Brittania Mines

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon we met up with friends and took a drive to Brittania Mines.  We had often meant to check out this museum -  it was one of those places that we would drive by - but never stop - on our way to Whistler.   The Mines are about 35 miles north of Vancouver and so it became a "day trip!"

Although there is documented evidence of human life in this area more than 2000 years ago, Captain George Vancouver is credited with discovering this area.  In his writings, he describes the rugged and forested terrain that edged the ocean along Howe Sound.

In early 1858 gold was dicovered in the Fraser River just before Fort Yale.  Soon there was a "rush" to find gold.   Talk in the saloons was that the Squamish River also had gold, although there was a sad disappointment for the seekers.  No gold, but there was copper.  However, there wasn't a lot of interest in mining copper at that time. This changed at the end of the 1800's, and a group of individuals came together to form a syndicate and sold shares.  They built an aerial tram for $75,000 and several buildings were erected.  By 1903 an area had been cleared to create a town site and soon a company town was born.  The only access to  this area was by boat. The mine became operational in 1904.

As we prepared for the train tour through some of the 200 km of track and tunnels, all passengers were required to wear a helmut.  For us this was a part of the adventure.  However, in the early days the miners worked under extreme risk and injuries / loss of life were frequent.  But the pay was good.   In fact the pay was 5 times higher than the wage of the average man working in Vancouver.  By 1928 nearly 1100 men were on the payroll.  60,000 people lived in Brittania during the life of the mine.

The story of Brittania Mines is frought with struggle - financially, a troubling safety record, politically, and with labor.  In 1915 a major tragedy struck.  An avalanche in the area came down in a work area killing approximately 60 people an injuring many more.  In 1916 a hospital and school were built for the town.  When the war ended in 1918, the bottom dropped out of the copper market.   This was bad news for the mine however the "silver lining" was that the mine also had gold, silver, zinc and iron.  The tour describes the challenges in some detail, as well as the methods of mining used at various stages of this mine's history.

Explosives in particular created high risk for employees.   The dynamite had to stay dry and this was nearly impossible in the damp tunnels.

 The newest employees were required to push the "porta-potty" along the tracks from one work area to another to coincide with the employees' breaks.  No privacy here!

 If a tragedy occurred in the mine, someone would run to the entrance or exit and pull the bell three times.   The bell was loud and would alert the entire community "to trouble!"

Core pulls are referenced and shelved for future consideration.   When a new area was considered for mining a sample would be taken and analyzed.  Because the price of one mineral might be higher than another at different times, the direction of establishing new tunnels would change.

 With Mill #1 destroyed in the early days by avalanche, Mill #2 burned to the ground, Mill #3 is what remains to this day.

(photo from onsite poster)

 In 1956 the price of copper fell drastically.   As well, because of the poor safety record of the mine, struggles between employees, management and trade unions had begun in earnest.  In 1958 a directive came to close the mine.  One year later the mine was re-opened however labor challenges continued.  In 1956, the area saw its first train roll by on its way to Squamish. Brittania was no longer isolated from the outside world.  By 1958 there was a road to Vancouver.

 Touring the inside of Mill #3 clearly shows the dangers of working in this risky environments.  WorkSafe BC definitely was not a presence.

The museum itself has a number of buildings on site as well as equipment that is used in mining.   The size of some of this equipment is staggering.

Britannia produced more than 50 million tons of ore during its life (1904 - 1974) and once was the largest producer of copper in the British Empire.  

Oh, and did you know that BC currently employs more than 8000 people in mining and generates more than $7 billion in annual revenue?