The fonds contains unique information resources related mostly to Poitevin's career at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). The bulk of the material is relevant to Poitevin's identification of minerals and mineral deposits and the analysis of their chemical and physical properties. It is also relevant to his activities as a research consultant to medical science in the area of silicosis, an incurable respiratory disease that largely effects miners and other industrial workers exposed to silica dust.The fonds also demonstrates Poitevin's consultation work done as an aid to the mining industry. Notable information resources include correspondence files on Asbestos Corp. Ltd. regarding the search for new asbestos mineral reserves in 1929-30; included are reports and maps of asbestos deposits at Thetford\Black Lake. Mineralogical studies files also include notes, correspondence, maps and data on comptonite dykes in Quebec, lithium-bearing minerals from Manitoba and a comparative study of some platiniferous rocks from Tulameen (B.C.) and the Ural Mountains in Russia.
Additionally, the fonds contains material related to other important projects Poitevin worked on as head of the GSC's mineralogy division: included is a copy of his WWII report for the Canadian Army on the origin of sands used as ballast in Japanese balloon bombs that landed on the U.S. and Canadian pacific coasts. There is also a file and correspondence on the Canadian mineralogical display for the 1937 Paris Exhibit.
Finally, there is a small amount of personal information related to Poitevin himself, including copies of his 1922 Phd thesis, his 1937 Paris Exhibition bronze medal, personal correspondence showing his connections to important and influential figures (including a 1930s letter from Nobel Laureate, Irene Joliot Curie), his École Polytechnique course work journals and biographical information including partial notes on his early days working in the field.
