Albert County's Mining Past

It was announced yesterday that New Brunswick was rated the top international location in terms of environment for the mining industry. While readers will undoubtedly have different reactions, one might be surprise, since in the southern half of the province, with the exception of the potash mines in the Sussex area, does not have an obvious current mining presence.  It was not always so, however, and the mining history of the Albert County area is a fascinating story.

Albert County has over the years been home to the mining of precious metals including gold and silver; industrially important materials including lead, zinc, copper, and manganese; building materials including sandstone, gravel, and gypsum; and petroleum products including natural gas, albertite, oil and gas. The mining techniques employed have included conventional underground techniques, open pit, surface collection and a variety of small scale recovery techniques. 

The area with the richest and most extensive mining history are the nearby communities of Curryville and Albert Mines.  Although copper and manganese were also mined there, the area is best known for two materials: albertite and gypsum. Albert Mines, and the remains from its mining past, are listed in Canada's Historic Places.  The Albert Mines listing in Canada's Historic Places notes: "Albert Mines was the site of the first commercial extraction of petroleum products anywhere in the world."  Albertite is a shiny black (or occasionally dark brown) crumbly rock that is very rich (more than 50%) in volatile material.  It played a key role in the development of kerosene which replaced whale oil for lighting, and some say that the development helped save whales from extinction.

The photo montage (from the listing in Canada's Historic Places) illustrates Albert Mines at the peak of its mining past and currently.  Now the site has a variety of tailings piles, and the remains of several buildings.  

The former government geologist and inventor, Dr. Abraham Gesner (1797-1864) developed a process for making kerosene from bitumen, and is apparently the discoverer of albertite in 1839.  His early experiments found that albertite was best suited for kerosene extraction, and he sought a licence from the government to mine and develop albertite.  While albertite was originally found under uprooted trees, a flood in 1850 revealed a huge deposit in Albert Mines. There was a dispute between Gesner and a rival company who had coal rights in the area and claimed that included albertite.  The feud got so bitter that guns were even drawn at the mine site on at least one location.  The rival company was granted the rights, a court decision viewed in retrospect as incorrect since albertite is distinctly different from coal.  Albertite was aggressively mined from 1854 to 1884 at Albert Mines.

Dr. Abraham Gesner, who was both a medical doctor and a professional geologist,  had a number of other achievements, including starting Canada's first public museum in 1842 (that went on to become the current New Brunswick Museum).  He had a number of links with the Bay of Fundy region, including being born in the Annapolis Valley, being twice shipwrecked early in life, and serving as a physician in the Parrsboro area. The bitter dispute over albertite, and lost court case, cast an unfortunate pall over the latter part of his life.


To visit the location one turns right onto the paved Albert Mines road from Hwy 114 at Edgett's Landing if driving from Moncton towards Fundy National Park.  If driving in the opposite direction, from Fundy towards Moncton, you turn left at Cape Station (this is not well marked but it is the first road after leaving a marsh, a small bridge then a slight rise with hay fields on your right).  If you have reached Hopewell Rocks you have gone too far.  The map shown below will help guide you.

When driving along this road from Fundy toward Moncton, in the community of Curryville, on your left are extensive tailings from the gypsum mining operation.  White gypsum stones are obvious from the road.  As you proceed further, near a church in Albert Mines, and just before the road takes a steep uphill path, there is a side road on the left, and the site of the Albert Mines complex was here.  There are only slight signs of this past, and you may need assistance from local residents in finding the right location.

Some of the best gypsum in the world was mined here in a huge open pit operation (there were other gypsum facilities in the province including one near Hillsborough).  The Curryville gypsum facility was operated from 1854 until 1980.

One of the trails in Fundy National Park, Coppermine, travels near the coast ending at the remnants from an early mine.  There remains only a pile of tailings, and bits from an old boiler.  While you can't remove rocks (or anything) from national parks, if you are lucky you can find a few bits of copper in the tailings (natural copper is greenish, not copper in colour).  Even though the mine remnants are not impressive, the trail is an easy and pleasant walk through interesting forests with a number of foot bridges over tiny streams. There are a few vistas of the coast during the return walk (most of the trail is divided so you return closer to the coast than you travel out). The trail head starts just off the parking lot that is on the opposite side of the road from the Point Wolfe campground.


Those wanting to make a comprehensive stop at the important mining locations within Albert County have a number of other stops to consider.  One location that you will have to view from afar is Grindstone Island.  This was one of the early stone quarry sites in the area, and the location of the lighthouse furthest up the bay. It is a nature preserve, important for bird nesting for a number of species, and is mainly owned by the Sackville parish of the Anglican Church, with the area right around the lighthouse owned by the Government of Canada. You can see Grindstone Island, that is just off the coast from the village of Hillsborough, as you travel along route 114 from Fundy National Park to Moncton.


Something I only learned in researching this column was the manganese mining in the Waterside area, one of my favourite locations (see my other posting on the incredible Waterside Beach).  Apparently the mine was active between and 1875-1877, although I don't know the precise location.  More interestingly, a non-invasive method of manganese extraction was used in the Dawson Settlement area further up the county.  The Virtual Museum exhibit describes the process this way "Bog manganese is not mined but is instead harvested. Underground streams carry manganese up to the surface, the manganese is then deposited at an outlet of the stream on the surface. This manganese then forms into a bog. The manganese harvested from this bog must first be dried before it can be sold." Apparently this was done from about 1897-1901.


Both conventional oil drilling (and natural gas production) and oil shale have been used in Albert County.  Several times in the past decades oil wells in the Weldon and Stoney Creek area (near route 114 between Hillsborough and Riverview) have been operational. In fact by 1925 a total of 66 wells had been drilled in the Stoney Creek area.  Oil shale refers to sedimentary rock rich in shale oil.  Given the larger cost of extraction compared to light oil, it has only been commercially harvested on a limited basis, mainly in Scotland, but that might change with rising prices that might make it economical. Given the current huge debate (a drive through any part of the province will see 'No 
Shale Gas' signs) in the province on proposed shale gas production through hydrofracking, it is interesting to consider the province's history in shale petroleum.

There are a number of good sources for additional information online including the Community Memories Virtual Museum exhibit prepared by the Albert County Museum (select the one on Mining in Albert County). As well as comprehensive written descriptions that site includes a number of historical photos. Another good source of information is the listing in Canada's Historic Places.  The NBCC historical resources have a nice section on Dr. Abraham Gesner and also one on Albertite. Of course the Albert County Museum should be a stop on any visit to the Bay of Fundy region.

©R.L. Hawkes. Publications wishing to print this story should contact rhawkes@chignecto.ca for permission.

Frommer's Top Destination List: Bay of Fundy

Image from Frommer's

Frommer's have just released their list of top destinations 2012 and the Bay of Fundy is the first location listed (and the only Canadian selection on the list).  The brief article naturally enough stresses the extreme tidal range, and singles out Hopewell Cape Rocks in New Brunswick as the best place to experience it. Although the tidal range is slightly higher on several locations on the Nova Scotia side of the bay, the natural beauty of the unique rock formations at Hopewell Cape contribute to the experience there.  The article does mention a number of other activities to be part of a trip to the destination, including jet boating against the Reversing Falls in Saint John, rafting with the tidal bore in Shubenacedie, rappeling at the Cape Engrage lighthouse, and hiking along the Fundy Trail.  Mention is also made of the hospitality of the region, and various culinary delights.  Other locations on the Frommer's top destination list are Beirut, Lebanon; Chongqing, China; Curacao, a Caribbean island; Fukuoka, Japan; Girona, Spain; Greenwich, UK; Kansas City, USA; Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; Moab, Utah U.S.A.; Hanalei Beach, Kauai; Tromso, Norway; Aysen, Chile; Great Smoky Mountains National Park in USA; Lima, Peru; Whitsunday Islands, Australia; Albanian Riviera; Turkey and Chicago, Illinois .  While it was disappointing that Fundy was not selected as one of the Seven Natural Wonders when the competition concluded a few months ago, but it is great to see it noted in this well known travel listing.  We hope that this selection will help convince more to explore the Bay of Fundy region.

Stay in a Fundy Yurt!

A new option for staying overnight at Fundy National Park is to stay in one of the newly constructed yurts.  My first exposure to yurts was during a winter trip to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia in 1998, when we stayed in one (they actually are called gers in Mongolia, from a word meaning home). There is evidence that yurts go back well over two thousand years in several cultures.

These circular high wall structures are usually placed on raised platforms, and are surprisingly roomy (the Fundy ones are about 6 m in diameter, roughly the same as some traditional Asian yurts/gars).  The Fundy yurts are on a raised wood base, and are covered with thick plastic, and have doors and windows, and an acrylic skylight.  Yurts have been an option in some parks along the west coast of the U.S.A. for some time, more recently Algonquin and several other parks in Ontario have them, and it is nice to see them now available in Atlantic Canada too!

There are six Fundy yurts, and the two nearest the bay have truly outstanding views of the Bay of Fundy, Alma harbour and the Chignecto cliffs.  They include a propane heater with ceramic viewing window. Each yurt has a bunk bed that has a double on bottom and a single over it, as well as a double sofa bed.  They have a very nice wood table with two benches and a couple of chairs.  There is natural light through a central roof window, as well as two battery storage solar lights for night operation.  You are not allowed to cook inside the yurts, but the recently renovated kitchen shelter nearby is reserved for those staying in the yurts.

Check with the park about the cost of the yurt, and they can be reserved by telephoning 506-887-6000 or emailing Fundy.Yurts-Yourtes@pc.gc.ca. More details on the Fundy National Park yurts is available here on the park website, as well as a checklist of what to bring (including sleeping bags, slippers and cooking/eating dishes).

For those familiar with Fundy National Park, they are located in what was once the overflow area of the Headquarters Campground.  As such it is a great location for those who prefer to walk to attractions - it is a relatively short walk to the Alma beach, the headquarters amphitheatre where many evening interpretive programs are hosted, the playground and golf course, the village of Alma, the swimming pool, and the beginning of several trails.  Each yurt has a picnic table and (according to the website) will soon have deck chairs as well.  Two of the yurts have ramps and are wheelchair accessible (although the nearest washrooms are some distance away).

As mentioned at the outset, the view from the first two of the Fundy yurts is truly incredible.  Why not try this unique way to stay overnight in Fundy?  If you really like your stay, a Canadian company will sell you a yurt for your own backyard or vacation experience - see details of Yurtco here (they also have information on the history of yurts).

Joggins Fossil Cliffs

A highlight of any Bay of Fundy vacation is a trip to the Joggins Fossil Cliffs.  This area, designated a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, has been one of the most important areas for fossil discoveries in the world, and is a "must explore" for any bay vacation.

The natural history of the region (long ago this was a biologically rich and diverse swamp), combined with the constant erosion due to the Fundy tides, result in a particularly rich area for fossil discovery.  Interestingly, at the times the fossils were formed (about 315 million years ago), this area was near the Earth's equator.  The swamp was bounded by mountains on each side, which contributed to the biological richness.  The fossil finds here are righ in tree, fern and amphibian and reptile fossils.  As the document naming it a UNESCO site said "The classic coastal section at Joggins, Nova Scotia, is of outstanding universal value. It contains an unrivalled fossil record preserved in its environmental context, which represents the finest example in the world of the terrestrial tropical environment and ecosystems of the Pennsylvanian 'Coal Age' of the Earth's history."

While the scientific value of the area has been  scientifically studied for more than one hundred years, it is only recently that a full interpretive centre has been established.  Plan on at least several hours here, and try to time your visit so that tide will be relatively low.  It is surprisingly easy to find fossils here after a bit of guidance, and almost every one will find at least one along the beach (this is a protected area and all fossils must remain on the beach).  I have visited with groups several times, and the staff are superb.  One interesting aspect is that the centre is a research as well as educational operation, with various ongoing scientific studies. 

The interpretive centre includes static and dynamic displays, and cover the geological, scientific, historical and cultural importance of the area.  This area was once a rich coal mining area, and the history of that industry in the village is well covered.  The interpretive centre, which features green technology, has a lunch room and gift shop at the site. It is open from late April until end of October each year (check their website for hours of operation).   It is well off the major highways, so make sure you are clear on driving directions.