Series GR-3353 - Bureau of Mines, Mineral Survey and Mineralogical Branch photographs

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Bureau of Mines, Mineral Survey and Mineralogical Branch photographs

General material designation

  • graphic material
  • textual record

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the series.

Level of description

Series

Reference code

GR-3353

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Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1895-1945 (Creation)
    Creator
    British Columbia. Dept. of Mines

Physical description area

Physical description

ca. 3500 photographs and 1 cm of textual records

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1899-1960)

Biographical history

The Dept. of Mines was established in 1899 in accordance with the Department of Mines Act (SBC 1899, c. 48). Prior to that, the earliest regulation of mining in the province was implemented under the Gold Fields Proclamation of 1859 with the appointment of two gold commissioners by Governor James Douglas for the Colony of British Columbia. A gold commissioner was first appointed in 1864 for the Colony of Vancouver Island. The commissioners registered claims, issued licenses and adjudicated disputes with the advice and aid of elected district mining boards.

The establishment of a provincial government with British Columbia’s entry into Confederation ultimately led to a Minister of Mines Act (SBC 1874, c. 16) in 1874. The Provincial Secretary also served as the Minister of Mines. In 1895, the Bureau of Mines Act 1895 (SBC 1895, c. 3) brought together all government offices connected with the mining industry. A provincial mineralogist was appointed who reported to the Provincial Secretary and Minister of Mines.

In 1899, the Department of Mines Act created a separate department and minister. The Bureau of Mines remained in place as the technical division of the department and was also responsible for the certification for assayists. Revisions to the Department of Mines Act in 1934 and 1937 abolished the bureau and completely reorganized and centralized the department, dividing the functions into four branches: Administration Branch under the chief gold commissioner; Assay Branch under the chief analyst and assayer; Mineralogical Branch under the chief mining engineer; and Mines Inspection Branch under the chief inspector of mines. The department had responsibility for all matters affecting mining, including the collection, publication and circulation of information relating to mining, administration of all mining laws, and the operation and maintenance of the Provincial Assay Office, laboratories, sampling plants, and the maintenance of the Museum of Minerals.

The functions and responsibilities of the department remained relatively stable until 1953 when responsibility for administration of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act and the Coal Act was transferred from the Department of Lands and Forests. A Petroleum and Natural Gas Branch, headed by the Chief Petroleum Engineer, was established and the department was renamed the Department of Mines and Petroleum Resources in 1960 (SBC 1960, c. 107).

Custodial history

Scope and content

The series consists of photographs (negatives and a small number of prints) created by the offices of the Bureau of Mines and the Mineral Survey between 1895 and 1937, and by the Mineralogical Branch between 1937 and 1945.

The series includes a 1938 memo which indicates that selected photographs were to be used or had been used in the department's published bulletins and in its Annual Report of the Minister of Mines. Photographers include the following government mineralogists, geologists, and mining engineers (followed with dates of photographs): William Fleet Robertson, Provincial Mineralogist, (photos 1898-1908); Herbert Carmichael, Assistant Mineralogist (1901-1904); F.W. Valleau, Gold Commissioner and Mining Recorder in the Omineca Mining District (photo 1901); Harold T. Nation (photos 1903-1926); Newton W. Emmens (1914); Joseph T. Mandy, provincial government resident mining engineer for the Atlin district (photos 1926-1945); Douglas Lay, Resident Mining Engineer (photos 1906-1940); Matthew S. Hedley (photos 1936-1939); Stuart S. Holland (photos 1939-1941); J.S. Stevenson (photos 1938-1942); H.S. Sargent (photos 1936-1941); R. Maconachie (1938-1940) and John D. Galloway, Provincial Mineralogist.

A small number of photographs were collected from private sources, including professional photographers. Some are attributed to the British Columbia Provincial Police. Approximately 50 per cent of the photographs are not attributed to a photographer.

Subjects include: mines, collieries, quarries, mineral veins and specimens; mining crews, equipment and operations; prospectors and placer mining activities; coke ovens, mills, smelters, concentrators and cement works; towns, modes of transportation; topographic features such as mountains, lakes, rivers, creeks. The photographers also captured a very wide range of subjects concerning British Columbia cultural and social history. Examples of this are First Nations activities and culture, including graveyards and bridges built by First Nations. The numbering system runs from 1 to 993. A single number may represent a series of photos on the same subject (for example: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d).

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Transferred to the BC Archivesby the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Revenue and Operational Services Division, Administrative Services Branch, (Sharon Ferris, Librarian), in 1994.

Arrangement

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Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

There are no access restrictions.
Conservation restriction: Negatives are in cold storage and are not available, see box list for details.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

All photographs were created prior to January 1, 1949, and are in the public domain.

Finding aids

There is an item list/inventory ordered by photo number and an alphabetical subject index of the photographs in container 001836-0013.

A box list and digitized copy of the item list/inventory is available: http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Document/Finding_Aids_Atom/GR-3001_to_GR-3500/gr-3353.pdf

Associated materials

Related series:GR-3264 Bureau of Mines photograph albums.

Related materials

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

General note

Accession number(s): 92-3432

General note

Researchers are directed to use the index in the finding aid or container 001836-0013 and the prints in 001836-0001 to 0003.

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