Rebirth of the Emerald mine

I well recall those early days in the office of Canadian Exploration and Placer Development in Vancouver. Les Batten, Jerry Christie and I occupied a single small office adjacent to the large rooms of Placer. The Second World War was over and things were humming.

Occasionally, Charles Banks, the lieutenant-governor of British Columbia and chairman of Placer Development, would come in to check on projects.

Banks, fresh from his war-time task as metal controller for the Allies, predicted a shortfall in metals during the post-war years and was keen to exploit this market. He was directing exploration and development programs in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Guinea and South America for such metals as gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten and molybdenum.

One day, he walked into the office laughing. He told us he had just reached a deal with Ottawa to acquire title to a tungsten mine, mill and plant on Iron Mountain in British Columbia. As part of the $750,000 deal, he also acquired title to all the government leases in the area, east of the village of Salmo.

Practically overnight, the Emerald mine was reactivated. Banks and Batten had geologists scouring the mountain slopes for evidence of other mineral deposits, and the large Jersey lead-zinc deposit was soon under development. Later, the Dodger tungsten deposit was discovered. Iron Mountain turned into a bonanza (especially when the Korean War broke out in 1950).

One of Batten’s jobs was to staff the Emerald mine, which he did — with a motley crew of Second World War veterans.

For the cookery, he hired a wily Cockney cook, Ivor Phipps, who had served in the army’s portable kitchens during the war. Ivor, or “Shorty,” as we called him, soon assembled a staff, and a splendid cookery was in business atop Iron Mountain.

Then came the office crew. Here, Les called upon an old friend from his war years, Col. Perry. This jovial old gentleman ran a tight ship, and payroll invoices and orders were soon under control.

Les traveled to Vancouver to find a recent university graduate to launch the mine production program. A tall, young engineer named Tom Magee was hired. He brought with him Hilda, his wife. The camp was soon organized to accommodate families.

The icing on the cake at the Emerald came when Les hired two Swedes, Sig Nelson and Jack Anderberg, to organize the miners.

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