Deposits of the Sudbury Camp, Ontario, Canada
The first recorded mention of mineralization in the vicinity of what subsequently became the town of Sudbury occurs in a report by Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada. As Dr Murray wrote:
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8.1 Some History The first recorded mention of mineralization in the vicinity of what subsequently became the town of Sudbury occurs in a report by Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada. As Dr Murray wrote: "Previous to my visit to Whitefish lake, I had been informed by Mr. Salter that local attraction of magnet had been observed by himself, while he was engaged in running the meridian line, and he expressed it to be his opinion that the presence of a large body of iron ore was the immediate cause. When, therefore, I came to the part indicated by Mr. Salter, I made a very careful examination not only in the direction of the meridian line, but for a considerable distance on each side of it, and the result of my examination was that the local attraction, which I found exactly as described by Mr. Salter, was owing to an immense mass of magnetic trap ... Specimens of this trap given to Mr. Hunt for analysis, and the result of his investigations shows that it contains magnetic iron ore and magnetic iron pyrites generally disseminated through the rock, the former in very small grains; titaniferous iron was found associated with the magnetic ore, and a small quantity of nickel and copper with the pyrites." (From: Report of Alexander Murray, Geol. Surv. Can, 1853-56, 180, 181)
The location of the "meridian line" referred to by Murray is documented by C.W. Knight in the 1917 report to the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission: "The location of this nickeliferous material is easily found. Salter' s meridian line was retraced in 1883, and was made to form the west boundary of the townships of Waters and Snider ... This locality is only 200 yards west of the great open pit of Creighton Mines. Unquestionably then, Murray walked over and examined the long gossan-stained ridge, at the foot of which in later years the greatest nickel mine in the world was discovered." (From: Report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p 29.)
Despite Murray's early report, the discovery of the Sudbury Ni-Cu ores is generally attributed to construction of the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway, which had reached Sudbury by 1883. Limited producA. J. Naldrett, Magmatic Sulfide Deposits © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004
406
8 Deposits of the Sudbury Camp, Ontario, Canada
tion started in 1886, and the subsequent growth of the mining camp, and the companies involved in this growth, are documented by the Ni production figures appearing as Fig. 8.1. 300 000
Canadia~•
Copper Co. :ernation~ ~ The > ~ International Orford n> ,:ickel Co. Nickel Co. Ud Copper Co.
250 000
The International Nickel Co. of Canada Ud.
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Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd.
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Total mine production to 1998 = 10,300,424 tonnes Ni _I I J I I
0 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Fig. 8.1. Production ofNi metal from the
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