Sydney
of Sydney
of Sydney
Coal Co.
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| Louis Frost Sydney | History of Sydney | Description of Sydney | Dominion Coal Co. | ||
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Coal was first mined in the Sydney coal field by the French military authorities from crop openings in the year 1685. Later circa 1720, organized mining was conducted in the Blockhouse Seam in the Morien Basin. For the next 100 years, outcrop mining was done in various parts of the field. In the year 1825, the General Mining Association was formed and, two years later, an effort made to do systematic mining in the Sydney Mines and New Waterford districts. In 1849 the Crown conveyed its interests in the minerals of the Province to the Government of Nova Scotia. In 1857 the General Mining Association, which till then held under sublease all the mineral areas of the Province, in consideration of certain concessions and privileges, surrendered its holdings to the Government of Nova Scotia, reserving, however, for its own operation certain areas in Cumberland, Pictou and Cape Breton counties, totaling 30 square miles. Shortly afterwards, several mining companies were formed and the mines were opened up in the Glace Bay district. At the time of the formation of the Dominion Coal Company, the following coal companies were operating in the Sydney coal field.
All of these companies, except the General Mining Association, which still retained its area at Sydney Mines, became consolidated in 1893 under a charter granted a new Company known as the Dominion Coal Company. In l90l the General Mining Association sold out its interests in Sydney Mines to the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Company. The outputs from Dominion Coal Company mines in five-year periods from the date of its formation to the present, are as follows:
Long Tons Net Tons
1894 - 1898 5,398,877 6,046,742
1899 - 1903 12,547,891 14,053,638
1904 - 1908 16,862,246 18,885,716
1909 - 1913 19,498,695 21,838,538
1914 - 1918 19,812,425 22,189,916
1919 - 1923 l5,605,864 17,478,568
1924 - 1928 16,507,987 18,488,945
1929 - 1933 14,543,660 16,288,899
1934 - 1938 18,247,357 20,437,040
1939 - 1943 19,253,927 21,564,398
1944 - 1949 14,002,764 15,683,096
1950 - 1954 16,406,728 18,375,535
1955 - 1959 16,014,558 17,936,305
1960 - 1962 8,455,741 9,470,430
At the present time in the Cape Breton Coal Field, the Glace Bay district contributes 46 percent, the New Waterford district 37 percent and Sydney Mines 17 percent of the coal produced in the area. Due to submarine conditions, it is not possible to determine accurately the tonnage yet recoverable from this field. Already approximately 219,0OO,OOO tons has been extracted and it is estimated that 257 million tons of economically recoverable coal is still available within proved areas of the Dominion Coal Company, Limited and 23-1/2 million tons within the area of the Old Sydney Collieries, of a quality equal to that being mined at the present time, and that the recoverable coal without regard to quality or economic feasibility within the limits of five miles seawards from the shore is approximately 947 million tons, or sufficient to last for nearly 200 years at the present rate of production. |
Last Modified: 98-01-05
Authored by: Louis Frost
IMPORTANT
The information contained on this site is not provided for the purpose
of factual
representation. Instead, it is provided in an historical context. Every
effort has
been made to ensure that this information represents the actual content
of the
original document authored by Louis Frost for the Dominion Coal Company
on or around 1962. Nevertheless, no warranties are provided in any respect.
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