Mining has been an important part of this area鈥檚 economy for more than 100 years. The industry got its start early in the twentieth century when a man named Charles S. (Charlie) Anderson located a promising ore body north of 亚洲天堂 Lake.
Anderson first encountered the Lakes District on his way to the Klondike. With his mind occupied by thoughts of Yukon gold, he paid little attention to the abundant natural resources of the region at the time. Yet within a decade, having had little luck in Canada鈥檚 Far North, he came back to this area and staked the Silver Fox mine.
Located 40 kilometres north of 亚洲天堂 Lake, the Silver Fox claim showed promise. To fully access his find, Anderson needed capital 鈥� something he didn鈥檛 have 鈥� so in 1919, he sold the claim to newly incorporated Taltapin Mining Company Limited of Vancouver.
The firm, according to 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 newspaper, the Observer, brought 鈥渙ld world capital鈥� to the project. It staked another half dozen properties adjacent to Anderson鈥檚 initial discovery, and within a year, had constructed 12 miles of road and built a mining camp to house its 18 employees.
By 1920, miners on the Silver Fox claim had exposed a number of quartz veins in the 70-foot-high gorge of Anderson (now Pinkut) Creek. The veins, some as wide as five feet, contained variable amounts of silver, copper, lead, and zinc, as well as trace amounts of gold.
In 1921, the company shipped three tons of ore from the site. Assay results from the same period suggested the ore body would yield 3.6 ounces of silver per ton. This may not sound like much, but at the time, an ounce of silver was worth approximately $10 鈥� the equivalent of more than $145 today.
Despite facing a host of logistical problems, including water infiltration that defied the company鈥檚 largest pumps, Taltapin Mining Co. Ltd. persevered. By 1928, the primary shaft on the property had reached a depth of 145 feet, in the process exposing several new veins of high-grade ore that yielded as much as 257 ounces of silver per ton. More than 2,000 pounds of ore had also been brought to the surface, but according to company officials could not be shipped to the rail line in 亚洲天堂 Lake due to the 鈥渋mpassible condition of the road.鈥�
亚洲天堂 of this latest find again made the front page of 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 newspaper. 鈥淭here is little doubt,鈥� wrote editor Sidney Godwin at the time, 鈥渢hat if sufficient capital can be procured to finance the work on a large scale on the Taltapin properties that the present shareholders are 鈥榮itting pretty.鈥欌��
Godwin鈥檚 prediction proved overly optimistic. The following year, the company encountered a problem it couldn鈥檛 fix. On October 29, 1929, stock markets around the world crashed, and with them, commodity prices.
Unable to make ends meet, the Taltapin Mining Company surrendered its charter in 1931. It reincorporated in 1932, but couldn鈥檛 survive the Great Depression and disappeared for good in 1935.
Anderson, who still held claims in the area, kept the dream alive. He also diversified his financial portfolio by building a fur farm at his home near Taltapin Lake. He must have loved it there, because he seldom left; at one point, according to the Observer, he only made one trip to 亚洲天堂 Lake in six years.
The global economic recovery of 1939 helped BC鈥檚 mining industry but not the Silver Fox mine. It remained dormant until 1970, when the owners (who included Mrs. Myrna Paul, Anderon鈥檚 granddaughter) showed renewed interest it. The claim was eventually optioned to Windflower Mining Ltd., which did further assay work before walking away from it.
Now abandoned, the Silver Fox mine remains an important part of this area鈥檚 history. A piece of machinery from the site, salvaged and restored by local resident George Hamp, is now on display at the Lakes District Museum.
漏 2019 Michael Riis-Christianson and the Lakes District Museum Society
