Spring 2011 - The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia

2002, Golder Associates started cleaning
the contaminated soils. Buildings around
the museum and town were outfitted
to collect rainwater so it did not hit the
ground and become toxic. And in 2005,
Epcor opened a water treatment plant to
treat all water coming from the mine.
The museum says the water treatment
plant removes 600 to 700 kilograms of
metal sludge daily. The museum integrated
information on acid rock drainage
into some of its displays and its educational
aspect resonated with mining
industry. It proved to be a turning point
for the museum.
Around the same time, Michael
McPhie was working for Natural
Resources Canada looking for opportunities
to support projects that educated
“There was always
a solid core of
individuals and
companies that
never wavered in
their support. When
it wasn’t financial
donations, it was
volunteer time or
in-kind support.”
– Kirstin Clausen,
Britannia Mine Museum director
the public about the mining industry
in a positive light. McPhie, who is now
the CEO of Curis Resources, a company
associated with Hunter Dickinson
Inc. (HDI), saw a lot of opportunity at
Britannia and was instrumental in leveraging
his department’s original funding.
He joined the board alongside mining
veterans like Bob Dickinson, Ross Beaty
and Lukas Lundin and played a key role
on the fundraising committee.
“At the time the issues were big,” he
says. “The historic buildings were falling
down. The cladding was falling off the
mill building and all the windows were
broken.” The 20-storey mill building sat
on the side of the highway largely ignored
for decades. Over the years there were
many motions to demolish it, but the
costs of renovating it weren’t that much
more than removing it and, as a National
Historic Site and one of the last remaining
gravity-fed concentrator mills in North
America, it was a priceless artifact.
“The mill building and museum didn’t
reflect the modern nature of the mining
industry,” McPhie says. “The province
has a rich history of natural resource
development. Britannia is a tremendous
opportunity to tell that story.” Others
also saw the potential. With the goal of
fixing the mill building, the museum’s
fundraising committee quickly raised
the $5 million needed from Teck, Hunter
Dickinson, the Hallbauer Foundation and
a $5-million grant from the federal government.
Completed in 2007, each of the
14,416 panes of glass was replaced by hand
and the entire building received a facelift.
For those unsure of the museum’s
future, the reborn mill building was a sign
of things to come. “Once the mill building
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