Roast yard near Victoria Mines, Sudbury 1898. Greater Sudbury Historical Database.
By Krista McCracken
The image of Sudbury, Ontario has long been associated with mining, smelting, and a barren landscape. Perhaps most famously, the landscape of Sudbury has been said to be comparable to the landscape present on the moon. Similarly, the image of the towering Sudbury Superstack is one which holds sway in the minds of many Canadians. However, since the 1970s Sudbury has put considerable financial and community resources into mitigating the ecological impact of mining on the community.
Nickel was identified in the Sudbury Basin as early as 1750. Despite this discovery the early years of industry in Sudbury were dominated by forestry. By the mid 1880s forest fires and clear cut logging had already contributed to significant alteration of the natural landscape of Sudbury.
The industrial scars on the landscape increased as the mining industry developed in the area. In 1888 the first roast yard and smelter were established in Copper Cliff, and marked the beginning of large scale mining in the Sudbury area. Between 1913 and 1916 the Mond Nickel Company removed all vegetation from the Coniston area to provide fuel for the roasting yard.
The roasting method was used by mining companies in Sudbury until 1929 as the primary means of separating minerals. Fueled by cordwood these beds resulted in clouds of sulfur dioxide spreading from the beds at ground level. The roast beds have been blamed for much of the environmental destruction in Sudbury. However, it has also been argued that the later smelter technology also contributed to considerable environmental devastation by releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.[i]
The result of years of continuous mining and expulsion of associated pollutants resulted in approximately 7,000 lakes within 17,000 square kilometers being acidified, 20,000 hectares of barren land being created in which no vegetation grows and significant erosion has occurred, and 80,000 hectares of semi-barren land.[ii] Continue reading →
The 2013 Social Sciences and Humanities Congress was held recently in Victoria, which of course included the CHA Annual Meeting. In a beautiful city, with a beautiful campus, and spurred on by beautiful weather, the conference was quite a success. A hearty congratulations to Penny Bryden and her entire organizing committee at the University of Victoria.![Men standing on shore of output [sic, outport], 1961. Source: Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board fonds/e010975945.](https://i0.wp.com/activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Loo-2013.jpg?resize=194%2C194&ssl=1)
