NOTE.-Expenditures included $659,683 for Railways and Electrification; Wharves,

Piers, and Basins, $410,549, and Grain Elevator System, $677,171.

HARBOUR OF MONTREAL-AERIAL VIEW OF CENTRAL SECTION, EMBRACING GUARD PIER, KING
EDWARD AND JACQUES CARTIER PIERS; MARINE TOWER JETTY AND VICTORIA PIER ;

GRAIN ELEVATORS NOS. 1 AND 2 IN BACKGROUND

One-and-a-Quarter Billion Dollars-Total Mineral Production to End of 1926, Represented by Gold, Silver, and Nickel Produced in Last Twenty Years

ONTARIO'S GOLD PRODUCTION, TO END OF 1926, 33 Times Greater than that of the Yukon Territory 15 Times Greater than that of British Columbia Maximum gold output of Yukon Territory in 1900, $22,275,000

Third Largest Producer of Gold in the World

13,496 MINING CLAIMS STAKED IN 1926

The year 1926 was one of exceptional activity in the mining industry of Ontario, not only in actual production, but also in preparation for more intensive as well as extensive development of the mineral resources of the country. The extent of the activity in preparation for future development may be estimated by the fact that during the past year no less than 13,496 mining claims were staked and recorded with the Department of Mines, the largest since 1907.

Gold, which is the leading metallic product of Ontario, was produced to the extent of 1,497,216 ounces, at a value of almost 31 million dollars. The rapid rise in the production of this precious metal by the mines of the Province within the past fifteen years has placed Ontario in the position of third largest producer of gold in the world, being exceeded in this respect only by the Transvaal and the United States.

While the fall in the price of silver during 1926 affected somewhat the output of silver generally, the mines of Ontario produced in the year over nine million ounces of that metal, bringing the total production in the past 22 years to considerably over 373 million ounces. Ontario is only exceeded in silver production by three other historic camps, one in Bolivia and the other two in Mexico.

Nickel Supply for the Next 175 Years

Ontario is the world's chief source of nickel. The output of that metal by the mines of the Province at the present time is 40 per cent. in advance of that of the pre-war period. Sales of mill products, both of monel metal and rolled nickel, increased substantially in volume during 1926. The large quantities of

scrap nickel-steel thrown on the market as a result of the international program for naval disarmament has now been largely used up, and normal consumption of metallic nickel by steel companies is expected in the near future. As a result of scientific experimentation the forms and uses of nickel have been considerably enlarged, and this valuable metal is now being applied to a greater variety of purposes in the arts of peace than it originally served in warfare. The centre of the nickel mining industry in Ontario is at Sudbury, and the resources in sight at the present time are sufficient to maintain a supply for the next 175 years at the present rate of production.

Platinum and kindred metals are also produced from the nickelcopper ores of Sudbury. The total production of platinum metals in the Province in 1926 was 19,495 ounces, valued at $1,559,262.

An important development in the way of a by-product from nickel-copper ores is the new process of saving the waste sulphur gasses from the smelters in the Sudbury area. These smelters discharge into the air daily 500 tons of sulphur, or an equivalent of 1,500 tons of sulphuric acid. An important new industry has now been established in this connection, which will ensure to Canadian consumers an ample supply of sulphuric acid at a cost below that of the imported article. Only a small portion of the gas is used at present.

New Discovery Near Sudbury

Considerable interest was displayed during 1926 in the search for new lead and zinc deposits in Ontario, and one of the largest developments in this direction was at a point near Chelmsford, fifteen miles west of Sudbury. A considerable body of ore containing copper, lead, zinc, with some gold and silver, was discovered. Those connected with the enterprise claim that the deposit is a very large one, which should mean the establishment of another new industry in the Sudbury basin.

In non-metallic minerals, there was an increase of a million dollars in production during 1926, the total value of these products for the year being $8,472,811.

The total production of metallic and non-metallic minerals in Ontario to date is over one billion and a quarter dollars, nearly four-fifths of which is represented by gold, silver and nickel produced in the past twenty years.

The following tabular statement of output by the leading goldproducing countries for 1915 (year of maximum world production) and for the post-War period, has been abstracted chiefly from annual reports of the Director of the United States mint. It will be noted that Canada now holds third place among the gold-producing countries of the world, and for this the Province of Ontario is chiefly responsible.