http://www.republicofmining.com/2008/06/16/o%e2%80%99donnell-roasting-yard-significantly-cut-down-the-sulphur-gary-peck/ Republic of Mining Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:07:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.republicofmining.com/2008/06/16/o%e2%80%99donnell-roasting-yard-significantly-cut-down-the-sulphur-gary-peck/comment-page-1/#comment-532 Wrecksdale Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:26:55 +0000 http://www.republicofmining.com/2008/06/16/o%e2%80%99donnell-roasting-yard-significantly-cut-down-the-sulphur-gary-peck/#comment-532 I have seen articles like this one on the roast yards. We know where the ore came from, however, INCO must have used up quite a bit of wood. While Gary Peck has written about logging, a history of the timber requirements of the mining industry have been quite neglected. No doubt much of the wood used in the roast beds came from culls from the production of "square set" mining timbers as well as trestle and railway ties. One of the earliest timber suppliers to INCO at Copper Cliff, was David Henry Haight of New Jersey. Haight came into this position as a cousin of INCO's first president Ambrose Monell. I don't know so much about mining timber, but in those early years railway ties were hand hewn. In the 1920's Haight and his partners had organized as Acme Timber Co. With the acquisition of Canadian National's sawmill at Foleyet and other mills along the CNR at Tionaga and Gogama, Acme continued as a major supplier to Inco. These operations were under the management of Haight's brother-in-law Ben Merwin. Merwin formed the Pineland Timber in 1932, taking control of these mills two years later. By the 1940's most of these areas had been logged out of suitable mining timber. In 1949 Merwin arranged with another firm to take mining timber from pulp concessions near Peterbell, where he established a new mill. A 1927 era mill stood derelict at Peterbell at the time. Pineland's final sawmill operation was later established at Nairn, where an arrangement was made with KVP to exchange pulp logs for sawlogs. In this later era INCO also had its own mill at Cache Bay, operating under the name George Gordon Lumber Co. Ltd. A number of other independent firms supplied timber to the mines. The Poupore company of Gogama, an early supplier of ties to the CNR, began producing mining timber for Falconbridge, eventually taking over Bell's Spanish River Lumber Co. mill at Skead. That's a lot of wood. I have seen articles like this one on the roast yards. We know where the ore came from, however, INCO must have used up quite a bit of wood. While Gary Peck has written about logging, a history of the timber requirements of the mining industry have been quite neglected. No doubt much of the wood used in the roast beds came from culls from the production of “square set” mining timbers as well as trestle and railway ties. One of the earliest timber suppliers to INCO at Copper Cliff, was David Henry Haight of New Jersey. Haight came into this position as a cousin of INCO’s first president Ambrose Monell. I don’t know so much about mining timber, but in those early years railway ties were hand hewn. In the 1920′s Haight and his partners had organized as Acme Timber Co. With the acquisition of Canadian National’s sawmill at Foleyet and other mills along the CNR at Tionaga and Gogama, Acme continued as a major supplier to Inco. These operations were under the management of Haight’s brother-in-law Ben Merwin. Merwin formed the Pineland Timber in 1932, taking control of these mills two years later. By the 1940′s most of these areas had been logged out of suitable mining timber. In 1949 Merwin arranged with another firm to take mining timber from pulp concessions near Peterbell, where he established a new mill. A 1927 era mill stood derelict at Peterbell at the time. Pineland’s final sawmill operation was later established at Nairn, where an arrangement was made with KVP to exchange pulp logs for sawlogs. In this later era INCO also had its own mill at Cache Bay, operating under the name George Gordon Lumber Co. Ltd. A number of other independent firms supplied timber to the mines. The Poupore company of Gogama, an early supplier of ties to the CNR, began producing mining timber for Falconbridge, eventually taking over Bell’s Spanish River Lumber Co. mill at Skead. That’s a lot of wood.

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