The Zinc Corporation was formed in 1905 to treat zinc-rich ‘tailings’, the waste product of ore, purchased from other mines. In 1911, The Zinc Corporation acquired the South Blocks Co. and began underground mining at the southern end of the line of lode.
The construction of the steel headframe over the Main Shaft commenced in 1936 as part of a major redevelopment of the Zinc Mine. Main Shaft had an ore hauling capacity of 0.9 million tonnes per year.
Adjacent to the shaft is a circular crushing house, concentration mill and offices. These were erected in 1939 and closed in 1988 when operations were transferred to the NBHC Mine by Pasminco.
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