Getting There

Getting There:

Location and Parking

The Main Museum:

Gift Shop

Museum Displays

Archival Collection

Tea Room

The A-Shaft Area:

Powerhouse and Hoist Room

Headframe

Side Tours and Attractions:

Outdoor Mining Display Area

Giant Mine Townsite

Local Geology Tours

A-Shaft Area - Powerhouse and Hoist Room:

An organized tour of the A-shaft area facilities is given every hour. Museum policy is that all visitors to the A-shaft area must be accompanied by museum staff. A trail departs from the main museum building and crosses the Baker Creek via a short bridge. The Baker Creek is a good spot for fishing. The trail continues across a local road and then up the hill to A-shaft.

The A-shaft area was the first major shaft development at the Giant Mine in the fall of 1945. The mine was eventually serviced with three shafts, and the A-shaft was never used extensively. The old shaft was maintained for an emergency escape route, and has not been used since 1982.

The first building at A-shaft is the combination powerhouse and hoist room. The two building are joined by a small annex, and access is through the powerhouse only. The exterior has been fixed up and the building is the last timber-framed structure of its type in Yellowknife and perhaps the entire Northwest Territories. It was built in 1947 and housed the mine's backup diesel generators (almost all power was acquired from hydro sources). The centerpeice of this exhibit is the large diesel generator that dates back to the early 20th century when it was used in a powerplant in British Columbia. It was installed at Giant Mine in 1957. Beside it would be a small modern generator of equivalent power.Two smaller diesel generators date back to 1947. Diesel engine buffs and mechanics will be impressed with these large machines. The room would be a showcase for the idea that mines need power. It would show the needs of mines in the NWT, the development of Bluefish, Snare and Taltson to supply power to the mines. This would also be shown by maps and photos along the walls. Since this is such a high ceiling room, it would also be a good one to hang models and photos of the bush planes of the north. There could also be a display on transportation to the various mines. This room would also have the sounds of the generators running, the sounds of a mine working and the sounds of bush planes. Keyed to play periodically.

The hoist room annex is located on the north end of the powerhouse building. It houses the A-shaft hoist unit, a small two-drum winch that was used to raise and lower the elevator cage and ore buckets (skips) in the A-shaft headframe. A picture or diagram on the wall would show how the hoist works in the shaft, the levels and how ore is mined and brought to surface.