The General Mining Association was a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mining company operating in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. It was formed by

Rundell & Bridge Rundell & Bridge were a London firm of jewellers and goldsmiths formed by Philip Rundell (1746–1827) and John Bridge (baptized 1755–1834). History When Edmond Walter Rundell, nephew of Philip Rundell, was admitted as a partner in 1804, th ...

in 1827. It held a mining

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

in Nova Scotia until 1858.

History

In 1788, King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

had drafted a lease in favor of his son the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

for mineral rights in Nova Scotia. By 1825 the Duke of York had a significant debt to the London jewelers Rundell and Bridge. After sponsoring a mineral survey in Nova Scotia and finding a great amount of coal, an agreement was made where the lease was modified to include coal and that the lease be transferred to the newly formed General Mining Association, created by Rundell and Bridge, with the Duke entitled to 25% of the profit.This amended lease was granted in 1825 by King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

for a period of 60 years. A representative of the General Mining Association arrived in

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

in the early summer of 1827, and in June a vessel with skilled workers and machinery arrived, beginning work at Albion Mines. In December a 20 horse power steam engine started operation, the first in the province. In 1839 the G.M.A. commissioned the ''

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

'', which was the first locomotive in Canada to run on iron rails. Popular resentment in Nova Scotia on the G.M.A's monopoly over coal increased throughout the early 19th century. In 1857 the Nova Scotia Assembly authorized two of its members to travel to London and negotiate with the G.M.A. An agreement was made and ratified the following year, ending the monopoly. The G.M.A. was allowed the right to mine coal in 34 square miles in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, four square miles in Pictou County, and four square miles each at Springhill and

Joggins Joggins is a rural community located in western Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. On July 7, 2008 a 15-km length of the coast constituting the Joggins Fossil Cliffs was officially inscribed on the World Heritage List.p39 Other organisms fo ...

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

. All remaining mines and minerals passed to the Nova Scotia government. In 1871 the Joggins location was sold, and the following year the Springhill location was sold and the Pictou location was transferred to the Halifax Company. The Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Co. purchased the remaining mines and mining rights at Sydney Mines in Cape Breton in 1900.

References

{{reflist Mining in Canada Defunct mining companies of Canada