Just before the great gold rush stamped of 1897 stretching to the Yukon, prospectors had rushed through the Similkameen Valley on their way to more popular locations, however, in some places like 20 Mike Creek, were getting a well deserved second look. The first stakes on the Nickel Plate Mountain began in 1898 by two greenhorns, Constantine H. Arundel and Frances E.R. Woolaston. These men, excited beyond belief when they discovered "free gold" quickly staked 4 claims: the Bulldog, Copperfield, Sunnyside, and Nickel Plate. Little did they realize that the Sunnyside operation and the Nickel Plate claims would be soon the nucleus of a huge underground mining operation, production before its close in 1955, millions of dollars worth of gold.
The collection of mining claims on the Nickel Plate mountain, and the small settlement at its base, were now being called Hedley Camp. It was named after Robert Hedley, a well known mining man from the Nelson-Trail, British Columbia area. Hedley had previously grubstaked one of the early prospectors in the area, Peter Scott, who had returned the favour by naming the camp after his sponsor.
The Mascot was staked in 1899, but the mine did not start production until 1936. The long delay was due to the stubbornness of one person, Duncan Woods. When M.K. Rogers was securing the top of Nickel Plate Mountain for Marcus Daly, the great copper baron of Bute, Montana, he staked and purchased what he thought were enough claim to cover the entire ore body. The majority of this property was on the East side of Nickel Plate Mountain where the rich outcroppings were. The western boundary of this group approximately 100 claims was near the top of the sheared cliff that look down on 20 Mile Creek. When Rogers was finished, Duncan Woods, a cantankerous but astute prospector who just arrived in the Similkameen, suspected that a part of the ore body may have been missed.
As he wandered through the dusty streets of the bustling young town of Hedley, Woods, though, wanted to take a chance. He had been searching for gold without much success for the last twenty years, and reasoned that it was now his turn to find something. He decided to ask George Cahill, an experienced packer, to climb the mountain and stake the questionable area. After the results had been plotted with respect to the adjacent claims and whatever topographical features that others had shown, Cahill's survey confirmed that the cliff face was open. Woods was ecstatic; he was now convinced that he has finally found his pot of gold!
One can only speculate as to whether the steep cliffs were intentionally not staked because of their inaccessibility or whether the original stakers of the nearby ground just assumed that these dangerous cliffs formed the western parts of their claims. Woods, though, did really care. He now controlled approximately 40 acres; which when the maps were finished Duncan's property was reduced to just 17 acres. This meant that the Mascot property was now officially referred to as only a fraction.
Then in 1904, the Nickel Plate management also suspected that the ore body dipped westward and into or through Duncan's claims. They approached Woods to see if he wanted to sell, but for some unknown reason, the solitary prospector had a dislike for the superintendent of the Nickel Plate workings, Gomer P. Jones, and he did not want his property worked by the adjacent mine while Jones was an employee.
In the 1920's, as the Nickel Plate blasted its way down the sloping ore body, their workings reached the boundary of the Mascot fraction. Since the triangle at this point was only 200 feet wide, and since Woods still refused to deal, the Nickel Plate officials again pressured the Gold Commissioner, and recieved permission to drive a tunnel through the Mascot fraction in order to reach Nickel Plate property to the west. Woods was furious, but there was nothing he could do. The Nickel Plate crews simply pushed their way through Woods' property on the pretext of getting to the other side. Several thousand ounces of gold were extracted, and processed in the Hedley mill while Woods watched and listened. He received nothing in return.
When the Nickel Plate mine ran out of ore and closed in 1931, Woods now an old man, finally decided to sell. In 1933, the Hedley Mascot Mines Ltd, was formed to develop the property. Woods received $150,000. This was a huge amount of money in the 1930's, but Woods did not live long enough to enjoy it. He died a couple of years later just as the operation began production.
Hedley Mascot Mines took over 31 other crown-granted claims adjacent to the fraction. By the end of 1935 the company had driven a 1900 feet long tunnel at the 4800 foot level. They had also built a 150 ton per day mill next to 20 Mile Creek 2800 feet below. Another achievement was the cluster of buildings that were constructed on the precipitous crags that surrounded the new tunnel. These structures housed several of the workers and provided most of the mechanical facilities that were needed for a mine. There was even a cookhouse and a bunkhouse - stuck to the face of the cliff.
The spectacular aerial tramway between the 4800 foot level and the mill was a further initial project. The slope distance was 5000 feet. The tramway carried ore, miners, supplies including water.
Production resumed at the Nickel Plate in 1935 and began in 1936 for the Hedley Mascot Mines; 62 men hired - a boost to the economy of Hedley. This time the two companies cooperated; both mines improved ventilation and the water from the Nickel Plate was now able to drain out through the Mascot.
By 1949 the known economical ore pockets had been cleaned out. The remaining ones were either too expensive to reach or too low in gold value. After 13 years of operating the Hedley Mascot closed. All the useful equipment was removed. The buildings were abandoned.
During its brief history the little Mascot fraction produced 682,000 tons of ore. The resulting 8 tons of gold were worth $8,000,000. The shareholders had also been rewarded; the company had paid $1,250,000 in dividends.
