Exploring Abandoned Hedley Mascot Mine | Abandoned Places BC | Sleeping In Century Old Gold Mine
9,736
Published 2022-08-31
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: www.instagram.com/abandoned_urbex_canada/
Link to Brent’s version of this explore: • Abandoned Gold Mine On The Mountain S...
Lucas: www.instagram.com/bc_wanderer/
Josh: www.instagram.com/jdoms.pizza/
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All Comments (21)
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Awesome video! Editing was fantastic. Looking forward to more 😁
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What a fantastic place to be able to see and such energy from you. A warm boost for a old heart.
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The buildings, the atmosphere and the view! Amazing! Just amazing! 🤩
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Still the most impressive coverage I’ve seen , knockout photography!
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Miss Dame Untamed, 1st time viewer, and new subscriber. I caught some of you on Mr. Abandoned Urbex Canada's channel. Checked out your channel, I was not disappointed. Enjoyed your style and how you go about things. And I always like any bits of information about what you're showing. Keep up the good work. And I'm real glad, you got your drone working !
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Crazy to think how much work it would be to lug all the material up to build the structures...insane. nicely done!
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Hi Nikki, just found your channel while researching a fall road trip through this area. I am a retired BC man born and raised and still living on Vancouver Island. I spend my summers in BC and winters in the tropics. I've sent you a coffee/lunch as thanks for your great videos. You have a new subscriber and follower. I hope the video's keep coming 🙂
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I've been waiting for your video on this. I subbed to your channel after seeing you on the explore here with Brent. Lots of drone shots here, great job.
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Nice work on this. It’s so awesome that it’s still available to be explored. I was there in 1977 with some friends. It wasn’t all that popular then but because of the restoration it looks almost the same as it did back then. This video has inspired me to travel back this year. 😉
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I am 55 years old and I remember the first time I saw the mine. I was about 10, We lived in the Lower Mainland and our family was on our annual trip to the Okanagan. We stopped at a gas station at the foot of the mountain. I was bored as my parents were buying some snacks for us. So I decided to take my dad's binoculars and look up the side of the mountain for some reason. I look up and see buildings on the side of the mountain. I was in shock. I was saying what the heck. Am I seeing things!! Could not believe it. Love your channel and I love your enthusiasm and smile. I am glad you brought people with you for safety.
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What an amazing video! Such a fascinating place and it looks like the views are spectacular. I can just imagine all the time and work that went into building this place way back when it was constructed.
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Howdy and great vid,..Its a shame this site is left to decay, Through Mr.Bill Barlee efforts and the BC government, the site was restored to a tourist safe destination and left in control of the local first nations. They provided tours and mantainance for the site. I remember taking the tour and bus ride up from Headly and down the 770 +steps to the mine. Even an underround presintation with a sound system "BOOM" Shortly there after from lack of upkeep tours were suspended for safety issues."If there is only one site to be preserved this is the one! Quote Mr.Barlee. R.i.P..
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Thank you for your nice videos of your amazing adventures!
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Nice, thanks for sharing the journey.
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You did excellent coverage on this old mine and buildings, about the best I’ve watched !
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EPIC!! These drone shots showing how fucking huge this place is was so damn cool!! Also, not a bad spot to lay your head at night, although you didn’t get much sleep LOL. And besides your 4 legged party crasher 😜😜
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it's been a long time since I hiked in and explored this place. (1980's) Nice drone footage....
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Wow ‼️
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Wow , this is so good I had to watch it again !! This is so good !
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Absolutely incredible video my friend!!! ❤️
