Welcome to the Dynamic Earth visitor center!
Though today Sudbury is known for its nickel and copper mining, the practice of mining has been taking place in the Sudbury area for over 10,000 years. When the last period of glaciations (the Pleistocene Epoch) ended about 11,700 years ago, people of the Plano culture moved into the area and began quarrying quartzite at Sheguiandah on Manitoulin Island for use in tools and weapons. Later First Nations peoples who moved into the area started mining copper as well, to use in ornaments as well as tools.
(Remember my last post about Bruce Mines and its copper mine?)
In 1856, surveyor Albert Pellew Salter detected magnetic abnormalities between Round Lake and Whitefish Lake (in simpler terms, Salter noticed his compass needle was being deflected from its normal position). His findings were confirmed by Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada, but the discovery was largely ignored due to the remoteness of the area at the time. | CPR Locomotive No. 222 on a railway trestle, Dec 1883. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194433) |
The mining crew at Murray Mine when British America Nickel owned the mine.
History: Cleaning the environment
In the 1970s, the public began to take notice of the toll the mining practices had had on the surrounding area. About 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) of land contained almost no vegetation, and nearly 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) was semi-barren. The land showed severe erosion on slopes and hilltops, and most remaining soil was acidified and contaminated with metals. | Photos in this section courtesy Science North. |
In 1974, Sudbury created a technical advisory committee of local scientists, horticulturists, and government representatives who volunteered their time to provide expert advice. A large-scale reclamation program to re-establish the native forest activated in 1978. |
Crushed limestone was spread over the land to reduce the soil’s acidity, and a 381-meter (1,250-foot) tall superstack was built in 1970 to reduce the local impact of emissions. By 1984, over 2,636 hectares (6,514 acres) of land had been grassed and 387,580 trees planted. Today, over 2 million trees have been planted on the reclaimed lands (more than three-quarters of which have been conifers). | In the 1960s, 90 percent of the ore’s sulfur was released into the atmosphere; today, 90 percent of the ore’s sulfur is contained. |
Visiting Dynamic Earth
When you arrive at Dynamic Earth, the first thing that greets you is the Big Nickel. First proposed by Theodore Arthur "Ted" Szilva, who owned the area Dynamic Earth resides on until 1981, the Big Nickel is one of Sudbury’s most recognizable landmarks that celebrates Sudbury’s title as “nickel capital of the world.” By the Big Nickel is the Canadian Centennial Numismatic Park, which Szilva sponsored as well. I'm standing behind the fence, right in the middle. I look so tiny next to the Big Nickel! |