Alaska Mining Tour

THEN AND NOW AT THE KENNECOTT MINES
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS NATIONAL PARK
AND PRESERVE, MC CARTHY, ALASKA

PHOTO GALLERY 2 - THE BONANZA MINE

The Bonanza ore deposit was discovered in 1900 and went into production in 1911. Production expanded when the Copper River and Northwestern Railway was completed. It remained in production until the mines were closed in 1938. Today, little remains of the bunkhouse where the miners lived. Prior to closure the ore from all of the mines was being transported to the mill via the Bonanza Tramway. The remains of the tramway station are the most prominent structures at the mine site.

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(Above) The Bonanza Mine was perched close to the top of Bonanza Ridge. The elevation of nearby Bonanza Peak is 6983 feet. The surface facilities enabled production to continue year-round. The large bunk house and tramway station are at the center of this historic photo. During the severe Alaskan winters, the tramway was the only access to the Bonanza. (Right) A Bonanza miner is shown pulling ore from a chute at a draw point below a stope. Ore cars transported the ore to an inclined shaft where the ore was hoisted to the level of the tramway station.
High grade chalcocite ore from the Kennecott Mines. (Specimens courtesy Joseph Kurtak)	Copper minerals in an outcrop near the Bonanza Mine Trail.
The Bonanza Mine Trail passes the remains of several tramway towers on the way up the mountain. The tramway station in this view is the first glimpse of the mine to greet hikers.	Those making the climb up the Bonanza Mine Trail are rewarded with spectacular views from the ruins of the tramway station.
(Photographs courtesy National Park Service and Alaska Digital Archives)

CLICK HERE For Photo Gallery 3