ODDS’N’SODS — Preserving Bruce Mines

A mining-tourism project has been under way during the past few years in the town of Bruce Mines in northern Ontario.

Other than some small “Indian diggings” at Mamainse and Alexander Henry’s 30-ft. excavation into copper-bearing rock somewhere around Pointe aux Mines in 1773, I am unaware of any other productive copper mining within Canada, let alone within Ontario, until the time of the Bruce.

The original showings were acquired in 1846 and the first two shipments of hand-concentrated ore left the mines before the end of the following year. Mining activity continued at the locations until a cave-in in 1875 brought almost 30 years of work to an end. Some of the original workings were reactivated around the turn of the century. Work by several different companies continued on an on-again/off-again basis into the early part of this century, until early 1921 when the mines closed down for the last time. In 1985, the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines began a “mines hazards” investigation of the old Bruce workings. During the next few years, work involving resident interviews, literature search, field mapping, ground-probing radar, magnetometer surveys and diamond drilling resulted in a good picture of what had gone on here so long ago.

This investigative work brought about the closure of one road, the bridging of one mine-working passing under another road, the fencing of stope areas and a redefining of mine hazard areas within the town. Assistance in this work was provided by three provincial ministries: Natural Resources, Labour and Transport.

If mining today is considered as a high-risk business, imagine what it was like at the Bruce back in the 1840s: no roads, no rail, no plane access; shipment in and out by sail or steamship in summer; and communications in and out by dog sled in winter. Yet a group of Canadian entrepreneurs, employing mostly Cornish miners and Cornish technology of that time, began work on the showings.

Initially under the direction of Cornish Mining Captain William Harris, “underhand stoping” was begun at the surface; then shafts were sunk and galleries were driven. Ore was hand-drilled, blasted, hoisted in “kibbles” lifted by “horse whims,” dumped and then hand-sorted on the ground “at grass” into grades known as “prill,” “best dredge” and “poor stuff.” The first high-grade “prill” was packed in barrels and sent for sale to Boston. In 1989, a small group of interested individuals, calling themselves the Coppertown Committee, first met to discuss the possibility of preserving some of the mining heritage of Bruce Mines.

At one of the original mine workings in town, and only 200 ft. off Hwy. 17, work was begun to reconstruct an 1840s-type of mining operation. A full-scale horse whim and open-log headframe were built, with hoisting rope installed and kibble buckets attached. Two realistic-looking “horses” and a stall add to this setup. Adjacent is a small office-museum building, as well as a powder and tool house.

The old 1847-48 stope, referred to in the original literature as “Simpson’s shaft,” was air-track-drilled to ensure the bottom really was as a new floor, with just enough depth to give visitors a feel of going underground. Entrance stairways have been built at both ends, and the log roof is being built “back,” as was done at the original Bruce. It is hoped that work at this site will be completed early this summer.

Connected to the Simpson’s shaft site by a boardwalk is the parking lot. The lot is surrounded by a split-rail fence, along which is a display of whatever old obsolete mining equipment the committee has so far obtained through donations. Items here include an EIMCO air locomotive, a turn-of-the-century Fraser & Chalmers rock crusher, a Wagoner scooptram and a pre-1920 small skip. Additional items have been promised.

— The author, who resides in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is chairman of Coppertown Committee.