Not Your Grandfathers Mining Industry, Nova Scotia, Canada

James Bishop

James R. Bishop died in an accident at the Moose River gold mine in 1905. Historical accidents like his are partly why the modern mining and quarrying industry is so safety focussed.

Bishop, from Porters Lake, Halifax County, was manager of the Moose River Mining Company, according to the Evening Mail newspaper. He was 36 years old in 1905 and had worked in mining since he was 20.

The Nova Scotia Department of Mines annual report for that year described the accident: “A very sad accident occurred here early in the spring by which James Bishop, the well known mill-man lost his life. He was engaged near the shaft when his clothing by some means caught, and his body being whirled around the shaft, was fearfully crushed. He died a few hours later. Few men in the Province had such an enviable reputation among the gold-miners, both as an expert and capable mill-wright, and as a trustworthy man.”

George W. Stuart, a highly respected gold miner and mayor Truro, paid tribute to Bishop in a lengthy letter printed in the Evening Mail on March 1, calling him “an invaluable man” and one of Nova Scotia’s “stalwart and sterling sons – a man among men.”

According to Stuart, Bishop “received a country school education. From his boyhood he exhibited the great essentials of prosperity and honorable success – honesty, perseverance, industry and study. When his day’s work of hard manual labor was done his evenings were spent in the study of statics, dynamics and mechanical drawing. He became a skilled and rapid workman, a master mechanic and a master building of the first order. Monuments of his marked ability, without equals, are standing in a number of the mining districts throughout the province.”

Stuart went on: “His control of men under him was remarkable, always securing the results of their best efforts in the interests of his employers, yet retaining their highest esteem and respect. He not only taught workmen what their duties were, but taught them to become skilled and efficient in the work of their respective departments of labor. Yet all these qualities were not the best side of ‘Gim Bishop’s’ life and character. He had a bold, noble and generous and tender heart. His mechanical ability and proficiency enabled him to command a good a salary and from his earnings he built a substantial and comfortable residence for his aged parents, maintaining them in comfort, and he helped to educate other members of the family.”

Stuart wrote that “In the interests of his company he voluntarily undertook the performance of a dangerous duty, and a valuable life, not yet in its prime, was cut short.”

He concluded with this: “But the world is better for his living, and though he may leave no niche in the temple of fame, and modest may be the mark of the resting place of his mortal remains, yet his memory will long live in the hearts of those who knew him best, and when the great command is heard ‘Gim Bishop’ will not stand a trembling coward before the Master, nor will he be sent away unrewarded for his work in this life.”

Given how accomplished Stuart himself was, his praise of Bishop was noteworthy.

Today, Nova Scotia’s mining and quarrying industry believes the most important thing to come out of a mine is the miner, and our modern safety record reflects this. Injury rates in the province’s mining and quarrying industry have been reduced 90% since the 1997 Westray public inquiry.

Gold was discovered in Moose River in 1866 and it is an example of why we say new mines are often found next to old mines. Historical miners discovered an important mineral deposit. However, the obstacles faced by Nova Scotian gold miners in the 1800s and early 1900s – such as lack of funds and basic infrastructure, insufficient mining expertise, and primitive science and technology – prevented them from fully extracting it. That is why historical mines have the potential to be mined profitably and environmentally-responsibly with modern science and engineering.

Moose River was mined again from 2017-23, creating over 300 direct jobs and over 900 spinoff jobs. The average salary at the mine was $84,000 per year. It generated $7.4 million in provincial tax revenue, $3.7 million in municipal tax revenue, and $100 million in economic spinoffs to local businesses. The company donated $1.6 million to community and non-profit organizations.

The modern mine also remediated two historical mine sites and 61,000 tonnes of contaminated soil from past operations by digging them up and moving them into the modern mine’s tailings facility, where they can no longer interact with the environment.