Rossland Mining Museum

Le Roi Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Rossland, at the Junction of Highways 3B and 22.
Open:	Mine tours: Mid-MAY to JUN daily 9:30, 11, 12:30, 14, 15:30. JUL to AUG daily 9:30-15:30, every half hour. SEP prebooked only. Museum: Mid-MAY to mid-SEP daily 9-17. [2007]
Fee:	Mine Tour (including Museum): Adults CAD 10, Children (6-13) CAD 3, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (60+) CAD 8, Students CAD 5, Family (2+*) CAD 28. Museum: Adults CAD 5, Children (6-13) CAD 1.50, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (60+) CAD 4, Students CAD 3. [2007]
Classification:	Gold Mine
Light:	electric.
Dimension:	L=128,000m, T=7°C.
Guided tours:	D=45min.
Bibliography:	Anon (1995): The Story in the Rocks, The Geology of Rossland, B.C..
Address:	Rossland Mining Museum, Tel: +1-250-362-7722, Free: +1-888-448-7444, Fax: +1-250-362-5379. E-mail:
Last update:	$Date: 2008/07/01 20:17:14 $

History


JUL-1890		gold discovered by Joe Moris and his partner Bourgeois.
1891		trial shipment of seven tons of ore to Trail Creek landing by mule-back, by river steamer and railway to Butte, Montana.
1892		wagon road to Northport constructed.
1893		wagon road to Trail Creek Landing constructed.
1895		War Eagle and Centre Star claim hit rich ore.
1895		F. Augustus Heinze from Montana built a smelter at Trail Creek Landing and a narrow gauge railway to Rossland named Trail Creek Tramway.
1897		population increased to 7,000, town had 42 saloons and 17 law firms.
1901		Miners' Union Strike and disastrous collapse of Whittaker Wright's infamous financial empire.
1902		peak-production year for the Rossland mines.
1902		City of Rossland burned down.
1905		Centre Star powder house exploded.
1905		Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (Cominco) created by the amalgamation of the War Eagle and Centre Star mines.
1911		Le Roi puchased by Cominco.
1929		mine closed.
1934		Cominco holdings thrown open for leasing as a depression relief aid.
1954		Rossland Museum established by the Rossland Rotary Club in the Rossland Court House.
1967		present museum building opened.

Geology

The Rossland Monzonite is the host rock for the gold. Located in the area of an orogenic process, the formation of a mountain chain, during the last 190 million years, the volcanic rocks of the Rossland Volcano have been buried, deformed, metamorphosed and finally uplifted again. The result is the Rossland Monzonite intrusion, which extends along the valley from Warfield up to just west of Rossland. It has been deeply eroded by Trail Creek.

Description

The Rossland Museum consitst of the Visitor Center, the Mining Museum and the Le Roi Mine Tour. The Rossland Mining Museum adjacent to the Visitor center has displays on local history, geology, the mining, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (Cominco), and the West Kootenay Power. There is an extensive collection of rocks and minerals from all over the world with a hands on rock specimen display. There is historical geologic and ore processing equipment. The museum offers an introduction to mining history and the geology of the area for grade 11 through university level student groups.

The tour into Le Roi Mine starts at the entrance to the museum. Then the visitors walk up to the mine where they are equipped with helmets. From the entrance the group follows the main haulage way for 240m to the intersection with the Le Roi shaft. The next stop is an underground hoist room with repair shop and forge. In a large side chamber an early diamond drill machine is shown. There are several stopes, a miners term for mined out ore bodies.