The memorial consists of a large boulder with four plaques.
Inscription on the small brass plaque on the memorial:
Inscriptions on the three larger stone plaques on the memorial:
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NAME OF VILMOS FEKETE WAS SPELLED INCORRECTLY ON THE ORIGINAL PLAQUE AND HAS SINCE BEEN CORRECTED. A PHOTO OF THE NEW PLAQUE WITH THE CORRECTED SPELLING WAS KINDLY PROVIDED BY HIS SON:
The following information about this disaster is from Science & Nature:
The Granduc mine was located approximately 30 miles from Stewart, B.C. and near Tide Lake. It was established in 1964, which was 12 years after mining rights on the property was granted to Granby Mining. The copper ore was located underneath Leduc Glacier.
Because of the remote location and mountainous terrain, it was a difficult task for engineers to work out a feasible method for extracting copper ore. A plan was worked out to build a tunnel that was 11 miles long. Excavation was to be done at both ends of the tunnel and digging began September 1964.
One end of the tunnel was located at the foot of Leduc Glacier and the company built Portal Camp in order to house 140 miners. It had a recreation and dining hall plus four bunkhouses along with a powerhouse and field offices. At the other end of the tunnel, at Tide Lake, a permanent camp and a concentrator were being built.
An airstrip was constructed on top of Leduc Glacier where supplies were delivered when the weather was good. During inclement weather, the supplies were transported on the rough terrain by Cat trains.
Avalanche on Leduc Glacier
On February 18, 1965, a huge wall of snow crashed down the Leduc Glacier and buried the Granduc Mining camp at 10:16 a.m. There was no warning and 40 men in the camp were immediately buried.
The impact of the avalanche was described by Murray Lundberg at ExploreNorth. “Virtually the entire camp was wiped out by the avalanche. Some of the survivors were missed when the slide split into two forks, and many were able to dig themselves out… The tunnel had only been driven 28 feet when the avalanche struck, and several men were protected inside it. “
Innis Kelly, who was a radio operator at the Portal Camp, managed to send out a “mayday” call from the transmitter at the airstrip. His radio went dead immediately afterward. The transmission was sufficient to alert emergency services in the area.
Rescue of Trapped Miners at Granduc Mine Portal Camp
In the meantime, the men who managed to escape the avalanche began to dig out their fellow miners who were buried under massive layers of snow, mud and ice. Within hours, rescue teams from the U.S. and Canada were making their way to the avalanche scene at the foot of the Leduc Glacier.
According to Murray Lundberg; “A massive rescue force…was battling storms to reach the scene, where 50-70 mile per hour winds were reported. While nearby helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft waited for the weather to ease, four Cat trains ground through the drifts at top speed.”
The Alaska ferry, Taku, was turned into a hospital and moored in a harbor closest to the scene of the avalanche. A U.S. Coast Guard boat transported the injured miners to the ferry. The RCMP, armed forces, and civilians also helped with the rescue by supplying ground rescue teams and boat and plane transportation.
There were 120 survivors, including 17 injured men and the miners who were trapped in the tunnel. The [26] men who died in the avalanche were asleep in their bunkhouses after working the night shift. Rescue operations continued until February 26th and seven bodies were not found. In the spring, when the snow melted, the remaining bodies were recovered.
After everyone was evacuated, the Portal Camp never reopened. The Tide Lake Camp was kept open for a few more seasons. Due to a severe drop in copper prices in the 1980s, the Granduc mine was permanently closed.