Britannia Contaminated Sites Investigation Stage I Preliminary Site ...

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1939-1945: Mining continued through the Second World War, but employees were hard to find. Ventilation and dust control for the benefit of the workers’ health started to receive much attention. 1946: The workers went on strike from July 1 to October 21. 1949: The road from Squamish was completed. Roads were built around the Beach and workers began using trucks. A road was built to backfill No. 8 Mine and the first mile of road to the Tunnel Mine (2200 level) was completed. 1950-1952: Additional residential and community construction continued at the Beach and the 4100 yard area was built. The road to the Tunnel Mine (2200 level) and Mt. Sheer Townsite was completed, eliminating the use of the railways. A full-time ventilation engineer was employed by 1950. 1954: The P.G.E. Railway was built through the Beach, resulting in demolition of some housing and construction of new housing. 1955-1957: The company struggled with lower metal prices. Those mines still yielding ore were the Bluff, Fairview, Victoria, No. 8, Jane, and Empress. The No. 5 mine was now inactive. All mining operations were moved to the Beach site and the Mount Sheer Townsite was virtually abandoned. 1958: The company ceased production and went into voluntary liquidation. Only maintenance operations continued. All assets went to Howe Sound Company, the holding company. Metal prices then began to rise and a two-year contract was signed with the Union. The Sea to Sky Highway was completed, allowing the scaling back of operations at Britannia Beach. 1959: The Mine reopened, however, much rehabilitation was required before milling recommenced. Milling methods changed from wet to dry flotation. Copper concentrates were stockpiled while the Tacoma smelter was closed by a strike. Part of the mill tailings were sold to LaFarge Cement and Construction Aggregates Ltd. 1962: Exploration was still taking place in the Victoria, Bluff and No. 8 mines. 1963: By this time, 10,000,000 pounds of copper had been recovered in precipitation plants (Price, Schwab, Hutt 1995). All the property and assets of Howe Sound Company were sold to Anaconda Mining Company and the Victoria, Bluff and No. 9 mines continued to be mined. 1964: A labor strike shut down the mine for seven months, but new ore zones were discovered, the mill was remodelled and production resumed. Silica from the tailings was recovered and sold to cement companies. The company continued to produce 60,000 tons of ore annually. Britannia Contaminated Site Investigation Stage I Preliminary Site Investigation Project No. 50319-001-310 10
1965: A road was constructed to Jane Basin and Fairview glory holes to aid in evaluating the remaining mineral reserves in the Bluff and Fairview mines. 1966: Victoria, Bluff, and No. 8 mines were still being mined and the access roads to the Jane Basin were completed. Some rehabilitation of old underground workings was carried on using the 1050 portal. Other raises and workings were reconditioned to control the flow of underground waters and increase leaching of copper. 1967: Open-pit mining was started at the Jane Basin. 1968: The Victoria, Bluff and No. 8 ore bodies were still being run. 1969: Mining and ore extraction at Victoria ceased and the shaft was decommissioned. 1971-1973: Development work continued and copper precipitation plants were operating at both the Fan Area and the Mt. Sheer Townsite (Price, Schwab, Hutt 1995). 1974: Due to limited reserves and increased costs, the Britannia Mine was shut down for the last time. Reserves at the time of mine closure were 1.4 million tonnes at 1.9% copper. 1975: The British Columbia Mining Museum opened. 1977: Anaconda sold the property to Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), and maintained it as a subsidiary until 1981 when the two companies merged into ARCO. 1978: ARCO/Anaconda sold the property to 85818 Canada Ltd. which became Anaconda Canada Exploration Ltd. (ACEL). 1979: ACEL sold the Britannia Block to CBEL, and the Museum Block to the BBHS which commenced development of the mining museum. The Museum Block consisted of 26 hectares of land, including the mill, mine buildings and a small underground section of the mine. Historical owners of the Britannia Mine up to the present division of ownership, are listed below: • Britannia Copper Syndicate; • Howe Sound Holding Company; • Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd.; • Anaconda Canada Ltd.; • Atlantic Richfield Co.; • 85818 Canada Ltd. (Anaconda Exploration Ltd.); • Copper Beach Estates Ltd.; and • 400091 B.C. Ltd. Britannia Contaminated Site Investigation Stage I Preliminary Site Investigation Project No. 50319-001-310 11
Page 1 and 2: January 2002 File 50319-001 Britann
Page 3 and 4: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report prese
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS Britannia Contami
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Elevations a
Page 9 and 10: BRITANNIA CONTAMINATED SITE INVESTI
Page 11 and 12: Table 1 Elevations and Correspondin
Page 13 and 14: � Untitled map showing mine claim
Page 15 and 16: under consideration for use in the
Page 17: 1923: The new mill began processing
Page 21 and 22: a frother (Ministry of Mines 1924).
Page 23 and 24: Table 2 Historical Summary of Build
Page 25 and 26: much of the townsite; the in-ground
Page 27 and 28: on it, and a 2-storey shack were al
Page 29 and 30: Table 7 Historical Summary of Build
Page 31 and 32: 3.2 BC MINISTRY OF WATER, LAND AND
Page 33 and 34: Table 9 Fan Area Site Reconnaissanc
Page 35 and 36: Table 9 Fan Area Site Reconnaissanc
Page 37 and 38: Table 11 Mt. Sheer Townsite Site Re
Page 39 and 40: Table 13 Head of Incline & 2700 Por
Page 41 and 42: 7.1 FAN AREA The Fan Area has been
Page 43 and 44: Location Number LOCATIONS OF ENVIRO
Page 45 and 46: Location Number LOCATIONS OF ENVIRO
Page 47 and 48: 7.2.2 2200 Mt. Sheer Townsite APEC
Page 49 and 50: APEC # AREAS OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONME
Page 51 and 52: ecommendations presented herein is
Page 53 and 54: 11.0 REFERENCES Aerial photographs:
Page 55 and 56: Environment Canada. 1973. The Burra

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