Prospecting in Ontario

In 1893 Coleman was appointed geologist and mineralogist to the Ontario Bureau of Mines. This meant that from 1893 – 1909 Coleman spent his summers working in Northern Ontario prospecting and mapping mineral formations. Coleman’s work in the field was recorded in small, black leather notebooks.

Coleman’s reports and maps were produced for the Ontario Bureau of Mines Annual Reports. He reported on Ontario building stone, gold, copper, iron, nickel, corundum, nepheline syenite, and precious metals related to the nickel ores. Coleman also submitted briefs on glacial phenomena around Toronto and the Great Lakes. Coleman returned to work for the Ontario Department of Mines in the 1930s, his last report on the geology of the north shore of Lake Ontario was published in 1937. (These works are accessible in digital format through the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Mines and Minerals Division, Ontario Geoscience Data in the OGS publications database at: http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca)