Mae ea

EXTRACTS from Report of Mr. Geoffrey Francis
Monckton, M.E. Fellow of the Geological Society
of London, who spent about four months on the
property of the British Columbia Anthracite
Syndicate on the Upper Skeena, B.C.,, in 1911.

‘The property can be easily developed by railroads. It lies in
the valley which is most convenient for a railroad from the G. 'T. P.
on the lower Skeena to the Yukon, and can also be easily reached
by a line following one of the branches of the Naas, reaching the
sea eithed at Stewart or some other point on the Portland Canal, or
else near the mouth of the Naas.

The Beirnes Creek passes are respectively 4,200 and 4,300 ft.
and are about fifteen miles distant. The main parts of the pro-
perty being at an elevation of about 3,600 ft., this would entail a
grade against the load of rather less than 1 per cent for the first 15
miles, but for the remaining mileage to the sea there would be an
average grade in favour of it of 32 ft. to the mile. The wp grade
being so short it would be easy to haul short trains up to the divide
and having assembled them there to take very long trains thence to
the sea with one locomotive, which would mean cheap hauling.

The strata present a regularity which is rarely found in asso-
ciation with anthracite outside of South Wales and Pennsylvania.

On account of the rise in the strata to the north east as shown
in the sections, it will be possible to ‘work an area on this property
of approximately 12 square miles without machinery by the simple
expedient of driving tunnels into the mountain-a little above the
level of the Skeena so as to intersect the Benoit and the other seams
immediately below it in turn, and each of these seams can then be
worked to the rise as the management may desire. This would
mean a Saving in capital of about $600,000, as compared with work-
ing the property on the west side of the Skeena by means of shafts
and would result in additional economy in the actual cost of mining.

The seams so far found on the property which are on Beirnes
Creek, beginning with the top one, are the Benoit, Scott, Garneau,
Choquette, Ross and the Pelletier.

(1). The BENOIT contains 5 ft. of clean coal with about 12
inches of shale near the top. I believe more coal will be found in
the roof when it can be proved.