75 Years of Mining Memories! 1934-2009 Yehowknife, NWF
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_____ ___ _______ 75 Years of Mining Memories! 1934-2009 YeHowknife, NWF We usually see 1934 as the year Yellowknife began. Our Mining History uCoik Shack___ Giant Mine A gold discovery by Johnny Baker on the east side I1i Ii of Yellowknife Bay in that year was good news for down-trodden men and women of the Depression. A rough estimate suggests that the NWT gold mines The Negus gold mine operated between 1939- The largest gold mining operation in Yellowknife Hundreds of people came to Yellowknife Bay area have produced over 15 million ounces of gold, most 1952. Its mine manager,bJock McNiven, became was the Giant Mine, in operation between 1948- to look for gold. of which was extracted from the volcanic rocks of Yellowknife’s first mayor. One of its original buildings 2004. You pass right through the old property as Claims were the Yellowknife mines. A vast network of gold mining is the log cook shack, built by Larry Sheck and Fred you drive north on the Ingraham Trail. The main staked, mines tunnels, stretched far below the city’s streets, has McNiski. Imagine yourself eating the best northern cluster of buildings surround C-Shaft, 2,000 feet developed, and provided employment for Yellowknife residents for grub in this shack, and appreciate the rustic deep. The open pits you see along the highway a small town was over 65 years. Many mines have opened and closed accommodations of our early miners! were excavated in the 1970s when gold prices built. The Con in the region. If you are looking for evidence of our were high. Mine became the mining heritage, you do not have to look very far. Several large NWT’s first gold Although now closed and under remediation, you concrete tanks producer with can still see buildings at the Con and Giant Mines on can be seen on the pouring of either end of town. the hill above a brick in 1938. the mine, visible Early Yellowknife You can also see some of Yellowknife’s historic from Yellowknife was a bustling buildings on city streets. There are many displays Bay and Old boomtown of old machinery, art work, and information plaques Town. This is part catering to the scattered around the city that provide a link to our of a recovery needs of the 75 year mining history. plant that would mining companies recover the and independent Robertson Headframe gold from old prospectors of the mine wastes, region. Nestled on but the project the shores of the Con Mine produced gold between 1938-2003 never worked Vee Lake big lake, Yellowknife was a community of tents, log and was an important source of employment for properly and was Road cabins, and an assortment of pioneer characters. the community. Its most dominant feature is the abandoned. Robertson shaft headframe. It is the first structure World War II stunted the growth of the settlement. I. you can see in Yellowknife when you fly in, and Gold from Giant - As workers left to join the war, the gold mines boaters on Great Slave Lake use it as a beacon. Ingraham was tied up in the mineral arsenopyrite. In roasting closed. ,..Trail But Yellowknife was not to fade into history. - L this ore, arsenic trioxide was produced and stored In 1944 it was announced It was put into that massive gold Mini,w Giant in chambers underground. They plan to freeze deposits operation in 1977 A had been located at the Giant Mine, which Displays Mine these chambers and keep them frozen with thermal came into production in 1948. Mines reopened, and and stands 250 feet siphons to ensure the arsenic trioxide doesn’t new mines were found, and Yellowknife prospered. tall, making it the Future Minilig escape into the environment. It quickly grew into a permanent town to cater tallest structure in Museum to the needs the NWT and the The Giant Mine townsite of the miners and their families and Fred Henne will be the site of an NWT I shaft it serviced became a regional center for transportation, goods is Park Mining Museum. The main exhibits will be inside the and services. Named capital of the Northwest 6,240 feet deep. ‘Old old recreation hall with extensive outdoor displays Territories in 1967, Yellowknife has managed to The city is currently Town in the area. The old A-shaft buildings will be fixed retain the character and spirit of a small northern exploring the up to provide an example of what a mine shaft town built on gold. geothermal potential 0 ;.‘> looked like. I j Burwash from this shaft as the Mine All mines have to eventually close. The Con Mine, ambient temperature I When completed, it will be a great resource for after 65 years in operation, closed at the end of at the bottom of the the history of our important mining and mineral r C. ‘ 2003. The Giant Mine, a producer since 1948, — mine was as high as exploration industry, and geological past. It is a closed in 2004. But Yellowknife still owes a lot of 80 degrees F. The work in progress, and you can see several outdoor its prosperity to mining. It supplies services and city is also looking ‘5 Negus displays of mining machinery with interpretive signs. workers to the diamond mines north of town. With at keeping the I - its large airport and road access, it is a hub for headframe as it is a fitting symbol for Yellowknife and mineral activity throughout the northern Territories. could be put to other uses. Diamond Tourism Canada’s first diamond mines were staked in the NWT in the early 1990s, and the first diamond producer was the Ekati Mine at Lac De Gras, in 1998. Since that time, four other diamond mines have come on stream in the NWT-Nunavut. Learn about the geology and story behind their discovery at these facilities: Northern Frontier Visitors Centre The NWT MINING HERITAGE SOCIETY Mining Displays_____ fr • Rio Tinto Diavik Diamond Mines downtown office The NWT Mining Heritage Society was formed in Take your camera when you go visit displays of old (Franklin Ave.) Yellowknife, NWT in July 2002 and is governed by mining equipment at these locations: a Board of Directors. It is a registered non-profit society and has charitable status. The Society • Giant Mine Public Boat Launch More to Explore and its members are committed to preserving If the mining and geological history of the NWT • Northern Frontier Visitors Centre and works towards the construction of a mining Yellowknife Airport The adventurous may wish to hike the Vee Lake museum at Giant Mine in Yellowknife. Road to its end and see the old Crestaurum Mine Old Town shaft, a small gold exploration project from 1946. It Above picture of the recreation hall, the main is a is a great day hike and a well-used route. You can exhibit facility. Renovations are underway. hike the Tin Can Hill trail (an old YK dump) and visit the old Con Mine Camp, now abandoned. A drive For More Information up the Ingraham Trail will take you past the blue Years of J headframe of the Ptarmigan Mine, a recent gold 75 producer that is now abandoned. NWT Mining Heritage Society Box 2818 i l—__ Mining Yellowknife, NT X1A 2R1 Historical and Geological Telephone: (867) 873-5281 Fax: (867) 920-2145 Learn About Rocks Email: [email protected] IF 11 Walking Tours Memories! Website: www.nwtminingheritage.com Unique mineral and rock samples from across the NWT and Nunavut, including the oldest rock in the world, can be seen in display cases around town at Anybody interested in local history or geology may these places: like to pick up any number of self-guided tours at the Northern Frontiers Visitors Centre. There • Yellowknife Airport security gate are historical tour guides available for Downtown and Old Town Yellowknife, geology guides for the • Greenstone Building (Franklin Ave.) Frame Lake Trail, Fred Henne Park, Cameron River 1934-2009 Falls, and the Ingraham Trail. You can also find a • NWT Geoscience Office good collection of northern and local books at the YeHowknite, NWF Yellowknife Book Cellar..