Walton baryte mine (Magnet Cove Barium Corp. mine), Walton, Hants Co., Nova Scotia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Walton baryte mine (Magnet Cove Barium Corp. mine)	Open-Cast Mine (Flooded)
Walton	- not defined -
Hants Co.	County
Nova Scotia	Province
Canada	Country

A baryte mine and lead-zinc-silver-copper deposit. During its operation it was Canada's largest baryte mine and one of the largest deposits in the world. The type locality for aplowite and moorhouseite. It was the first locality in Canada for penroseite, lavendulan, and metavoltine. Unfortunately, while the dumps are extensive, they have all been reclaimed and it is now difficult to even find interesting microminerals.

History

A baryte outcrop, only a few square feet in size, was known from at least 1894. It was not until 1940, however, when a local prospector, Roscoe Hiltz, rediscovered the outcrop and brought it to the attention of Springer Sturgeon Gold Mines Ltd. The importance was immediately realized and test drilling began in the fall of 1940, continuing through the winter into 1941. It would become Canada's largest baryte mine and one of the largest deposits in the world. A nice report from the very beginning of the mine is written by Cameron (1941).

Baryte production began in 1941 and was operated by Canadian Industrial Minerals, a subsidiary of Springer Strugeon, until 1955. At that time the mine was leased to Magnet Cove Barium Corporation, a subsidiary of Dresser Industries Inc., of Dallas, Texas. Some specimen labels will indicate Dresser Industries Quarry as the name of the location.

The Nova Scotia Department of Mines conducted a diamond drilling program in 1956 revealing a lead-zinc-silver-copper orebody below the large baryte deposit. A mill was constructed and sulfide production began in 1961. In 1967 Magnet Cove Barium Corporation became Dresser Minerals.

In 1970, an unfortunate blast was made in one of the large fault zones, which resulted in flooding. The flood water was initially fresh, but after a few months it became brackish. The saline water indicated that it was originating from the nearby Minas Basin and therefore would not stop. In 1976 the mine began phase-out operations and in February 1978 production ended. The mine had produced 4.3 million tons of baryte over the 38 years of operation, and there are still nearly 1 million tons underground. Over that time, most of the baryte was used in the oil drilling industry in the United States and the Caribbean. From the sulfide zone, 412 thousand tons of ore were produced, grading 4.28% Pb, 1.29% Zn, 0.52% Cu and 350 g/t Ag.

Geology

The structure of the deposit is described as 'exceedingly complex' by Boyle. The region within tens of kilometers around the deposit is marked by two major sets of faults, oriented east-west and northwest-southeast. At the Walton deposit the dominant feature is an east-west fault zone in the foot wall of the baryte mass that joins a northwest fault that is close to the hanging wall of the baryte. The faults are pre-ore and are brecciated over several tens of feet. Post-ore movement also brecciated the baryte and sulfides. The age of the faulting is probably post-Triassic.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References