Chapter I: Dawn of Mining Days  (continued)

The mine's poor showing distressed McKay. At 5 o'clock on the morning of 6 August 1864 he, Bennett and members of an English firm involved in the Terra Nova mine arrived in St. John's, having just come from the property. All except Bennett made straight for the local pub, and as they hammered at the door for admittance McKay exclaimed: "My interest in the Terra Nova mine for one glass of the invigorating fluid!"⁽²⁵⁾ He eventually disposed of his interest for more than that; by 1866, Bennett had sole ownership of the property.

The Terra Nova mine lay deserted for decades following its closure in 1864 until an American firm, the Newfoundland Exploration Syndicate, leased it and revived the old workings in 1901. The syndicate formed a subsidiary called the Terra Nova Company and shipped about 52,500 tons of ore to Britain and the United States between 1902 and 1906. In 1910, the Cape Copper Company Limited, an English company then working Newfoundland's Tilt Cove mine, optioned the Terra Nova property and exported another 11,000 tons of ore. Late in 1913, however, the company withdrew from Tilt Cove. The Terra Nova mine provided insufficient incentive for the firm to remain in Newfoundland and was closed down in 1915, since which date it has lain virtually dormant.

Of the six preceding mines - Turk's Head, English Ridge, La Manche, Stoney House, Lawn and Terra Nova - the last-named which lies immediately west of Notre Dame Bay, was the most significant. The mine, though modest in itself, indicated something spectacular. The rocks of Notre Dame Bay have undergone a peculiar geological history that has resulted in the formation of a large number of metallic orebodies. When Frederick Gisbourne, Smith McKay and others began searching the area it was inevitable that someone would find something large. The break came with McKay's discovery of the Tilt Cove copper deposits.

Tilt Cove Mine

Tilt Cove c. 1872, looking across Winser Lake with opening to sea at right. Engraving by B. Kroupa. (I/5.) (34Kb)

Twice in the last 120 years - from 1864 to 1917 and from 1957 to 1967 - the bustle of mining has disturbed the repose of Tilt Cove. Newfoundlanders are more familiar with the recent era because of its temporal proximity; however, a few people can also recall the final years of the first and perhaps more interesting period.

The traditional story regarding discovery of the Tilt Cove copper deposits tells that as Smith McKay explored the district in 1857 he met a fisherman from Tilt Cove named Isaac Winser and noticed that the man used a heavy metallic rock as boat ballast. Upon interrogation, Winser conducted McKay into Tilt Cove and showed him outcrops of copper ore in the steep cliffs surrounding the community. Another account relates that McKay spotted samples of copper ore on the mantlepiece of Winser's home and was told that the cove was 'full of the stuff'. Both versions support an affidavit signed in 1864 by Isaac and his two brothers, testifying that "on his departure he stated that there was mineral there, and he would return again."⁽²⁶⁾

Because of McKay's involvement in the Terra Nova mine, some years passed before he 'returned again'. However, having left Terra Nova and, more importantly, having met Charles Bennett, whose interest in minerals equalled his own, McKay's thoughts came increasingly to dwell upon Tilt Cove. He revisited the community, saw that its copper deposits did indeed warrant development, and formed the Union Mining Company with Bennett. Bennett put up capital for the company in exchange for a 6 per cent interest and McKay agreed to supervise the mining operation.⁽²⁷⁾ Final arrangements were completed, and on 27 July 1864 the first blasts shook the west cliffs of Tilt Cove to herald the birth of the Union or West mine.