SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
One of the city's oldest landmarks is scheduled for demolition this summer, yet surveyed Yellowknifers seem relatively unperturbed. Compared to the impassioned campaign to salvage Con Mine's Robertson headframe earlier this year, public reaction to the C-Shaft coming down at Giant Mine is barely a whisper.

The C-Shaft headframe pictured in this 2010 by Fran Hurcomb is scheduled for demolition this summer as part of federal remediation efforts at the Giant Mine site. - Fran Hurcomb photo

Bidding on the deconstruction project, which is part of the remediation of the site, opened earlier this month and is expected to close Friday, according to an Invitation to Tender document supplied to Yellowknifer by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC). No new information will be available until it is awarded - including a final date for its demise - according to AANDC's monthly Giant Mine newsletter.

The mine began production in 1948 and stopped in 2004. There is currently 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide buried in underground chambers from the mine.

Mayor Mark Heyck said he thinks the public understands the environmental concerns necessitating the headframe's removal, but expects it will continue to be representative of the city even after it is no longer part of the skyline.

"It's centrally and prominently featured in our crest, partly intended to preserve our beginnings and where we came from so future generations will be able to remember it," he said. "The city in general is very supportive of celebrating our mining heritage."

Heyck said over the next few years the city will be focusing on developing plans for more installations and outdoor art and the headframes are a natural choice of subject matter.

"In the coming years we'll have the opportunity to recreate those structures on a different scale to help people remember Yellowknife's early days," he said.

Erasmus Apparel manager Sarah Erasmus told Yellowknifer the clothing outlet will continue to feature the headframe on its merchandise after it is torn down. Growing up in Ndilo, Erasmus said she could see the C-Shaft across Back Bay and it became ingrained with her idea of the city, therefore it was one of the first images to make an appearance on her shirts.

"I saw it every day and everyone knew what Giant Mine was and it was a visual landmark for town," she said. "I wanted to put something on a T-shirt that represented Yellowknife in a unique way."

She said she understands why they need to take down the structure and is aware of the negative connotations the image has for some people.

"People love it, people hate it, but it's always going to be something we put on items," she said. "I'll be kind of sad not to see it there anymore, but at the same time it's got to get cleaned up and taken care of."

Yellowknife photographer Fran Hurcomb has featured the headframe in a number of her images and said she's always been attracted to old buildings for their aesthetic and imposing nature. She says the city is losing an important part of its legacy by demolishing the structure, adding plans to restore and preserve the C-shaft should have been made years ago. Hurcomb suspects Yellowknifers want to disassociate themselves from Giant Mine's negative reputation as one of the country's most contaminated sites.

"They want to pretend (Yellowknife) had nothing to do with the mines, but that is our history and that's why Yellowknife is here," she said. "It's a shame they couldn't put a bit more effort into saving (it)."

Despite the resentment some feel toward the mine, Hurcomb says its impact was not all negative.

"It kept the town going . the only reason Yellowknife is here is because of the gold mines," she said. "Part of its legacy is making people more vigilant about taking care of the environment when they're mining . it's unfortunate in those days people weren't very careful, but that's a product of the times."

Demolition is scheduled to be complete by September and includes deconstruction of the headframe, crusher, conveyors and screen house, along with capping off the shaft, cleaning up of asbestos materials and storage of toxic debris.

In March, the NWT Mining Heritage Society expressed interest in preserving the smaller A-Shaft headframe, but according to AANDC's current plans all surface structures are set to come down during remediation.

The NWT Mining Heritage Society did not return Yellowknifer calls by press time.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.