The Kennicott Copper Mine

Please welcome guest commentator, David Staat...

At the end of the McCarthy road and the confluence of the Kennecott and Root Glaciers lies the remains of one of the richest copper finds in the world. The Kennecott copper mine which was shutdown in November of 1938, is a must-see for those who love the history of mineral prospecting, mining, and the hay day of US industry. 

This rock glacier is 90 percent rock and 10 percent ice... one of only two such glaciers in the world.

Kennicott Lodge

The mine was built from pacific northwest timber and mining equipment made in the U.S. industrial belt in the lower 48.  People came from all over the world, for many of them this was their first experience in America and a hope to build a better life or become rich.

I took a two and a half hour tour of the facility where our tour group climbed to the top of the separation/refining building and down through its bowels. Our tour guide explained the refining process to us and how life was during that time.  I have always been infatuated with how things are made.  The processes, and equipment that are used.  What challenges and risks the people faced at work, in in their community, and how they over came them. It is a snapshot of the progress of man or lack there of, depending on how you look at it.

Ammonia extraction building.

Kennicott power house as seen from separation building.

Separation building and mine support complex

During its hay day from 1911 to 1938, nearly $200 million worth of copper was processed...that is about $46 billion in today's dollars.  Investors like the Havemayers collaborated with J.P. Morgan and the Guggenheim family to build a railroad over mountains, glaciers and rivers from the mine to the port of Cardova to bring the ore to the smelters in Tacoma. That feat alone was an engineering marvel.  You can still see the remnants of the old railroad today as you travel along the old railroad bead now know as the MACarthy highway.

Kennicott hospital.  This hospital was state-of-the art when built and had the first X-ray machine in Alaska.

Remains of Kennicott maintenance shop

Now owned by the National Park Service (NPS) much of the original structures in the mine complex are still there in various states of repair. Some have been restored to the original state when the mine was running. Others are going to be left in a state of suspended decay. It is part of a six-year plan by the NPS to preserve the Kennecott copper complex as a national historical site for future generations to walk back into a time when massive human resources, huge financial risk, and creative engineering were brought together, in a struggle in one of the most harsh environments on earth, to tap one of the largest mineral finds of modern times. 

For me, visiting McCarthy and Kennecott has been one of the highlights of our trip so far. 

For a full history of the mine you can visit the National Park service website below. 

http://www.nps.gov/wrst/learn/historyculture/kennecott-mines-national-historic-landmark.htm