Our Epic Northwestern Journey – Part 16 – Working The Mines

Vancouver was cold, wet and rainy the whole time we were there, but that didn’t stop of us from our explorations. It changed our itinerary a bit, but we all agreed for the better. We all went to a brand new places, for brand new experiences. This was a new experience for Roberta as well. We took a fun tour of the Britannia Mining Museum. Last century it was a working mine. Now, it’s an award-winning museum turning out awe-inspiring sights and memorable family experiences. The 10-acre site is itself an exhibit providing unique access to an important piece of Canadian history. The Britannia Mine operated from 1904 to 1974 and was once the largest copper mine in the British Empire. At it’s peak, The Britannia Mine employed and housed over 60,000 people.

The Britannia Mining Museum is both a standard museum with historical displays, as well as being a “working and a living” museum, with tours and live demonstrations.

Just some of the many things we use copper and other precious metals for everyday.

Life in the mines was hard; very hard. But it was a living and it created communities and a livelihood for everyone.

Everyday, the miners would see nothing but darkness and exposed themselves to extremely loud noises and innumerable risks and dangers. We entered their world briefly, to get a tiny taste of their daily routine and lives. We all had to put on our hard hats before stepping aboard the mine train and entering the mine.

This is what we saw once inside; a lot of darkness, and this was lit considerably better than it was when it was still a working mine.

This is what the real working conditions were like.

Our tour guide demonstrating for us.

The whistle to live by. This extremely loud whistle was blown at the start of every shift, as well as for any emergencies that took place within the mine, and there were MANY. It was heard throughout the mining community and beyond. It was both the whistle of life and death.

The miners and their families all lived at the mine as well, and they were thriving communities, with lots of activities for everyone to enjoy. Life was hard, but life was good too.

Processing the copper.

Inside the actual mining processing center. It is twenty stories high and extremely LOUD! Inside the facility, we saw an interactive film, called BOOM, showing us life inside the mine.

Britannia is a coastal region, and so of course, there are a lot of coastal influences as well.

Whaling was also a major industry at the time. This is a real skeleton of an Orca, also known as a “killer whale”.

There was also some mineral and gold mining for everyone to try their hand at. Here are the miners hard at work. Our whole collective take was just a smithering of gold flakes and some tiny mineral stones in their raw, uncut, natural state.

When the mine was at its peak, the surrounding environment paid a stiff price. Local groundwater, creeks and the waters of nearby Howe Sound all suffered losses that hung on for many decades. The source of the problem was known as Acid Rock Drainage (ARD).

Back in the 1930’s, the issue was already a concern, but little was understood about the impact on the environment. Copper launders existed at the mine which helped slightly, but it was done for economic, not environmental, reasons. These launders were long troughs containing iron scraps. Mine water was fed through the troughs before being discharged. An iron-copper exchange meant the iron pieces became coated in copper, while relatively non-toxic iron dissolved and flowed with the water out of the troughs. The copper was then collected and sold. So it did help reduce the amount of copper entering Howe Sound, but only until the mine was closed in 1974.

On closure, mine owners Anaconda installed an outflow pipe that discharged the water 50 meters below sea level. The water was not treated, but was taken away from the intertidal zone, the most vulnerable area for aquatic life. Anaconda also installed a mud/earth dam near the 2200 portal (reinstated in 2001). As a result, water was stopped from entering Britannia Creek, until the dam failed sometime in the 1980’s/90’s. Britannia went from meeting all the environmental standards of its time while in operation to becoming one of the worst industrial pollution points in North America following its closure before the clean-up began.

Thankfully, Britannia’s ARD issue is now ancient history. Working with the province, land owners and community, an intensive remediation campaign was launched. Since 2002, Golder Associates have spearheaded a cleanup of local contaminated soils. A further step was taken with EPCOR’s water treatment plant in 2005. The mine water is captured and treated resulting in clean water. With the acidity neutralized and the metals removed, the water is discharged into Howe Sound.

The end-result has been a successful turnaround. Life has returned to the waters surrounding the mine, including Howe Sound.

There was also a beautiful pond that attracted a lot of birds. You all know how I love my birds. 🙂 The pond represents the clean-up and turn-around efforts for the area and the environment and the community. Thankfully, it is once again thriving and full of life.

These look like a type of Starling, but I am not sure. It also looks like there is a baby’s beak peaking out from under momma’s feathers too.

At long last, I got some good shots of a Stellar Jay. 🙂

The Britannia Mine Tour is a fascinating, very informative tour. I highly recommend it when in the Vancouver/Squamish area. We all thoroughly enjoyed our day of mining. I don’t know if I could do it everyday, like the miners did, but it was a very fun tour to take for one day, for sure. 🙂

This is a tribute to all the miners and their countless contributions to life as we know it.

When life pours rain on your parade, take your parade elsewhere and make the most of it. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.