Cowley Park
Cowley Park has been the site of much exploration, drilling, and testing. It was never a copper-producing area. Apparently significant copper reserves remain unexploited here.
The red outline of this area shown on maps here is only an approximate delineation of the Cowley Park area and does not represent claim boundaries.
Chronology
- 1952: exploratory drilling by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting
- 1970: geochemical soil sampling in the area for New Imperial Mines extended east across the Carcross Road but found nothing significant
- 1975: drilling in area by Caron Diamond Drilling
- 1970s?: 5000 tonne bulk sample taken to test recovery rates at mill
- 1980: diamond drilling by Whitehorse Copper in the area
- 2019: diamond drilling by Kluane Drilling, 18 holes totalling 2300 m
- 2020: drilling by Kluane Drilling, mostly for crew training
- 2023: new interest by Gladiator Metals, not without issue. See also Not in my Backyard ... Already, Whitehorse Daily Star, 8 September 2023.
- 2024–2025: exploratory drilling by Gladiator Metals
Access
There are three routes into Cowley Park:
- The simplest route is from the South Klondike Highway via POI 1 and POI 2. You can get most (maybe all) of the way by vehicle using this route.
- There is a trail in from the south end of Mary Lake. It may be muddy and is probably not passable by car or truck.
- Hiking trails exist south from the Cowley Creek country residential subdivision. Access is at the end of Pike Place POI 4.
Points of interest
The map below shows some points of interest (POIs) in the Cowley Park area. The table that follows gives more info for each POI.
| POI | Description | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | road access point | 60.57025 -134.86086 507627 6714929 |
Travelling south from the Carcross Corner, exit the South Klondike Highway right at this POI onto a small unmarked road, which used to be the main highway route. Pass through a graveyard of cars lining both sides of the road and make a hard right turn. Follow a single-lane road through the forest down to the area of POI 2. |
| 2 | ford on Cowley Creek | 60.57285 -134.88434 506340 6715216 |
At this point, Cowley Creek is mostly blocked by a long beaver dam. This has created a lake on the south, which flows strongly north through a narrow gap across the road. You need to ford this flowing water. The road surface under the water is hard: loose rocks. You can park in an open level area east of the ford. WARNING: Water levels and conditions vary. Use caution when fording Cowley Creek by vehicle or on foot. A reconnaissance is a good idea before starting across. |
| 3 | Cowley pit | 60.57551 -134.89134 505955 6715512 |
Probably in the 1970s, a large quantity of ore from this pit went to the Whitehorse Copper mill at Little Chief as a test. The yield was not sufficiently good, apparently, and no other Cowley ore went to the mill before it closed in 1982. The whole Cowley Park area around this POI, and especially to the south-east, is crossed by parallel cut lines through the woods. You may find other open areas where excavations and diamond drilling have taken place. |
| 4 | Pike Place trail access | 60.58543 -134.89444 505784 6716617 |
Many hiking trails exist in the area between Cowley Creek subdivision and Cowley Park. One access is at the end of Pike Place. |
| 5 | pre-1920(?) pit | 60.57549 -134.88996 506031 6715510 |
This is an old pit with cribbing in the bottom. Was it the entrance to something more substantial? |
| 6 | deep trench | 60.57568 -134.89038 506008 6715531 |
This machine-dug trench is just behind (east of) Cowley Pit. It is one of several such trenches in the area dug in the exploration for copper since the 1950s. |
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 2. Ford at Cowley Creek. Use caution when crossing this. There is an open place on the east side where you can park. |
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POI 3. Cowley pit. A large sample went to the Little Chief mill from here. |
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POI 3. Cowley pit. There is lots of malachite in the area. |
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POI 5. Old pit, possibly pre-1920 |
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POI 6. Trench, looking up from the bottom |
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POI 6. Trench, looking down |
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Diamond drilling in progress, fall 2023, in eastern Cowley Park. This is Kluane Drilling working on behalf of Gladiator Metals. |
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Saw cuts for mineral sampling, probably made in 2023. Similar cuts appear on outcrops throughout the area. |
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About 200 exploratory holes have been drilled in/around the Cowley Park area. Drilling started in the 1950s and continued up to 2023. Hole location data for these images is from the Gladiator Metals website. |
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Exploratory drill holes in/around Cowley Park |
TimmiT History Exploration Notebook