The Confirmed end of MacDonald Mine north of Bancroft

Well unfortunately that the rumors are indeed true. MacDonald Mine, north of Bancroft, Ontario is going to be sealed in. There have been plans & talk of closing the site but this year the plans are finalized & confirmed. The main cavern & the two exterior adits will be totally blocked up with most likely the dump rock that is nearby. There will be a few drilled holes for bats to use to get inside but not people are getting in. So the underground workings will be sealed of the public for good. As to if the site will be accessible after the work is done is unclear. The plan for this to happen is June, 2012. So if you were plannign to go there sometime this year , do it now! Not much time left.

I was there in February with a friend & i was surprised to see it still standing. There was about a foot of snow on the ground but despite that the trail to the mine was well used. There used to be a sign to indicate you were parking at the right spot to the mine, but its gone now.

When we arrived there we took lots of pictures since they may be the last ones. We did some collecting around & surprise surprise a number of people arrived to view the cavern. Seams my car gave the site away! Was nice to see all the people there, even in the middle of winter. Just shows you how popular the site is. A shame to see it closed off.

I remember that when i begun collecting this was one of the first 3 sites that i visited. I remember it well. Was amazed to see the cavern. Still find it impressive. Many memories there.

Here are a few picture of the site in winter. Was a good trip.

1- way to the mine
2- panorama of the entrance
3- frozen over adit




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2012 03:08AM by Michael Adamowicz.

Here are more pics
1- just inside the main entrance
2- main support pillar & lower level
3- top main chamber

More pics
1- looking down to the lower level chamber
2- lower level lookign to the upper level
3- looking out from one of the bottom exits

The last pics
1- bottom 2 exits, covered with icicles
2- icicles in the back of the unfrozen over external adit
3- the inside of the internal adit

Hope you all enjoyed.

I plan to make at least 2 more trips there before she is sealed up. Will keep you all appraised of any changes.

Michael.

Thanks for the info and pics, Michael. It looks like a neat mine. Not far from where I live.