The CR&MM is located on a rich copper-bearing skarn, 4 km west of the city of Whitehorse.
Copper deposits were first discovered in this area in 1898 as
Gold Rush Stampeders were making their way to
Dawson. Because of the Gold Rush, most people overlooked the outcroppings of copper on their way to the
Klondike. However, a few men did choose to stay in Whitehorse to stake claims. Some of these more notable individuals were John McIntyre, William P. Grainger, John Hanly, Andrew Olsen, Ole Dickson, H.E. Porter and
Sam McGee. McIntyre staked the first claim on July 6, 1898, and called it the Copper King. Grainger staked a claim just north of the Copper King and named it the Copper Queen. Copper King was found to be more prosperous than the Copper Queen, which led Grainger to buy a 50% share for $1,000.00. The early prospecting of copper was done largely by surface prospecting and underground tunnelling. Work began on the Copper King in 1899. The first shipment of ore out of the Copper King yielded nine tons of handpicked ore, which consisted of 46.4% copper, 11 ounces of
silver and $2.58 of
gold per ton. Tragically, Grainger died a few days later in the mines of carbon monoxide poisoning, also known as the
'black damp' by miners. By 1916, the Pueblo was at the peak of its production extracting ore at a value of $763, 586. The copper mining along the Copperbelt brought about economic prosperity to Whitehorse when prices were high, but conversely brought bust times when prices were low. An example of this in 1911, saw the population in Whitehorse decrease by 20–30% with the temporary closure of the Pueblo mine, along with layoffs at
White Pass. The worst mining accident in the Yukon occurred at the Pueblo mine in the spring of 1917. A
cave-in at the 200–400 foot level left nine miners trapped. An
drift through solid
granite reached three of the miners within 72 hours. Rescue work continued for eight more days, but was deemed too dangerous leaving six miners entombed in the mine. Investigation of the accident found that due to the mine being a 'wet mine', underground watercourses caused water to accumulate and create great pressure which caused the weakest section of the mine to collapse. A plaque commemorating the six miners stands near the Fish Lake Rd turn off, along the Alaska Highway. ==References==