Gypsum: long history in Nova Scotia

Most Canadians are surrounded by gypsum at home and at work. It’s the the drywall that’s used to make the interior walls of most houses and offices.

But gypsum in the ground doesn’t look anything like the smooth, plaster-like substance it becomes.

Plant Manger Mike Bishop gave the Journal a tour of his operations last week, just before news that Canadian Gypsum’s proposed extension to the Miller Creek quarry was given a limted go-ahead.

The Miller Creek quarry is the largest gypsum quarry owned by US Gypsum, a publically-traded company and sole owner of Canadian Gypsum. But it’s nowhere near as big as the National Gypsum quarry in Milford, NS, largest in the world.

Canadian Gypsum has been in this area for about 100 years, Mike says. The Wentworth quarry, where the local office is located, was the original quarry. At that time the mineral was shipped out by schooner from Windsor.

Now the output from both quarries is shipped by the tiny Windsor & Hantsport Railway to the Hantsport gypsum shed and offloading facility, which the company recently spent $42 million to upgrade.

The facility is capable of loading a huge freighter full of 40,000 tons of gypsum in 2.5 hours, just enough time for the ship to dock while the tide is rising and leave before it goes out. The ships generally go to one of three ports on the US eastern seaboard.

During our visit the mighty Gypsum Integrity, owned by US Gypsum, had to abandon loading when one of the two conveyers jammed, possibly due to ice. We were whisked ashore by courteous Filipino crew members, all shivering behind heavy winter face masks on a winter’s afternoon most Canadians would find mild.

These days the activity at Canadian Gypsum is at a lull, due to the poor housing market in the US. The company employed 155 people two years ago, but has only 79 today. “We’d have them all back tomorrow if we could,” says Mike.

A recent competing product, synthetic gypsum, may also dampen sales of the mineral. It’s produced in coal fired generating stations as a byproduct of the scrubbing product. Limestone is injected into the smoke stacks and the gas precipitates as gypsum.