1

James Bruce, the Eighth Earl of Elgin
1849
Bruce Mines Museum, Bruce Mines, Ontario, Canada

2

Copper became very important after the Industrial Revolution, with England actively searching her colonies around the world, including Canada, for a more lucrative supply.
As early as the 1600's, reports of copper in the North Channel circulated in the more populated areas of Upper and Lower Canada.
First Nations people were known to use pure copper, believed to have been found on the south shores of Lake Superior, for cooking vessels, knives, and trade with other tribes for tobacco. This native or pure copper was rare, and the search for mineral copper, which would require mining, the construction of mills, and refining of the ore, commenced.
In 1847 the first shipment of commercial copper in Canada was shipped out of the Bruce Mines in what became the first successful copper mine in Canada. These mines were noted for their lateral continuity and consistent width of ore shoots and veins. The town of Bruce Mines was named after the Governor General of Canada at the time, James Bruce, the Eighth Earl of Elgin.
Given that Bruce Mines was based on a single industry, its fortunes fluctuated with the price of copper, the availability of miners, mining disasters, shipping problems and investors. In the down times, though many miners left to work elsewhere, many stayed and prevailed by farming and logging until the next mining boom.
Since 1921 the deposits have been inactive, although efforts to reopen the workings have been made as recently as 1970.

Photo courtesy of the Bruce Mines Museum.