In the first three decades of this century, $2,712,000 worth of copper ore came out of the copper belt (Johnston, 1975). The mines were only active, however, when copper prices were high. Ultimately, the drop in copper prices after the first World War, the discontinuous nature of the copper deposits, and the high cost of transport brought an end to production in the copper belt for half a century.
In the 1960s and 1970s, modern mining technology made it profitable to mine copper ore on a large scale, an undertaking that had proven uneconomical in the early days. Nonetheless, New Imperial Mines Ltd., later Whitehorse Copper Mines Ltd., had much in common with those early mines. Transportation costs were still high, the extent of mining development depended on outside capital investment and world copper prices, and there was still a close connection with the nearby community of Whitehorse.
A companion paper discusses the geology of the area as well as the historic and contemporary mining technology used in the copper mines. This document will address historic events and issues during 85 years of exploration, development and production in the copper belt (NTS 105 D).