Visiting Wabowden

Finally there were cars for rent in Thompson for those, like me, who didn't pre-reserve. I got a Cobalt and promptly took it south to Wabowden where, through a friendly contact from here, I was allowed to come for a tour of their small nickel mine. (Small compared to Vale INCO mines around here) It has recently been 'de-watered' - IOW it had been abandoned by the previous owner and water had done its thing and entered the mine and filled most areas. The contractor, Dumas, had drained it and was busy mining new levels. Here are some pictures.
The mine site has a shaft to enter by and also a ramp
entry. The cage was getting new 'ropes' - which are 1 inch thick braided steel cable - so we entered by the ramps, which was cool because I'd never done that before.





Here I am with "Peanut" (mine captain Noel Morin) who spoke English like Jean Chretien. They even let me keep the brand-new coveralls I was given. The coveralls are great, fit well, and have DUMAS written in reflective lettering on the back, along with lots of stripes. Anyone who has seen the Shawshank Redemption will rememeber the scene when the guy picks up a book by Dumas and reads; "The Three Musketeers by Alexandree dumb-ass."