Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI30M03NE00004
| Record Name(s) | Lafarge Canada-Queenston Quarry - 1978, Steetley Industries - 1978, Queenston Quarries - 1830, Canada Crushed and Cut Stone - 1978 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Simple |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Past Producing Mine Without Reserves or Resources |
| Date Created | 1981-Dec-15 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Sep-27 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Dolomite (Building Stone), Dolostone
Township or Area: Niagara, Niagara, Niagara
Latitude: 43° 9' 7.97" Longitude: -79° 5' 14.36"
UTM Zone: 17 Easting: 655515.85 Northing: 4779493.97 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Southern Ontario
NTS Grid: 30M03NE
Point Location Description: Lots: 47,48,49 CONC: 10
Location Method: Data Compilation
property in production from 1830 to 1980
Province: Paleozoic and Mesozoic Basins
Subprovince: Niagara Escarpment
Geological Age: Paleozoic
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Dolostone | 1 | Is |
|---|
Aug 26, 2016 (A Wilson) - The property is located 3 km west of Queenston on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment in lots 47 to 49, concession X, in the former township of Niagara, now the Town of Niagara-on-the-lake in the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The dolostone is part of the Lockport Formation, Eramosa Member. The lithology is a dark brown dolostone. Other members of the stratigraphy include Vinemount shale beds, Goat Island Member and Gasport Member. The property of Queenston Quarries Limited is located on the brow of the Niagara escarpment, two miles west of Queenston, in lots 47 to 49, concession X, Niagara township, Lincoln county. It is the largest building stone quarry in Ontario, producing a stone well known in the trade as "Queenston limestone. The quarry is also a large producer of crushed stone, and a new aggregate plant commenced operation in April, 1959, The company is a subsidiary of Canada Crushed or Cut Stone Limited of Hamilton. The dimension stone is fabricated by its subsidiary, the Ritchie Cut Stone Company Limited and other independent cut Goudge states that "the history of the quarry extends back to 1837 when, it is stated, stone was obtained for the abutments of the original Queenston International bridge. In 1856 the imposing monument to General Sir Isaac Brock on Queenston Heights was constructed of this stone. From 1846 onwards the stone has been extensively used in the construction of the successive Welland canals, for railroad bridges and culverts, and for various other engineering projects in the Niagara district, as well as for general building purposes. The excellent state of preservation of the stone in the oldest structures bespeaks its durable nature." The 38-foot quarry face consists of 33 feet of light grey to buff, Gasport crinoidal calcitic dolomite or dolomitic limestone overlain by 5 feet of brownish aphanitic Goat Island dolomite. Both these units are members of the Lockport dolomite formation of Silurian age which forms the cap rock of the Niagara escarpment. The upper Goat Island dolomite is distinguished from the underlying Gasport member by a change in colour and lithology. The lower 14.5 feet of the 33-foot section of Gasport dolomite is the building stone ledge from which mill blocks of Queenston limestone are quarried. The stone overlying this ledge is quarried for crushed stone. Within the massive-bedded building stone ledge, bedding partings are not regular over the whole quarry and they govern quarrying practice. At the present east face there is a 4.5-foot bed underlain by a 10-foot bed. Underlying the Gasport member there is 6 feet of dark grey, aphanitic, buff—weathering Decew dolomite, the upper 8 inches of which is conglomeratic. This unit is underlain by Rochester shale. The building stone ledge, 10 to 16 feet thick, is overlain by 10 to 24 feet of dolomite, which must be stripped off and is used for crushed stone. Since the building stone ledge is worked only from April to October owing to moisture in the stone, the stripping of the overlying beds for crushed stone allows quarry operations all year round. Queenston limestone is a medium-crystalline crinoidal dolomitic limestone which weathers to a pleasing silver-grey colour. It is readily sawn, machined and carved, but is somewhat harder than Indiana limestone. Queenston limestone is very durable and has low absorption and porosity. It is the most widely used limestone building stone in Canada and may be seen in many buildings including the East Block of the Parliament Buildings in Toronto.
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolomite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 2 | Quartz | Economic | Ore |
Publication - Report on the building and ornamental stones of Canada, vol. I; Canada Mines Branch, Publication 100
Publication Number: CMB Pub 100 Page: 243-245 Date: 1912
Author: Parks, W.A.
Publisher Name: Canada Mines Branch
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/19686
Book - Canadian Limestones for Building Purposes; Canadian Mines Branch Publication 733
Publication Number: CMB Pub 733 Page: 76-87 Date: 1912
Author: Goudge, M.F.
Publisher Name: Canada Mines Branch
Location:
Publication - Limestones of Canada, their occurrence and characteristics, part IV, Ontario
Publication Number: CMB Pub 781 Page: 251-256 Date: 1938
Author: Goudge, M F
Publisher Name: Canada Mines Branch
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/75823
Mono - Limestone Industries of Ontario, Volume III --Limestone Industries and Resources of Central and Southwestern Ontario
Publication Number: NSP003A Page: 92-94 Date: 1998
Author: Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl, Engineering and Terrain Geology Section
Publisher Name: Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl, Engineering and Terrain Geology Section
Location:
Mono - Limestone Industries of Ontario, Volume I -- Geology, Properties and Economics
Publication Number: NSP001 Page: 148 Date: 1998
Author: Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl, Engineering and Terrain Geology Section
Publisher Name: Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl, Engineering and Terrain Geology Section
Location:
Part - Second report on the gold fields of western Ontario
Publication Number: ARV05.002 Page: 73-74 Date: 1998
Author: Coleman A.P.
Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines
Location:
MonoMap - The limestone industries of Ontario
Publication Number: IMR005 Page: 91-94 Date: 1998
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
MonoMap - The limestone industries of Ontario, 1958-1963
Publication Number: IMR013 Page: 43 Date: 1997
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Building stones of Ontario, part 1, introduction
Publication Number: IMR014 Page: 7, 9, 38 Date: 1998
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Building stones of Ontario, part 2, limestone
Publication Number: IMR015 Page: 2-7 Date: 1998
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
MonoMap - The limestone industries of Ontario
Publication Number: IMR039 Page: 55 Date: 1997
Author: Hewitt D.F., Vos M.A.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
Location:
Map - Paleozoic geology, Niagara, southern Ontario
Publication Number: M2344 Scale: 1:50,000 Date: 1976
Author: Liberty B.A., Feenstra B.H., Telford P.G.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
Location:
Mono - Mineral resources of south-central Ontario
Publication Number: OFR5431 Page: 21-24 Date: 1983
Author: Guillet G.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
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