36 NATURAL RESOURCES OF QUEBEC
river and on the Kaksoak river. Another source of iron to be counted
apon as a reserve are the important iron sands of the north shore of the
lower St. Lawrence. Of these the most important are at Natashquan
500 miles below the city of Quebec. These iron bearing sands contain
between 15 and 20 per cent of metallic iron and are estimated to contain
500,000 tons of magnetite, whilst the deposits of titaniferous ore at St.
Charles, opposite Chicoutimi, are estimated to contain 5,000,000 tons.
Titanic iron ore consisting of 2,029 tons valued at $8,980, was produced
n the province in 1927.
Chromite.—The only workable deposits of chromite known in
Canada are situated in Quebec in the serpentine belt. The centre of the
Quebec chromite industry is in the township of Coleraine, county of
Mégantic. From 1894 to 1908 the chromite industry of the Coleraine
district was quite active, but owing to the discovery of large deposits
in Rhodesia and New Caledonia, the Canadian industry was closed down
in 1913. Operations were renewed temporarily under war needs, but
since 1925 no work of any kind has been done in the chromite mines.
The world’s consumption of chromite is now increasing rapidly and
the Quebec industry is expected to be reopened. The main use of chromite
is for the manufacture of refractories materials. Stainless steels, which
contain 12 to 15 per cent of chromium. are in increasing demand vear
bv vear.
Pyrites.— The shipments of iron pyrites, used as a source of sulphur
for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, amounted to 13,404 tons, valued
at $42,795. This pyrites comes from the concentration of the cupri-
ferous pyrite ore of the Eustis mine, in the flotation mill, from which
operation the iron pyrites is recovered and sold to sulphuric acid works.
Electro-Chemical Industry.—Quebec has lately attained a pro-
minent place in the electro-chemical industry, which is closely associated
with the hydro-electric development. It centres very largely around
Shawinigan Falls, although there are one or two industries located else-
where in the province.
Through the medium of the electric current, alumina is reduced to
metallic aluminium, artificial abrasives, rivalling corundum and garnet
are produced from sand and sawdust, calcium carbide is made from lime,
a host of derivatives are prepared from acetylene gas, and sodium sulphide
's made by reducing salt cake with coke. The prospects for a wide expan-
sion in the electro-metallurgical field are very bright in Quebec.
Gold.—Alluvial gold deposits in the basin of the Chaudiére river,
50 miles south of the city of Quebec, yielded about 2} million dollars of
sold between the vears 1870 and 1890. Working has been suspended
