mining the Gatineau Hills, an introduction

Ottawa's bedrock is sedimentary — mostly limestone, some shale, and sandstone if you know where to look. Limestone and sandstone make great building materials, shale less so. To our north, across the Ottawa River, metamorphic bedrock, rich in mineral ores, serve different functions. 

Of the history of mining in the Gatineau Hills, Dr. Shawn Graham observes...

"The same geology that makes Gatineau Park a stunning panorama, from the Eardley Escarpment to the rolling landscape of the Meech Creek Valley, also made the area attractive to miners in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is a certain romance in mines named "Eva" or "Pink," and their ruins and tailings can be spotted underneath the dense underbrush which has, for the most part, reclaimed them. The names recall some of the earliest landowners and entrepreneurs: Forsythe, Baldwin, Lawless, Pink, Morris, Headley, Eva, Fortin-Gravelle, Laurentide, Wallingford, Cliff, Fleury, Chaput-Payne and McCloskey..."

Graham then describes the mining of mica, iron, and molybdenum in the area. Read his full article here.

(photo of the Pink's Lake mica mine via Capital Gems)