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Riondel was settled because of a very productive silver, lead and zinc mine, know as the Bluebell Mine.
In 1882 an American named Robert Sproule staked four claims along the peninsula, including the Blue Bell. When he left to register his claims an Englishman, Thomas Hammill, restaked the claims. This led to a dispute that ended with Sproule shooting Hammill dead and going to the gallows for his crime.
In the 1890's the settlement was known as Hendryx, after Wilbur Hendryx, who had control of the Bluebell and other claims in the mid 1880's. In 1905 The Canadian Metal Company purchased the mine, and in 1907 the settlement was named Riondel after Count Edouard Riondel, the president of the company.
The Bluebell mine operated from 1895 to 1929, during which the population was stable at around 70. With the closure of the mine the population dwindled until in 1943 there were only 22 left. In 1950 the mine re-opened, and the population soared to almost 300 within three years. The expansion of the mine required more electricity and in 1952 Cominco built the power lines across the lake, bring power to the East Shore without the use of generators.
Cominco ran the mine until 1972, when the mine closed.
HISTORY of the Mine
The Bluebell Mine is located on the east shore of Kootenay Lake in the trench between the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges in southeastern British Columbia. The mine occupies the Riondel Peninsula stretching approximately 1,700 metres from north to south. The Village of Riondel abuts the site along its eastern edge.
The Bluebell Mine produced lead, zinc and silver. Rocks on the Riondel Peninsula comprise a north-trending and a steep west-dipping succession of Lower Cambrian quartzites, pelitic schists, calcareous schists, and marble. The Bluebell ore deposit consists of three main zones spaced approximately 500 metres apart along the strike of the Badshot marble: the Comfort zone at the north end of Riondel Peninsula, the Bluebell zone in the centre, and the Kootenay Chief at the south end. The ore consists of galena, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite. The gangue occurring with the sulphides consists of carbonates, coarsely-grained quartz and knebelite, an iron manganese silicate."
Production of ore from the Bluebell zone commenced under the ownership of the Kootenay Mining and Smelting Co. in 1895. A concentrator was built on the shore of Bluebell Bay ("Old Mill") in 1908. The Bluebell claims changed ownership several times between 1905 and 1924. Only lead concentrates were produced during this period. The Bluebell ore zone was initially developed by open pit mining in the Glory Hole. As mining progressed, a tunnel was driven in from Bluebell Bay, a shaft was sunk on the Comfort Claim and an adit was driven on the Kootenay Chief Claim. High zinc tailing from the concentrator at the Old Mill was discharged to Kootenay Lake at a point west of Bluebell Bay. The tailing (containing zinc), consisted of both hand sorted waste and, later, rejects from jig tables. Mine waste rock was used to develop level areas at the shore of Bluebell Bay (i.e., dumped into the lake). Operations at the Old Mill were suspended in 1927. Ore mined by pre-Cominco interests totalled approximately 500,000 short tons.
The Bluebell property and adjacent Kootenay Chief and Comfort claims were bought by Cominco in approximately 1931. The mine was dormant from this time until Cominco initiated an exploration program in 1942.
The results of the exploration program resulted in construction of a concentrator on the shore of Galena Bay ("New Mill") and development of a new shaft beside the mill. Production of lead and zinc concentrates commenced in 1952. Concentrates were loaded into rail cars on barges from a dock on the west side of Galena Bay, towed to Procter, and then transferred on to the Canadian Pacific Railway line and taken to Cominco's smelter in Trail, BC.
Approximately 5,318,000 tons of ore were mined between 1952 and 1972.
The Co-ordinates for this cache do not take you to the actual mine site, as the mine site itself is very dangerous even to trained personnel, so please do not attempt to visit the actual mine site but enjoy the mine from this public vantage point.
To log this cache please email the cache owner the answers to the following questions do not post in your log.
1) From this viewpoint how many entrances can you see to the minesite.
2) Estimate how high the cliff is that the mine inhabits.
Please post a picture of you or your GPS with the mine in the background from the viewpoint. If within 21 days your picture has not been uploaded your log will be deleted.
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