The oldest and most famous man-made landmark on the Sea to Sky Highway will get a $3-million facelift thanks to federal, provincial and private money announced this week.
The massive concentrator building at Britannia Beach will be physically restored and become the centerpiece of the B.C. Museum of Mining after the federal and provincial governments each contributed $1 million to the project through the Canada-B.C. Infrastructure Program.
Federal Minister of Western Economic Diversification Stephen Owen and B.C.'s Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services Murray Coell made the funding announcement in Vancouver Monday (April 4).
Private industry, including Teck Cominco, Hunter Dickinson, the Halbauer family and three anonymous donors will give another $1 million to the project, allowing the concentrator to be restored before the end of 2006.
The concentrator, built between 1921 and 1923, stands approximately 70 metres (230 feet) in height over Britannia Beach. Its function was to separate waste rock from copper ore, crushing boulders to the consistency of flour and separating out the desired minerals for smelting.
The concentrator was the last gravity-fed concentrator mill in Western Canada, using the steep slope of the mountain to feed ore through eight successive levels. It processed more than 50 million tonnes of ore during its 50 years in operation.
Much of the equipment was removed from the concentrator in 1974 after the Britannia Mine shut down.
While the concentrator was recognized as a National Historic Site in 1989, it has sat largely unused and derelict for a number of years. Its gloomy fa莽ade has dominated the skyline at Britannia and served as a haunting backdrop in TV and movie shoots.
But after the restoration is complete, the concentrator will become the heart of the B.C. Museum of Mining, allowing it to double the number of annual visitors from its current 40,000 per year to 80,000, according to Yale Simpson, president of the BBHS.
The project will include replacing 18,792 panes of glass in the front of the building.
"This project will make a difference to everyone who will go up to Whistler," Simpson said.
Staff at the Museum were jubilant about the funding on Monday.The mill restoration will create nine full-time positions and 160,000 person-hours of labour.
"The economic spinoffs for the community will be significant as we prepare for the influx of visitors to the museum this summer," said executive director Kirstin Clausen.
It will also be the heart of the Britannia Project, a multi-million dollar transformation project that includes the remediation of Britannia Creek, which was polluted by years of acid rock drainage from the mine's operation. A $27.2-million water treatment plant at the old mine site is under construction and scheduled to start operating in November of this year.
The project also includes redevelopment of the commercial district in Britannia Beach in what Simpson calls a "Granville Island" style along with new, privately-developed residential properties.
A commercial partner to develop the business district will be chosen by the end of the year, with the new commercial area completed by 2010, Simpson said.
About $250,000 in preliminary engineering work needs to be done before construction on the mill can start in earnest. That will start in four to six weeks and the subsequent restoration will take between 12 and 16 months.
