Vidette Lake Gold Mines - 100103
Vidette Lake lies at the northern end of the Deadman Valley,
about 50 km from the Trans Canada Highway. The source of the
Deadman River is high up on the Bonaparte Plateau. The river flows
west for 23 kilometres before plunging over Deadman Falls and
feeding into the Deadman Valley Lakes.
The valley was likely used as a transportation corridor for
Aboriginal peoples for hunting, fishing and trading. The Hudson Bay
Company passed through this area on its Brigade Trails from Fort
Kamloops to Fort Alexandria at 100 Mile House in the 1840s. The
Vidette Lake area was considered as the halfway point along the
route. Later, packers used the valley as a route over to the
Cariboo Wagon Road from the Okanagan-Thompson areas.
Following the gold rushes in the Fraser River and in the
Cariboo, there was a flurry of exploration and gold panning
throughout the area, with activity at nearby Tranquille Creek
starting in 1858. Hydraulic mining continued there through the
1890s.
As early as 1898 gold had been found in the Deadman area, but it
was not until the winter of 1931 when more extensive surveying was
done by an American geologist. He employed seven men at Vidette
Lake and confirmed the presence of gold-bearing quartz veins.
Equipment and supplies were shipped to Vidette in 1932 and a
portable sawmill was set up to provide lumber for above and below
ground construction. Provincial mining reports in 1932 talked about
the need for further development and the need to construct a road
into the valley. Shares of Vidette Mines Ltd. were sold on the
market by 1933 with public announcements that once the road was
built concentrates would be shipped. Eventually the company
upgraded the road to haul status and the Province maintained
it.
Supplies, equipment and manpower came from Savona and Kamloops
and the Sentinel newspaper in 1933 reported a boost in
business for the area. Other stakes were laid near the Vidette Mine
in 1934, with the Tuleric, Savona Gold and Hamilton Creek stakes
attracting investments from afar.
Financing for the Vidette Mine is not known now, but it was
rumoured that a Canadian Senator, General McRae was a major
shareholder. The Sentinel reported that he was there to see
the first shipment of ore bound for the smelter at Trail.
By 1934, a town site with log huts surrounded the mine site,
which consisted of a two-storey bunkhouse with electric lights,
flush toilets and showers, a cookhouse and a portable sawmill. Over
125 men were employed and with their families, the town site grew
quickly to a village. The payroll at the mine alone was about
$75,000, in 1934 dollars and during the Great Depression, which
made a significant economic impact on the region.
Nearby claims seemed to have been abandoned early but the
Vidette Mine carried on for a few years. At that time, workers were
paid about $0.50 per hour and worked 8 hours days, for 6 days each
week. Workers could stay and be fed at the company-owned bunkhouse
for $1.25 per day. Medical plans and dentistry were available to
workers. The village continued to develop over the 6 years that the
mine ran in full operation. During those years the mine covered 5
miles of tunnels, including one under the lake. The company built
17 km of roads and about 28,000 ounces of gold was extracted and
shipped. Mine operations reduced capacity in 1938 and with the
onset of World War II in 1939 and dwindling ores, the mine closed
down and the surrounding village was abandoned over
time. |