Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Close to 30 Yellowknifers lined the walls of city hall's lower boardroom Monday morning to make their case for saving the Robertson Shaft headframe.

The Robertson Shaft headframe seen in early November, possibly mere months before its destruction. - Lauren McKeon/NNSL photo

"As you can see, a lot of people are interested," said Catherine Pellerin, chair of the Yellowknife Heritage Committee.

"There are a quorum of committee members in the room," she added.

The demolition, set for 2009, is part of the overall closure and reclamation plan for Con Mine. Newmont Mining Corp., which took on the mine site from Miramar in March," has given the city until Dec. 31 to decide what it wants to do with the shaft.

Before city council can make any decision over whether to keep the building, however, there are a number of questions that need to be answered, city councillor Mark Heyck said.

Most importantly, the city must resolve what the shaft could be used for, and who will pay for it.

"In the zest of finding all this information, (we have to ensure) it doesn't get torn down in the meantime," cautioned Coun. Bob Brooks, adding the city must secure a promise from Newmont to put demolition plans on hold.

Many possible uses have been mentioned - including storage sites and a tourist look-out. To many citizens who showed up for the meeting, it didn't matter what the shaft's use was so long as it was saved from destruction.

"It forms a part of the city's identity that is quickly fading," said Pellerin.

"Once it's gone, it's gone," added Walt Humphries, president of the NWT Mining Heritage Society. "If we lose the headframe, we're never going to rebuild it."

"Heritage does not just mean old, it also means significant," said Pellerin. "Toronto has the CN Tower, Yellowknife has the Robertson headframe."

The 250-foot column was completed in 1977 after two years of construction. Originally, the mine shaft beneath it was 5,429 feet deep; in 1985 it was deepened to 6,420 feet.

The headframe was used to hoist cable equipment that carry cages and skips to and from underground shafts.

Over the years, for many boaters and pilots the Robertson Shaft has also become a beacon that means home.

And for others, the Robertson Shaft might as well have been home.

"I worked at the top of that headframe for 23 years," said Nora Higden. "I'm very passionate about keeping it."

Higden was forced out of her job in 2003 when the mine closed for good. She was then 46 years old.

"I was up there for half my life," she said. "There's a great view up at the top, I know that for sure."

"I just want to save it, I don't want to see it come down."