Preliminary Report on Gowganda Mining Division District of Nipissing OntarioCollins, W. H. (William Henry)
Science
Preliminary Report on Gowganda Mining Division District of Nipissing Ontario
Collins, W. H. (William Henry)
Geology -- Ontario; Mines and mineral resources -- Ontario
The known silver bearing area is restricted as yet to about ten square
miles lying between Gowganda lake and the portage route from Elkhorn to
Firth lakes, and is commonly known as Gowganda. Extensive prospecting
only commenced in September, about the close of the field season, so
that only the earlier discoveries are known to the writer, and a
knowledge of the surface details could only be derived by examination of
the few beginnings of patient and continued exploration by claim owners.
The present account must accordingly be accepted as incomplete and by no
means representing the present status of the Gowganda camp.
SURFACE INDICATIONS.
Conditions in the region are such as to demand exploration of the
closest and most intensive order, for the indications of mineralization
are negative rather than positive in character. The Gowganda area was
entirely forested at the beginning of 1908, and a carpet of moss and
vegetable mould covered most of the rock surface. Glacial materials are
also fairly abundant, and sometimes thick enough to render surface
exploration arduous and expensive. Added to this the veins are eroded
more deeply than the country rock, and are represented at the surface by
crevices filled with soil, and thereby rendered inconspicuous. Were the
country a flat one the difficulties in the way of successful prospecting
would be very serious, but fortunately it is rugged, especially near the
diabase. Steep ridges of this material are a regular topographical
feature. The sides of these ridges are bare or readily exposed and offer
fine opportunities for examination. It is significant that the first
silver discoveries were made in the sides of such rock walls. The pink
bloom found at the surfaces of the veins and the adjacent country rock
is also an indicator whose value is fully understood by those working in
the region.
STRUCTURE OF VEINS.
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