#HedleyMascotMine #AbandonedBC #SleepingInCenturyOldGoldMine
WOW is all I can really say. This was one of the coolest adventures I’ve ever been on, hands down. The hike up was insane; scrambling up a steep cliff for 1.5 hours to get to the entrance, only to hike back down ~900 stairs to the mine buildings.
Mascot Mine History & Information:
In 1899, Duncan Woods arrived in Hedley BC and claimed a small piece of land on the edge of the mountain. He called it, The Mascot. Unable to secure development funds, it sat dormant for years until 1933 when he sold it to a group from Vancouver for $150,000.
The aerial tramway was first constructed from a mine portal for the easy transport of materials. Soon after came a cluster of buildings which surrounded the tunnel… these structures housed several workers and the mechanical facilities needed for operation. The buildings included offices, a cookhouse, sleeping quarters, a tool shop and even a bowling alley!
The mine was operational from 1936-1949. A total of 682,000 tons of ore was extracted, and the resulting 7.1 tons of gold was worth $8,000,000 (over 130 million today). After 13 years of operation, the gold supply was exhausted and the mine was shut down. Equipment was removed and the buildings were abandoned for many years.
By the 1990’s, the forgotten structures had become dangerous and a plan was in place to burn them down, but BC’s minister of tourism saw the potential the old mine held. The NDP government purchased the property for $740,000. Extensive restoration began, and in 1995, the Mascot Mine site was officially designated a Provincial Heritage resource.
Approximately 74 km of tunnels had to be dug into the mountain. Entry was via the main portal that ran 1 km straight into the mountain, before branching off into secondary tunnels. At the heigh of operation, 130 people worked at the mine and were paid $4.75 per day.
The Snaza’ist First Nations peoples operated tours of the mine for tourists starting in 2004, but by 2017 it was determined that the structures needed more repairs and the tours were shut down.
In March of 2021, The Upper Similkameen Indian Band made a grant request under a COVID relief program, and were awarded $800,000 from the province. This grant will provide much needed assistance to support the restoration and protection of this historical site for generations to come. The project is set to finish March, 2023… here’s hoping it goes through.
Huge thank you to Brent, Lucas and Josh for making this dream explore come true! I had so much fun. Follow them here:
Brent: / abandoned_urbex_canada
Link to Brent’s version of this explore: • Abandoned Gold Mine On...
Lucas: / bc_wanderer
Josh: / jdoms.pizza
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