MINERAL
INVENTORY FILE NO.
943
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRODUCT
PEAT MOSS
NTS AREA
52E/13
REF.
PEA 1
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
NAME OF
PROPERTY
Medika (Elma) Bog
OWNER OF
OPERATOR ADDRESS
Western Peat Moss Limited
Janow P.O.,
Elma, Manitoba
R0E
0Z0
OBJECT LOCATED
Peat bog and plant
MINING
DIVISION
Winnipeg
Latitude
49°46'30"
Longitude
96°56'30"
Uncertainty
(m)
50 metres
UTM Zone
_____
Easting
_______
Northing
_______
L.S./Quarter
Section
___
Section
19, 20, 29, 30, 23, 24, 25, 26
Township
9
Range
12 EPM
11 EPM
DESCRIPTION OF
DEPOSIT
Sphagnum peat moss is quarried at the Medika bog for the use in
horticulture, as a soil conditioner, and as a packing material for the shipments
of perishable fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers. Coarse shreded peat moss is
used as stable litter and poultry litter. (Other uses are, in metallurgical and
brewing industries, as a deodorant, and as an insulator).
A thick deposit of
sphagnum moss covering about 1214 hectares in Sec. 19, 20, 29, and 30, Tp. 9, R.
12E, and adjoining sections in Tp 9, R 11E, occurs within a large bog area. The
surface consists of large masses of sphagnum moss, with some low shrubs and some
scattered spruce trees. The bog increases in depth towards the centre, from 1.25
m at locations S-18 to 2.8 m at S-20 (Fig. 5). The bottom material, under layer
of mucky peat, is quartz silt (Bannatyne, 1964). Bannatyne (1978) indicates that
the upper 2 m consist of 92 to 96 per cent sphagnum, with an average absorptive
value of 16.7 (22.6 dry). A random test sample of the product consisted of 94
per cent Sphagnum and had an absorptive value of 11.6 (15.8 dry), indicating a
reduction of about 30 per cent in absorptive value during harvesting processes.
The product is of high quality.
Chemical Properties: See Bannatyne, 1978, for
moisture, ash, N, and pH.
Physical Properties: See Bannatyne, 978, for
absorptive value and botanical composition.
Use: Mainly horticultural moss,
some litter.
ASSOCIATED
MINERALS OR PRODUCTS OF VALUE
N/A
HISTORY OF
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The bog is located 64.3 km east-southeast of Winnipeg and 3.2 to 4.8
km northwest of the town of Medika. The bog is on Crown Land controlled by
Western Peat Moss Limited.
1961 – Peat Permits 3 and 4 were issued to J.
Dunfield of Western Peat Co. Ltd. and comprised 647.5 hectares in Tp. 9, R. 11E
and Tp. 9, R 12E.
1963 – The company’s holdings were assigned to Western Peat
Moss Limited. A road into the bog was competed by 1963, and an initial ditch
drawing to Whitemouth River was dug.
1964 – Peat leases 3 and 4 were issued
to Western Peat Moss Limited. They comprised Sec. 24 and 25, Tp. 9, R 11E, and
Sec. 19 and 30, Tp. 9, R. 12E, with a total area of 1045.3 hectares (enlarged
from Peat Permits 3 and 4).
1967 – Peat Lease 6 was issued to C. Bacus and
comprised 395.2 hectares in Tp. 9, R. 11E. Peat Lease 7 was issued to Western
Peat and comprised 199.4 hectares in the S ½ and NW ¼ of Sec. 36, Tp. 9, R. 11E.
Peat Lease 7 also includes the road allowances.
1969 – The company opened
Medika bog for production, and the moss was trucked to Julius bog plant, also
operate by Western Peat Moss Limited. Peat is harvested by the vacuum milling
method.
1970 – Peat Lease No. 6 was assigned to Western Peat Moss
Limited.
1974 – A new shredding and baling plant was built on the
northeastern side of the Medika bog. Peat from the bog site is screened and
ground, then stored in six bins in the upper floor of the plant. From the bins,
the product is fed by gravity to the bagging machines.
1977 – Bog development
had proceeded to the point where the new fields being opened to the southwest
would require drainage westward to the Hazel Creek – Brokenhead River System.
Peat Leases 3, 4, 6 and 7 were converted to Quarry Mineral Leases 113 to 119,
totalling 1 619 hectares.
HISTORY OF
PRODUCTION
1969 – The company opened Medika bog for production, the moss was
trucked to Julius bog plant, also operated by Western Peat Moss Limited.
1974
– A new shredding and baling plant was built on the northeastern side of the
Medika bog.
1977 – The bog development up to 1977 had proceeded to the point
where the new fields being opened to the southwest would require drainage
westward to the Hazel Creek – Brokenhead River system.
Shipping Point: Elma
Plant
Distance from mine: 64 km
Material Shipped: Peat Moss
Carrier
truck, CNR
Destination: Winnipeg, United States
REFERENCES
Bannatyne, B.B., 1964: Preliminary Survey of Bogs for Peat Moss in
southeastern Manitoba; Man. Mines Br., Publ. 63-5
Bannatyne, B.B., 1975: The
History of Peat Moss Industry in Manitoba; in Campbell, J.D.
(q.v.)
Bannatyne, B.B., 1978: Sphagnum Bogs in Southern Manitoba and their
Identification by Remote Sensing; unpublished report on File, Man.
M.R.D.
Cameron, E. Lee, 1951: Peat Moss in Manitoba; Man. Mines Br. Bull. No.
48-1
Smith, R.E. and Ehrlich, W.A., 1964: Report of the Soil Survey of the
south-eastern Map Sheet Area, Man. Soil Surv., Soils Rept. No. 14.
Campbell,
J.D., ed., 1975: Proceedings of the Seminar on Peat: a Resource in Manitoba’s
Agriculture and Industry; Plant Science Dept., Univ. of Man.
MAP REFERENCES
Map 52E/13, Whitemouth (Topo.), 1: 50, 000; Surveys and Mapping Br.,
Ottawa.
Map 12, Industrials Minerals Producers (Index), 1:1 000 000; Man.
M.R.D.
Figs. 1 and 5, Preliminary Survey of Bogs for Peat Moss in
southeastern Manitoba, Bannatyne (1964).
URL
N/A
REMARKS
Following construction of subsidiary drainage ditches, and removal of
surface vegetation, the peat is harvested by a vacuum milling method. After
processing, some of the bales are trucked to the CN line at Elma, while others
are loaded at the plant into semi-trailers for shipment to the United
States.
The bog is located along the drainage divide between the Hazel Creek
– Brokenhead River system and the Whitemouth River systems.
Moss cutting has
occurred on Sec. 24 and 25, Tp. 9, R. 11E and Sec. 19 and Sec. 30 in Tp. 9, R.
12E. Peat Permits 3, 4, 6 and 7 were later converted to Quarry Mineral Leases
113-119.
See M.I. cards 62H/16PEA-1 and 62I/1 PEA-1 for more information on
Western Peat Moss Limited.
NOTES
N/A
Compiled/Revised by:
CWJ
Date
08/78
