During the
research period for the attached report researchers was able to interview a number
of men connected with the gold mining operations of WEST COAST And Republic of Mali . There are a great many more people who should be interviewed to complete the picture of mining operations
in the early years of this century, as well as the period from 1920 to 1942. Following is a list of the people with whom I
did speak as well as suggestions of further contacts.
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Morila Village
and Sadjiola Village Gold Mining Community ( Republic of Mali
West Africa )
The history
of the gold mining operations of MORILA
AND SADJIOLA Village is a rich field. There
are countless themes that could be developed in association with an exhibition about 19th century WEST COAST gold mining methods and technology.
In this report I have divided the period into three distinct phases - 1861 - 1872: 1873 - 1893: 1894 - 1906.
Given the
strong tendency for WEST COAST miners and entrepreneurs to persist with traditional methods of mining while experimenting
with new systems, it would be quite feasible to illustrate the old and the new within one exhibition on the development of
mining methods in the 19th century.
Some of the
themes that could be developed are:
- the development and impact of gold mining technology focusing on labour, the village landscape, local industrial
development, as well as the costs of developing and opening a gold mine in the 1890s compared to the 1860s;
- the impact of the discovery of gold on the social and economic patterns of the Rural District and Colonial examination of the inter-relationship
between gold mining, lumbering, and shipping (use of wood in the mines to fire the boilers; the shipment of coal into the
area; etc.), the impact of the decline of gold mining activities on these other activities; the growth of temperance legislation
to control the miners, as well as a look at other activities fostered to "control" the gold miners; the development of schools,
churches, and social organizations for the mining areas;
- the relationship between Rural District and Colonial - the geological formation of the area; the development of
the mining claims and the movement of men, equipment, companies and capital between these areas;
- the relationship between ( Colonial / West Coast Operators ) and other mining districts in the province. There
appears to have been a group of mining interests that virtually dominated the gold mining areas on profitable in the latter
part of the 19th century - George Stuart, John Hardman, E. Faribault, just to name a few. It would be interesting
to illustrate the inter - relationships between certain companies and development in the province .
In addition,
the needs of a 19th century mill would have to be considered access to water supply to facilitate the milling operation;
solid bedrock foundation for the mortar block of the mill; sufficient space for a tailing dump, at a level great enough so
that the tailings could virtually flow out into the dump by means of gravity rather than by hoisting them out. The feasibility
of reconstructing a gold mine shaft, considered carefully.
Rather than
reconstructing a gold mine shaft, consideration should be given to using the Hirschfirld prospecting tunnel . This tunnel demonstrates the skill and tenacity of the hard rock miners and it was completely done by hand.
Models and photographs could be used to illustrate the system of underground mining that was developed within the province
during the 1890s phase.
(It is questionable if all the parts are operational); used at Miller
Lake.
1 portable
steam boiler,
1 upright
boiler,
1 hoisting
device,
1 hoisting
bucket;
1 small stone
jaw crusher,
1 stamp mill
model
1 mining canister
for gunpowder It is claimed that the canister contained the gunpowder with which
to be first shot to extract hold from his claim at Tangier, 1861.
1 candle holder
or candle hook, wrought iron; used by gold miners underground,
Stamp Mill
- driving belts
- ore bins
- ore skip or tramcar to haul ore into the mill
- amalgam dish (Photograph 34 - Dufferin
Mine Stamp Mill)
- amalgam tools - palette, chamois, india-rubber
(Photograph 44)
- kerosene lamps for lighting the mill
- amalgam table(s)
- concentrating equipment - either Wilfley table or frue vanner or blanket system
- mercury containers
- miner's scales
- steam engine to operate mill equipment; coal from Cape
Breton
Mining
- air or steam drill; air compressor connected to mill engine.
- assortment of hand tools for underground work - hammers, hand steels, crowbars, shovels, etc.
- mine pump
- loading stick
- charges, fuses
- dynamite bag
- supply of miner's candles
Miscellaneous
- mining prospectus
- mining maps showing claims - Map 1, colored according to original;
- lease agreements
- necessary government forms for making annual returns
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