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Hedleyıs Mascot Mine reopened last Tuesday, but this time it will be mining tourism instead of gold.
The Upper Similkameen Indian Band has developed the former mine site, perched high above the tiny Similkameen community of Hedley, into a first class tourist attraction.
Over 500 steps lead visitors down the mountainside and through the 80 year-old buildings that made up the original mine site.
Interpretive signage and well-informed guides explain details of each building and landmark.
Tours are expected to take a total of three hours, which includes travel time to and from the site and tour buses are planned to take tourists up Nickle Plate Road hourly.
The Mascot Mine Tours are expected to draw visitors from all over the World to the Similkameen Valley.
Mining at Mascot Mine ended in 1949. The buildings were stripped of their equipment and eventually abandoned for Mother Nature to reclaim.
Plans were put in place in the 1990ıs to burn the buildings down as they had become hazardous to anyone able to reach them.
Vandalism and safety concerns were paramount and the historic site would have been torched if a well-known
local historian hadnıt intervened.
Bill Barlee, who was British Columbiaıs Minister of Tourism at the time, saw the potential tourism opportunity in developing Mascot into a large outdoor mining museum.
He convinced the Province to purchase the site.
The Upper Similkameen Indian Band (USIB) got involved in 1995 when they installed metal roofs on the buildings to slow down the deterioration of the structures.
Most of the buildings located at the Mascot Mine were constructed in the mid-1930ıs with all materials hauled up to the site.
The first tours took place last Tuesday and were reserved for invited guests including local and regional government representatives, media, town and band councils - close to 100 in total.
Hedley Museum Society President Chuck Schmidt described the first tour as a test for all parties concerned.
"This will tell us how everything will come together."
The planned schedule will see bus loads of twenty visiting the site hourly with a total turnaround time of 3 1/2 hours per tour - including travel time to and from the mine.
Tours will leave the former Hedley School, on Highway 3, which has been converted into an interpretive centre with gift shop.
The buses travel up Nickle Plate Road and through a gate at Nickle Plate Mine to a staging area located 5,100 feet above sea level.
Then visitor descend, on foot, on a short pathway to the top of the 500-plus-step stairway.
The stairway contains many landings and bench seating for rests along the way.
There are also numerous vantage points for photos and interpretive signage explaining some of the sights down to the Mascot buildings.
The stairway snakes itıs way down past the Dry Room, where miners started and ended their shifts with a shower and change of clothes.
Next is the cookhouse and then the main level, which contains a small neighbourhood of buildings.
Narrow-gauge railway tracks come out of the mountain through the tunnel identified as the Main Portal.
The shaft was named ³4,800 Foot Level² after itıs elevation and was the first tunnel driven into the hillside.
The tunnel from the Main Portal goes into the mountain about a kilometre and is connected to a maze of tunnels, sub-levels, chutes and raises, which are tunnels driven upward or on an angle.
Other buildings at this level include the Mine Office, Ore Bin, Blacksmith Shop, Compressor Shed and Aerial Tramway.
Site Manager Ken Romaneski, who has been involved in the project for the past eight years, says he sees a great deal of potential.
"I believe tourism up here will generate a lot of jobs in the area."
Romaneski sees spin off jobs to area businesses directly and indirectly associated with the Mine Tours and is pleased to see the first phase near completion.
"I didnıt know how long it would take to open."
The site will be manned all year and security cameras will be in place as well as night watchmen to curb vandalism.
The opening on Tuesday was a pleasant moment for Romaneski.
"I'm amazed to see all these people and it just makes me smile."
In the words of USIB Band Chief Rick Holmes, "Step by step we are determined to bring gold prosperity back to the Similkameen."
A tour of the Mascot Mine will prove the level of commitment that has been dedicated to the project.
USIB Band Manager Phillipe Batini told the News Leader what he sees the project doing.
"This will increase the attraction of Highway 3 and will encourage people to use the Southern Route."
Former Tourism Minister Bill Barlee told the News Leader, "This mine is considered one of the finest old mines in the West. Iıve toured all the mines in the Northwest in my travels and we have the best right here in our backyard and I was determined to save it."
Barlee says the Province made a wise decision when it purchased the property years ago.
"It cost us $740,000 and worth every penny in my opinion."
He sees great tourism potential with the development.
"This will be a real boost for the Valley as a whole. I think itıs going to be good."
Keremeos Mayor Walter Despot told the News Leader, "This will benefit the whole Valley. There is no doubt."
During the official opening ceremonies, USIB Band Chief Rick Holmes welcomed everyone to the tourist attraction.
"We are here to celebrate a major milestone, the opening of Mascot Gold Mine Tours, a major Similkameen Valley eco-tourism opportunity."
Holmes also pointed out, "This has been a great example of Government working with First Nations to further our economic future."
Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie explained the importance of tourism in the Provincial economy and one important milestone, "This is the only project where a First Nation has taken a non-native property and developed it and is managing it."
Mel Woolley, Project Manager from Land Strategies of Calgary explained the next step in the mite site restoration is the filling of all empty rooms with displays representing the activities that normally took place in each location.
"To enhance the depth of the experience."
The Main Portal tunnel opens up on the other side to more buildings, which will be developed.
Long term plans include the establishment of an inn, located at a lower level, in one of the old bunk houses.
Helicopter tours will also be incorporated into the Mascot Mine Tours program.
The possibilities are endless and will continue well into the future.
Gold was first discovered in Hedley in in 1897 and a year later hundreds of claims had been staked.
A lot of gold was mined out of Nickle Plate Mountain over the years giving Hedley it's much deserved title of being "Famous For Gold".
Now, 107 years after the first discovery, Hedley will start mining tourism.
Story and photos courtesy of W. George Elliott, Similkameen News Leader
Similkameen News Leader
www.thenewsleader.ca/
Click here for more photos of the Mascot Mine taken in 2000
www.mascotmine.com |
