Albert Mines, New Brunswick

Albert Mines is a community in the southeastern corner (Map) of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It is due south of the Village of Hillsborough and bordered by the communities of Demoiselle Creek (site of Hopewell Rocks) and Edgetts Landing. Prominent buildings today include the Albert Mines Baptist Church. The locale is notable in the history of the petroleum industry as being the source of the first ore used to distill kerosene.[lower-alpha 1]

Albert Mines
Location of Albert Mines in New Brunswick

Mining history
Drawing of the asphalt-like ore known as Albertite.

In 1820, a deposit of Albertite, variously described as "solid petroleum" or "asphalt" was discovered by Abraham Gesner, who understood its potential as an alternative to whale oil as a source of light.[1] After developing a process to distill the ore into what he would call kerosene (parafin in Europe) the ore was mined between 1854 and 1881, yielding an estimated 200,000 tons of Albertite.[2] Mining disputes, including the nature of Albertite, were subject to legal action in the 1850s.[3] A section of the Albert Railway ran through the area beginning 1877 until the track was dismantled in 1955[4]

A century-old[4] gypsum quarry supplied a National Gypsum mill in nearby Hillsborough and ceased production in the 1980s when the mill closed.

Notes
  1. Technically, it was a mixture of Albertite and pitch that was used in the first public demonstration in 1846.[lower-alpha 2]
  2. Martin 2003, p. 40.

References
  1. Ed Butts (2019-10-04). "The cautionary tale of whale oil". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  2. Martin 2003, p. 100.
  3. "Jackson's Revenge: Albert Mines". Heritage Resources Saint John. 2008-02-13. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  4. Clowes, Art; David Othen (1999). "Salem & Hillsborough Railroad And Other Railways of Albert County". The Railways of Canada Archives. Trainweb. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  • Martin, Gwen L. (2003). Gesner's Dream: The Trials and Triumphs of Early Mining in New Brunswick. Fredericton: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum. ISBN 1894475-46-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • Nancy Redmayne Ross, ed,. Diary of a Maritimer 1816-1901: The Life and times of Joseph Salter, St. John's: International Maritime Economic History Association, 1996.
    This work includes a description of the diarist's affiliation with the Caledonia Mining and Manufacturing Company (1859–1862), which was one of the companies that mined Albertite here.
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