and in front of the Anglo-Canadian Company's land rises very rapidly, from the level of the Quebec Central Railway, until it attains a height of nearly 600 feet, being then about on a level with the Thetford reat serpentine belt crosses both properties, and is bounded along its northern ranulite, separated from the serpentine by a narrow belt of soapstone It is claimed for property of the Scottish Asbestos Company, that not less than three-quarters of it consists of the rock formation that seems to be the asbestos matrix

This property is well laid out, and has a considerable nus already erected on it for the workpeople It is also traversed by a good road leading down to the line of railway

On a narrow strip of land, dividing the properties of the last two mentioned companies, is a s the sa very hen I was there The output of this is not large, but the quality was very good, and this in consequence is no doubt a very payingworked at Black Lake, but fro on the same line, there can be little doubt that other mines will presently be opened up in this locality Capital is all that is wanting at present, but, as the demand for theit in larger quantities will no doubt be forthco at Black Lake when I was last there orking at a great disadvantage as compared with those at Thetford, in the want of a station on the line The Post Office arrangements were also of a very primitive character, nor was there any wire nearer than Thetford

All this, however, has been remedied, and there is now at Black Lake not only a station but also a post and telegraph office, in addition to many new houses for the acco, for the reasons already given, is, and reater at Black Lake than at Thetford, and cannot be put at less than 28 a ton After removal of the surface earth and rock, the proportion of refuse rock is about twenty-five tons to one of asbestos

In regard to communication, Black Lake is 80 miles fro a rising place, where all stores, &c, needed for the mines are obtainable and from whence lines radiate to all parts of the States

There are several other places in the vicinity of Black Lake where, although all that has yet been done may be called simple exploratory work, the indications are such as to warrant the expectation that valuable results may be looked for This is especially the case in what are known as the Reed and Haydon properties which extend over about 200 acres

On Dr Reed's land, or rather on that part of it known as the ”Coleraine Mines,” which is about 100 acres in extent, the ground has already been opened up in ten different places, each of which shows good No 1 asbestos in quantities sufficient for profitable working

The outcroppings here,that can be seen on the ground lower dohere work is now being carried on A practical ineer as recently sent to examine and report on this property says that it is 100 per cent better than that at Black Lake; that 75 per cent of the whole is veritable asbestos-bearing land, and that he knows of no other asbestossuch advantages in tiround The timber is sufficient for all practical purposes for at least twenty-five years

And Mr Ells, in his Annual Report to the Minister of the Interior, for 1886, speaking of his visit to the asbestos district and of his inspection of these properties, makes special mention of them as follows: ”In the vicinity of Black Lake several other areas occur, in which the exploratory work done, though not very extensive, shows indications that _fully warrant_ the statement that a valuable and profitable output may be expected These properties are known as the Reed and Hayden properties, and are situated on lots 27 and 28, Range B of Coleraine In various open cuts in the side of the hills nu upwards to a width of two and a half inches, with surface indications apparently in no way inferior to those of the adjoining properties now being worked at this place, _or even of those of Thetford mines_, not only as to the _number_ and _size_ of the veins, but also as to the _quality_ of the fibre These indications appear at many points on both the Hayden and Reed properties, which embrace a total of 200 acres”

Between these properties and Cariboo Lake the serpentines extend in an apparently continuous ridge, and show, at intervals, very good indications of asbestos This area, however, has not yet been sufficiently explored for much to be said, froh it seeh to suppose that this portion of the serpentine belt will be presently found equally valuable with that of the adjoining section

In the vicinity of the Coleraine Station of the Quebec Central Railway (the next station to Black Lake), serpentine also occurs; but thesouth-west, keeps to the north-west for about a mile and a half, where it for recently made on this south-west extremity by Mr Kennedy disclosed the presence of a nu near the surface had a width, it is said, of nearly four inches Sufficient work has not yet been done to deterh when I was last leaving the district I was given to understand that energetic operations would co season