War Eagle
The current War Eagle pit is in the area of the original War Eagle mineral claim. The area has been worked over many times for various purposes in the last 100+ years. Unlike the nearby Anaconda and Rabbit Foot mines, little if anything remains of the original exploration. Even so, the area has had an interesting history and is an interesting place to visit.
Chronology
- 1899: 16 July, staked by Sam McGee
- 1900–1903: little serious work took place
- 1904–1905: no work at all took place due to low price of copper
- 1906: some minor work resumed when copper prices rose
- 1907: taken over by Caldwell, Poyntz, Lucas, and Kesler
- 1907: work started in earnest; adit extended to 120 ft (37 m)
- 1916–1917: operated by Charles Hayes and M. Hayden; produced 2000 tons (1.8M kg) of ore to take advantage of high prices during WWI
- 1934: advertised for sale for the price of back taxes owing: $64.35. No takers.
- 1967: Copper Haul Road extended north to this area from the junction with the Fish Lake Road
- late 1960s: converted to an open pit mine by New Imperial Mines
- 1969: attention focused here after Arctic Chief and Little Chief open pits were mined out
- 1969–1971: produced $50M in copper, gold, and silver
- 1970: geochemical soil sampling conducted in the area for New Imperial Mines
- 1974: bequeathed to the City of Whitehorse for a dump site
- 1980: diamond drilling by Whitehorse Copper in the area north of the War Eagle pit
- 1980s: War Eagle pit used as landfill site; piles of whole and shredded tires still exist on the north-east side of the pit and scrap metal around the east
- 1980s: at some point, the City of Whitehorse stopped throwing garbage into the pit
- 1997–1998: Kluane Drilling did some trenching and testing north of the War Eagle pit
Access
The War Eagle area is west of the City of Whitehorse landfill site and due north of Pueblo. The easiest access is from the Pueblo site. Park at the McIntyre Marsh gazebo near the corner of the Fish Lake and Copper Haul roads. Head north along the Copper Haul Road extension to the War Eagle area. A visit to both War Eagle and Pueblo in one outing is quite doable. Because of snowmobile traffic in the area, the trails in the War Eagle area are often walkable in winter.
There is a road to War Eagle around the south side of the landfill but it is gated in two spots and generally impassable. Access to War Eagle is also possible via snowmobile/ATV trails from the north. A main trail passes along the western fenceline of the landfill.
Points of interest
The map below shows some points of interest (POIs) in the War Eagle area. The table that follows gives more info for each POI. The area was originally staked in three mineral claims: War Eagle, LeRoi, and LeRoi extension.
| POI | Description | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | main War Eagle Pit | 60.74296 -135.17701 490349 6734171 |
This is a fairly large pit with water and garbage in the bottom, site of major mining operations 1969–1971. Haul access was probably from the south-east. There is a trail all the way around the pit. The original early-1900s underground mine was approximately in the centre of the current pit area. |
| 2 | waste rock pile with tires | 60.74424 -135.17551 490431 6734313 |
Some of the waste rock from the War Eagle pit was pushed to the north and east. Then, while the site was used as the city dump, piles of tires and shredded tires appeared and are still there. |
| 3 | waste rock pile with garbage | 60.74190 -135.17111 490670 6734052 |
More of the waste rock from the War Eagle pit was pushed to the south and east into the valley of a small creek. Miscellaneous garbage became piled here while the site was used as a dump, much of it in discrete piles as if it were dropped off by individual trucks. |
| 4 | Copper Haul Road extension | 60.73781 -135.17361 490533 6733596 |
This road comes from the Pueblo area farther south. It's the easiest access route to the War Eagle area. This point is only about 1.8 km from the McIntyre Marsh parking lot near the corner of the Fish Lake and Copper Haul roads, near Pueblo POI 1. |
| 5 | exploratory trenching | 60.74733 -135.17874 490256 6734658 |
Exploratory trenching took place in the late 1960s north of the pit to test the potential for extending the mine. This series of straight cut lines and trenches is perpendicular to a central access trail that leads north from the War Eagle pit. From the trail that circles the pit, you can see more exploratory trenching high on the slope west of the pit (east slope of Haeckel Hill). |
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
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POI 1. War Eagle pit from the south end. Haul access was probably to the right (east) of this area. |
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POI 1. War Eagle pit from the east side |
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POI 1. War Eagle pit near the north end. Note the red rocks on the north face, significance unknown. |
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POI 1. War Eagle pit looking south |
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POI 2. Tires east of POI 1 and evidence of later illegal dumping. |
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POI 2. Tires and shredded tires east of POI 1. |
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POI 3. Garbage south and east of POI 1. |
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This is a historical progression of the War Eagle area seen from above between 1946 and 2018. Once you reach the first image, try resizing your browser window to see the complete image top to bottom (this might mean making it narrower because the image re-sizes dynamically) and then use the [←Prev] and [Next→] buttons to move between years. Expand to full screen to search for details. The Government of Canada or the Government of Yukon own the copyright on each of the black-and-white aerial photos here. The colour 2018 image is a satellite image from the Government of Yukon's GeoYukon image service. |
TimmiT History Exploration Notebook