Reclamation

Mining inevitably disturbs land and the wildlife around it. Modern mines reclaim the surface during and after mining is completed, returning the land to useful purposes. Note the differences in the pictures between how the land looks during mining and how it looks after mining.  The reclaimed mine lands are usually more attractive to wildlife and human uses than before mining started.  The Don Valley Brickworks mine disrupted not only the area that was extracted, but the creek that ran alongside the mine which was diverted for use to create bricks.

Here is a picture of the diverted creek, which now runs down into a system of ponds for purification, where it will eventually meet the Don River.

Here is a photo of one of the many ponds used for water purification. Here you can see the different plants and wild growth that were added to restore the land.

Here is a quick video on one part of the marsh/pond area.

Here is a picture of the entire Don Valley Brickworks reclaimed land. There are many different trees including the Tamarack, the only pine to shed its needles (hard to see--> look for orange trees on right). There are many different types of wild grasses and shrubs. The smokestack  and the City Skyline is visible in the background.

The Quarry And the Brick Making Process

Before the Company started to mine, there was no valley where the brickworks is now, just a flat peice of land sloping towards the Don Valley River.

Here, we can see the evolution of the Quarry at the Brickworks.

The method used to extract the materials needed to make brick was Open Pit Mining. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful minerals or rock are found near the surface. Mining is most associated with underground mining, witch is used when the materials needed are found deep within the earth and hard to reach. In this situation, open pit extraction was more cost effective.
For Example, here is an open pit Diamond Mine.

Here You can see the materials needed are close to the surface.

The Rock

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. When significant amount water is added to shale, it can turn back into clay.
Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals.

Shale may be black, gray, red, brown, dark green, or blue. It is fine grained, so particles usually can not be seen. When wet, shale usually smells like wet mud. The rock is made up of clay minerals; Sometimes with some quartz sand, pyrite, gypsum. It was formed when clay sediments settle in quiet lakes, lagoons, bays, or off-shore areas. When buried and compacted the clays become shale. Iron oxides often help to cement the particles together.

How The Clay Got HERE

The Maps

Situation In Toronto

Map Of The Brickworks

Introduction

The Don Valley Brick Works is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. Currently the buildings sit mostly unused while the quarry has been converted into a city park which includes a series of naturalized ponds. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided bricks used to construct many well-known Toronto landmarks, such as Casa Loma, Osgoode Hall, Massey Hall, and the Ontario Legislature. 

Welcome!

Welcome to the Don Valley Brickworks Info Blog!