| Once again I head out in the rain. This time I'm headed east,
looking for the sun. Trans-Canadian Highway 3 shows promise.
I keep seeing patches of blue on the horizon and chase them relentlessly.
Finally I'm rewarded with dry roads. The first stop I made is at
Hedley. Gold was discovered in the Hedley area in 1898 on Nickel
Plate Mountain. By 1904 a stamp mill was built to process the ore
that came down a two mile tramway from the mine. Gold production
went on till 1929 then stopped until 1934. Except for a strike in
1946-47, it continued until 1955. The town of Nickel Plate on top
of the mountain was dismantled and moved and most of the residents of Hedley
found other places to make a living. In 1987, Mascot Gold Mines acquired
the Nickel Plate property and started modern gold mining. In
1992, it was sold and became the Homestead Nickel Plate Mine and reclamation
was begun in 1997. I followed the river east along Highway 3 and
then headed north on Highway 97. |
Nickel Plate View
Nickel Plate Stamp Mill
Highway 3 View
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