Ontario. Bureau of Mines

• Bureau of Mines

The Bureau of Mines was established on May 4, 1891 and was attached to the Ontario Department of Crown Lands. Prior to 1891, and under the General Mining Act of 1869, responsibility for mining lands in the province, and for the licensing and inspection of mines, was given to individual mining inspectors, each in charge of a division of land and responsible to the Commissioner of Crown Lands. The new Bureau of Mines replaced this system with the individual inspectors becoming officers of the Bureau. These officers were then responsible for reporting to the Director of the Bureau, who was in turn, responsible for reporting to the Department of Crown Lands.

Beginning in 1906, with the passing of the Mines Act, the Director of the Bureau was given Deputy Minister status within the Ontario Department of Lands, Forests and Mines. In 1920, with the growth of the mining industry in Ontario, the Bureau of Mines was separated from this Department and re-established as the Ontario Department of Mines.

The Bureau of Mines was established to promote the development of the mining industry in Ontario. The Bureau was also responsible for mines inspection and for the collection of information and statistics on the mines of the province.

General Mining Amendment Act, Statutes of Ontario 1891, Chap. 8

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1867-1900 (1976)

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

MacTaggart, Hazel I. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1901-1955 (1964)

Archivist(s):
R. Anger