Cominco - 75 Years - Trail, BC
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T0SHEA
N 49° 06.314 W 117° 42.486
11U E 448317 N 5439395
This commemorative plaque is mounted on a stone cairn in Gyro Park in East Trail.
Waymark Code: WMGZ70
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 04/27/2013
Views: 2
Trail's lifeblood industry, its lead/zinc smelter, was first built in 1895, primarily as a gold and silver smelter. Discovery of gold, silver and other metals 7 km. to the west, on Red Mountain in Rossland and the presence of nearby rivers easily exploited for hydroelectric production led to the construction of the smelter at Trail.
By 1906, the smelter had been expanded to handle other metals, most notably lead, zinc and copper. At this time, several of the largest mines on Red Mountain and the smelter were consolidated into a single company - The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company - Cominco.
Through the years, the local mines played out and Cominco has looked further and further afield for ore to feed the smelter. Until the early 2000s, its major producing mine was the Sullivan mine in Kimberley, BC. At present the smelter, having since been bought by Teck Resources and renamed the Teck Cominco Smelter, later just Teck, imports ore from as far away as Alaska and the North West Territories.
In operation to this day, the smelter remains one of the largest non-ferrous smelters in the world, producing primarily lead and zinc, as well as lesser quantities of gold, silver, copper, bismuth, and several rare earth metals.
In the cairn, a time capsule has been placed, to be opened on Cominco's 175th Anniversary, in 2081.
The dedication plaque on the cairn reads:
1906 [Cominco Logo] 1981
HERE AT TRAIL, IN 1906,
A FEW FARSIGHTED MEN FORMED
THE CONSOLIDATED MINING AND SMELTING COMPANY OF
CANADA LTD. LATER TO BECOME WIDELY KNOWN AS
COMINCO.
IT WAS ESTABLISHED WITH THE RESOLVE THAT THIS NEW
COMPANY WOULD BE A DIVERSIFIED AND ENDURING
BUSINESS.
THROUGH THE YEARS THE SUCCESS OF THESE PLANTS AT
TRAIL HAVE BEEN A MAJOR FACTOR IN BUILDING COMINCO
INTO ONE OF CANADA'S IMPORTANT ENTERPRISES.
TODAY, COMINCO AT TRAIL IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST LEAD-
ZINC PRODUCTION CENTRE, AND A LEADER IN PRODUCTION
AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TECHNOLOGY IN THE INDUSTRY.
THIS CAIRN IS DEDICATED BY THE CITY OF TRAIL TO
COMINCO
AND TO THE THOUSANDS OF THIS AREA,
PAST AND PRESENT WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR
WORK AND TALENT IN BUILDING THIS COMPANY, AS
A TRIBUTE ON THE COMPANY'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY.
1981
THE ORE SPECIMEN ON THIS CAIRN IS FROM THE SULLIVAN MINE,
KIMBERLEY B.C. - THE ORE WHICH MADE POSSIBLE THE INDUSTRY
AT TRAIL: LAYERED GALENA AND SPHALERITE CONTAINING
LEAD, ZINC, SILVER AND OTHER MATERIALS.