A Trip to Britannia Mines

In December Callie had a field trip to Britannia Mines. Kerry has taken her class many times however I had only ever seen the outside of it as it is on the way to Whistler and is a prominent set of buildings on the side of the highway. Callie really enjoys it when I get to go on her field trips so when she brought the permission slip home I knew I didn't have any choice but to volunteer to chaperone. This was a bus trip since it's such a long drive so I didn't have to take our car.

The mine was a copper mine up until the mid 70's and was handed over to the province mostly intact. The province acted quickly to preserve what the could and a more recent renovation has brought it up to a caliber that rivals any other historic site we have in BC. The province doesn't have a long history and much of it was built with wood so very few things have survived. This location however has much of the original equipment and buildings. They've also added some mining equipment from other areas such as the giant mine truck at the entrance.

The highlight for me was getting to take the mine train into one of the mine shafts. If you are claustrophobic this would not be the field trip for you. It's all very safe and they only take you a few hundred feet in but you can't help but think of the millions of pounds of rock sitting over your head. The tour inside was great with a short train ride to a spot where the guide shows you the different mining techniques that existed throughout the history of the mine. He even turns on the air hammer drill which was deafening in such as small space.

Callie's favourite part was panning for gold and other gems. The mine itself was principally a copper mine but they have included a few gold panning troughs as a fun activity. The best part was that even though it was December and we were outside, the water is heated so you don't get cold at all. The trough is mostly sand but they've seeded it with gold, pyrite and various minerals. Callie and I had a bag of minerals and about 7 flecks of gold. Not enough to get rich but still fun.

The trip had to fit into a day trip from school so we only got to stay for a few hours. I think I would like to come back in the summer and explore more of the buildings. This was an excellent attraction.