Valerie
The Valerie area was a significant (by standards of the time) producer and the site of major activity in the early 1900s. It was the third-biggest shipper after Pueblo and Grafter. It attracted interest in the years that followed but was never further developed. Even though it's readily accessible, it remains largely forgotten.
Chronology
- 1899: 22 Aug, staked by Gustave Gervais
- 1900: early work concentrated on developing surface outcrops and sinking shallow shafts
- 1902: road (roughly parallel to current Mount Sima Road) built to the Wigan siding on the railway, 2.5 miles (4 km)
- 1903: small shipment (40 tons, 32,000 kg?) of ore (probably high-grade chalchopyrite) went out via the Wigan siding
- 1904–1905: no work due to low copper prices
- 1905 (or maybe 1907): taken over by Arthur B. Palmer
- 1906: work resumed when copper prices rose
- 1907: new discoveries
- 1907: road to the Wigan siding improved
- 1907: 92 ft (28 m) shaft 24 degrees off vertical reached depth of 84 ft (26 m); 270 ft (82 m) of drifts from bottom of the shaft; also two shafts 20 ft (6 m) each plus some surface stripping
- 1912: acquired by the Atlas Mining Company along with LeRoi, War Eagle, Grafter, Best Chance, and Pueblo claims
- 1912: Aug, new equipment ordered: boiler, air compressor, sinking pump, hoist, four rock drills
- 1913: new ore ledge found at depth of 200 ft (61 m)
- 1913: shipped ore on every southbound train
- 1915: more new equipment
- 1915–1919: produced 6000 tons (5.4M kg) of ore
- 1917: ice cleared, water pumped out, 15 men at work; one car of ore shipped per day
- 1919: late in the year, last shipment made, mine closed down, machinery removed and shipped to Vancouver
- 1947: staked and drilled by Noranda but nothing ever came of this
- 1974: Caron Diamond Drilling working on contract to Whitehorse Copper, drilled exploratory hole (3558 ft, 1084 m), a depth record for Yukon that produced no promising results
- 2025: diamond drilling in the area by Kluane Drilling for Gladiator Metals
Access
The Valerie site is right at the junction of the Mount Sima and Copper Haul roads. You can drive right to it and park near POI 1.
Points of interest
The map below shows some points of interest (POIs) in the Valerie area. The table that follows gives more info for each POI.
| POI | Description | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | trenching | 60.63018 -135.06054 496688 6721597 |
The Valerie site has been worked over many times in the last 100+ years. The origins of the significant trench in this area are not known but the trench has a good potential for interesting rocks. The original discovery area was a short distance southwest of this POI. |
| 2 | drill site? | 60.62958 -135.06097 496664 6721531 |
This may have been a drill site or perhaps the site of an older excavation or surface working. Check the woods between POIs 1 and 2 for interesting artifacts. |
Downloads
| POIs for GPS | map for GPS |
|---|---|
| file of POIs in GPS format for this project and all others in the Whitehorse Copper Belt that you can download | GPS map for this project that you can download |
Photos and more info
 |
Trenching at POI 1 |
 |
Trenching at POI 1 |
 |
Artifact in the woods between POIs 1 and 2. This is perhaps the base for some heavy machinery such as a compressor or a boiler. |
TimmiT History Exploration Notebook