ODDS ‘N’ SODS — The magnificent Kootenays

The Kootenay district of south-central British Columbia is blessed with magnificent mountains, rivers, lakes and scenic valleys. At its centre is 407-sq.-km Kootenay Lake, into which the Kootenay River flows. Encompassing the lake are the Purcell and Selkirk Mountains, which, in the early days, restricted access to the lake.

In addition to scenic beauty (it has been described as the Switzerland of Canada), the region has given rise to many mining booms over the past 120 years. As early as 1844, the Hudson Bay Company expressed interest in the “Kootenai treasure,” on the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake. Later, this became the site of the Bluebell mine, from which rich galena ores were extracted intermittently from 1886 until Cominco suspended operations in 1971. The small town of Riondel was constructed on the eastern shore to serve mining operations, and a lead smelter was developed at Pilot Bay, some 8 miles to the south. Today, Riondel is an attractive retirement community.

High-grade silver ore was discovered across the lake from the Bluebell mine, at a location that would become known as Ainsworth, after the man who staked it. With the reputation of the Kootenay district now flavored with the white metal, exploration expanded.

Prospectors and venture capital poured into the region. The town of Ainsworth blossomed in 1891 as the first settlement in the West Kootenays and provided key services to more than a dozen producing silver-lead mines.

The Kootenays gained even greater prominence with the exploration and development of the rich silver ores near Slocan City (today known simply as Slocan). Initially, pack horses and wagons connected the booming silver camp to the supply centre at Kaslo (then known as Kane’s Landing), on the western bank of Kootenay Lake. In 1896, two shipments totalling 45 tons from the Reco silver mine yielded 24,820 oz. silver and 27 tons of lead. As the mines and communities developed, transportation was upgraded. The Kaslo and Slocan Railway was constructed as a narrow-gauge track (the rail bed was 3 ft.

wide) over 30 miles of rugged mountain slope. Meanwhile, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a competing line from Nakusp, on the eastern shore of Upper Arrow Lake, into the silver-rich area. Small communities such as New Denver, Three Forks, Zincton and Retallack emerged to service the mines.

Silver prices ranged from 50cents to more than a $1 per oz. in the early days, and the Slocan mines continued to flourish until the advent of the First World War.

One old-timer who well-remembered the Slocan days recounted to me how he left the University of Toronto after the turn of the century and crossed the continent to join the ever-expanding exploitation of the silver deposits in the area. Young Walter Newton, after a spell in the rich silver camp, then joined in the exploration of the district at the southern fork of Kaslo Creek, which was also known as Keen Creek. More than 40 years later, after a period as superintendent of the smelter at Trail, and with a revival in silver prices, he returned to Keen Creek in an attempt to reactivate the old Silver Bell and BNA deposits.

The history of mining in the magnificent Kootenays is a living history, and there could yet be a revival of interest in the historic camp. The grandeur of the scenery combined with rich geologic potential will continue to lure adventurers and prospectors alike.

— The author is a retired mining engineer residing in Vancouver, B.C.