Britannia Mine Museum

Let´s go around the world and show the people this great museum.

I choose the Britannia Mine Museum for a Trackable because one episode of the best TV show was filmed there... The X-Files episode 3x2 "Paper Clip"  

In its seventy-year life, the Britannia Mine had a fascinating history. With over 60,000 people living and working here, you can imagine that there are a few stories to tell! There was pioneering work on ore extraction technologies - peak production rates making it the then biggest copper mine in the British Empire, dictatorial and benevolent managers, fire, floods, a tragic rock slide and much more.

Quick Facts

Ore discovered - 1888

Years of operation - 1904 to 1974

Number of employees and residents - over 60,000

Number of countries of origin of employees - 50

Main mining communities - Britannia Beach (processing and shipping operations) and Mount Sheer (mining operations)

Mining camps - 9: Victoria, Empress, Beta, Barbara, Jane, Incline, Daisy (Goldsmith), Seaview, Seymour

Owners - Howe Sound Company and subsidiary Britannia Mining & Smelting Company (1904 - 1963), Anaconda Copper Company (1963 - 1974)

Ore extracted - over 50 million tons

Ore present - metal sulphides: pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena; gold and silver

Metal produced - copper (650,000 tons), zinc (137,000 tons), lead (17,000 tons), cadmium (500 tons), silver (188 tons), gold (15.6 tons/500,000 ounces)

Underground workings - 210km tunnels (longest 16km), over 1750 metres of vertical distance to a depth of around 650 metres below sea level

Peak production - Mill processing 7000 tons of ore per day; largest copper mine in British Commonwealth (late 1920's/early 1930's)

Extraction rates - 90% to 95%

Mill operations - Mill 1: 1905 - 1914, Mill 2: 1914 - 1921, Mill 3: 1923 - 1974

Fatalities - estimated 98 underground fatalities in 70 years

Disasters - Jane Slide (1915, 56 deaths); Britannia Beach flood (1921, 37 deaths); Mill 2 fire (1921, 0 deaths)

Source Britannia Mine Museum 

For more information Wikipedia