This remarkable Hughes Brothers photo takes us back to Sept. 12, 1927, when the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. hosted the second Empire Mining Congress in Trail.
Three hundred delegates participated in a series of inspections and examinations of mining and smelting operations across the Dominion.
The Canadian portion of the tour started in the east and worked its way west by train.
Tours of the entire smelter operations were conducted by the likes of Selwyn Blaylock and Tom Bingay.
Delegates arrived via rail from Nelson that morning, following visits to other CM&S properties in Kimberley and Moyie. In the midst of the tours, delegates enjoy a luncheon-banquet in the Machine Shop, pictured here.
Many professionals are accustomed to work conferences, anywhere from two days to a week, where colleagues of a specific industry meet to learn, share, and network.
This congress was a comprehensive tour of the mining and smelting industry of the Commonwealth, requiring delegates to commit literally hundreds of days to the event, given the modes of transportation at the time.
One could also liken a congress like this to an “open house,” where international investors could experience in real time the growth of mining and metallurgy across the globe, but specifically in BC.
In the October 1927 issue of the Canadian Mining Journal, a delegate from England stated: “I would have liked to have spent at month at Trail alone. I think this Province (British Columbia) has a wonderful opportunity for mineral development; in fact, the whole of Canada has great potentialities.”
A delegate from Western Australia shared: “One thing is certain, the members of this party are impressed by what they have seen of the wealth of the country. It means a great future for Canada and a great deal to the Empire.”
Thirty years later, the CM&S would participate in the Sixth Commonwealth Mining and Metallurgical Congress, held on the exact same day in 1957.
Chaired by the recently retired Ralph Diamond, “C-Day” in Trail saw over 200 professionals and investors descend upon Trail and the smelter, with similar sentiments.
A much larger operation than in 1927, Cominco had grown to showcase so much more as part of its operations, specifically all its co-product processes, which left lasting impressions.
There was one noticeable difference in 1957: delegates were treated to a slightly safer banquet venue at the Trail Memorial Centre.
