Nova Scotia Mine Tailings Database

Metadata for DP ME 533, 2020, Nova Scotia Mine Tailings Database

Table Of Contents



Identification Information

Citation Information
  Title: DP ME 533, 2020, Nova Scotia Mine Tailings Database
  Originator: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines, Mineral Management Division, E. W. Hennick
  Publication Date: 20200629
  Data Type: vector digital data
  Series Name: Digital Product ME
  Issue Identification: DP ME 533
  Publisher: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines
  Publication Place: 1701 Hollis Street, P.O. Box 698, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 2T9, CA
  Online linkage: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp533.asp
 
Data Description
  Abstract: The Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines (NSDEM) has identified 219 historical mineral processing sites throughout the Province which likely contain mine tailings.The ore processed at most of the sites (194) was gold, but other commodities include base metals, barite, tin, tungsten, strontium and antimony. Also, areas of coal fines related to several coal wash plants in the Sydney Coalfield, are identified.Dumps containing waste by-products of past iron and manganese operations are not included, nor are gypsum fines or by-products of steelmaking and power generation, i.e., slag and ash dumps.In 2009 the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources released a series of 64 map sheets of Historic Gold Mining Areas in Nova Scotia https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/mg/ofm/htm/ofm_2009-001.aspThis mapping included crusher and tailings locations, but the mapping only represents conditions as identified by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) between the years 1884 and 1919. Many of the crushers which pre-dated 1884 and all of those after 1919, are not identified on the maps. Through research, NSDEM staff have confirmed that much of the tailings created between 1861 and 1884 are identified on the GSC maps, but many locations have been appended to, and others added, particularly for the operations which took place beyond 1919.This digital layer of processing sites is intended to indicate the likelihood of tailings existing in an area. In some cases, based upon detailed work contained within various public reports, the polygons are more accurate. However, no detailed studies have been conducted for most sites, thus this digital layer is intended as a guide for potential future delineation or study. The viewer is advised to consult the information sources listed within the database which, in some cases, may be limited to aerial photography or lidar imagery.Information related to each site includes, location, various companies that operated (if available and not all inclusive), estimated hectares covered, commodity sought, tonnes crushed, dates of operation and sources of information. Individual crusher locations are not included as part of the database. One site may represent contributions from several different processing operations, e.g., contributions from at least 8 different crushers contributed to the main tailings at Goldenville. Also, in many cases throughout the gold districts it was common practice to erect a mill before producing. In many of those cases the company abandoned the operation before any crushing took place. It was also common for ore from one district to be hauled to crushers in other districts in many instances leading to incorrect production figures for separate districts. In the production field, reconciliations have been made regarding assigning accurate figures to the appropriate site. This may lead readers to note discrepancies between production figures in this dataset compared with those contained in other previously released documentation. Also, in rare cases where no accurate production figures are available, but the site had studies conducted upon it (Seabright reports), the estimated tonnages from the studies are utilized.Despite evidence of mineral processing, NSDEM staff were unable to interpret the area covered at 49 sites. At approximately half of those sites the mine tailings went directly into a waterbody making it impossible to estimate the location covered. A simple circular polygon represents the processing site with all available source data identified. However, in other cases, through utilization of historical aerial photography, a reasonable estimation of the area of mine tailings located on or adjacent to, a water body, has been made. Upon viewing many of the sites it will be apparent that a likelihood exists of mine tailings downstream from many sites. However, unless obviously identifiable through source material, there are no polygons representing downstream coverage, either in rivers, streams, lakes or larger water bodies. The purpose of this layer is to act as a guide for potential better delineation of coverage. In some cases, documentation exists of the existence of mine tailings many kilometres downstream or offshore, from a site.The dataset makes no reference to potential environmental impacts on the sites but should prove to be an asset for land-use planning and future academic work to possibly better delineate the areas and identify such impacts.PLEASE NOTE – Further information related to mine tailings in Nova Scotia can be found at the following links, https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/hazard-assessment/tailings.asp, https://www.novascotia.ca/natr/meb/hazard-assessment/docs/7_-_ofr_me_2015-004.pdfMany abandoned mineral processing sites contain unsecured open holes and tunnels which present hazards to the public. At some sites, signs on Crown and private land identify the locations of open holes and hazards; however, many more of these abandoned mine openings have no warning signs posted. Anyone who may be traveling in an undeveloped area known to potentially contain abandoned mine openings should review the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Information Circular ME 42, 1995 - https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/pdf/ic42.asp
  Purpose: The Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines (NSDEM) has identified 219 historical mineral processing sites throughout the Province which likely contain mine tailings. The ore processed at most of the sites (194) was gold, but other commodities include base metals, barite, tin, tungsten, strontium, and antimony. Also, areas of coal fines related to several coal wash plants in the Sydney Coalfield, are identified.
  Supplemental Information: Data Set ID = dp533ns Data Class = geohazard
  Data Credit: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines
  Data Environment Version 6.2 (Build 9200) ; Esri ArcGIS 10.5.1.7333
  Native Data Set Format File Geodatabase
 
Contact Information

    Jeff Poole
    Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines, Geoscience and Mines Branch
    Digital Information Services Supervisor
    1701 Hollis Street, P.O. Box 698
    Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA
    B3J 2T9
    (phone) (902) 424-8139
    (fax) (902) 434-7735
    Jeff.Poole@novascotia.ca
    Available: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm AST
 
Data Status
  Progress: In work
  Update Frequency: As needed
 
Spatial Domain
  West Coordinate: -66.319327
  East Coordinate: -59.875692
  North Coordinate: 46.531151
  South Coordinate: 43.859492

 
Keywords
  Theme Keywords: mine ; tailings ; digital geoscience data ; Geologic & Geophysical ; geoscientificInformation ; geoscientificInformation
  Place Keywords: Nova Scotia
 
Access and Usage Information
  Access Constraints: Nova Scotia Open Government Licence is: https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp
  Use Constraints: Nova Scotia Open Government Licence is: https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp
 
Browse Graphic Information
  Filename: None
  Description: None at this time
 
Processing Step Information
 
Processing Step (1 of 1)
  Description: See Description Above

 
Spatial Data Organization Information

  Spatial Reference Method: Vector

 
Spatial Reference Information

  Data Projection:
  Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983_CSRS
  Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_CSRS_UTM_Zone_20N
  Datum: D_North_American_1983_CSRS
  Ellipsoid: Geodetic Reference System 80
  Semi-Major Axis: 6378137.0
  Denominator Of Flattening Axis: 298.257222101


 
Entity Attribute Information

 
Detailed Description
 
Data Layer/Table (1 of 1)
  Table Name: z533nswr_tailings_areas
  Description: ArcGIS Polygons - Tailings Areas

 
Distribution Information

  Description: Downloadable Data
  Liability: Nova Scotia Open Government Licence is: https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp
  Technical Prerequisite: In order to view our digital files on your computer, you require mapping software (e.g. ArcMap, QGIS, MapInfo, AutoCAD). Links for these and other map viewers can be found at https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/mapviewers.asp Data Formats GMB provides its digital data products in a number of formats. You can find our more information on these format and how to use them at https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dpformat.asp. Fonts A number of DEM or GSC fonts may be required to properly view our data sets in an ArcMap project or to view the hard copy maps in a PDF format (normally the fonts will be embedded in the PDF). The fonts required for a particular dataset may be found in the c:\nsDNR\dp999v9XX\d999YY\arcmap\fonts directory on your computer after you download the data set. In order to see a complete list of fonts that are used and to download the DEM and GSC fonts from our web site please go to https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dpexttool.asp. Any of these fonts can be installed on your computer by going to Start - Settings - Control Panel - Fonts - File - Install. ArcMap Project Information Our GDB products include an ArcMap project which have all of the GDB feature classes symbolized and tables loaded with links and joins already created. This project uses relative paths so it should be drive and path independent. It can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcmap\project directory. ArcView Project Information Our SHP products include an ArcView project which have all of the shapefiles symbolized and tables loaded with link and joins already created. This project uses relative paths so it should be drive and path independent. It can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcview\project directory. ArcExplorer Project Information We have also included an ArcExplorer 2 project (.aep) and an ArcExplorer 4 (.axl) project for this data set that can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcexpl directory. The shapefiles are already loaded and have limited symbolization, any related tables are not loaded. The AEP project uses relative paths and should be no problem using it without any changes. The AXL project includes a string "#DPMEPATH#" which you will need to search for and replace with your drive letter and a colon (ex: c:) in order to make the project work. Please note the if you do not install the data set using the default path you may need to replace other parts of the reference to the path in the AXL. Hotlinks In order to use the hotlink feature within ArcView 3.x in you may need to load GMB's Hotlink Anything extension which may be located in the arcview/ext directory along with documentation. You may also need to set the variable MEBGIS_HOME on your system to the location of the data set on your system. The SHP product provides an ArcView project set up with the hotlinks working. Some modifications to the HOTLINK field in the database tables or in the HLFILES may be required to make the hotlink work properly. Knowledge of ArcView and hotlinks may be required to make this work properly. A feature called hotlinks is used in ArcView to link a feature such as a mineral occurrence or cross section to a single text file, image or web site etc. For features that we want to link multiple items or documents to we have developed our own hotlink extension for ArcView 3.x called "Hotlink Anything". The extension and documentation on how to install the extension, and set the required MEBGIS_HOME variable to the location of the data set on your system is included in the x:\nsgov\dig_prod_num\data_set_id\arcview\ext directory (example - c:\nsgov\dp305v1sh\g118a\arcview\ext) assuming that you used our default directories when downloading the data. The SHP product provides an ArcView project set up with the hotlinks working. Some modifications to the HOTLINK field in the database tables or in the HLFILES.TXT file may be required to make the hotlink work properly. Knowledge of ArcView and hotlinks may be required to make the native hotlink utility or our extension work properly Geological maps and associated digital products are intended for use at the published scale of the map.
  Ordering Fee: Free
  Instructions: The dataset can be downloaded from the internet
  Distribution Contact:
    See contact information
 
Digital Form: (1 of 1)
  format name: ESRI Shapefile (SHP), File Geodatabase (GDB) and KML/KMZ formats
  format version: 10.5.1
  format specification: dp533sgk_NS_Mine_Tailings.zip
  Transfer Size: 1 MB
  Dataset Size: 3.6 MB
  Information Content: Contains data pertaining to mine tailings in Nova Scotia
  Decompression Technique: Zip File
  Online Transfer: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp533.asp

 
Metadata Reference

  Creation Date: 20200629
  Metadata Standard: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
  Standard Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
  Time Convention: local time
  Access Constraints: Nova Scotia Open Government Licence (https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp)
  User Constraints: Nova Scotia Open Government Licence (https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp)
  Metadata Contact:
    Jeff Poole
    Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines
    Digital Information Services Supervisor
    1701 Hollis Street, P.O. Box 698
    Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA
    B3J 2T9
    (phone) (902) 424-8139
    (fax) (902) 434-7735
    Jeff.Poole@novascotia.ca
    Available: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm AST