Coppermine Point, the site of the coppermine ruins southeast of Virgin 
Gorda has been declared a national park.

Virgin Gorda’s Historic Copper Mine becomes 20th National Park

Coppermine Point, the site of the coppermine ruins southeast of Virgin Gorda has been declared a national park, bringing the number of protected areas in the British Virgin Islands to twenty, and becoming the eighth such park on that island.

On Friday, His Excellency the Governor Thomas Macan handed over the official proclamation to the Natural Resources and Labour Minister Hon.Reeial George authorizing that all future maintenence and preservation of these ruins the only site of its kind in the English speaking Caribbean, be vested with the National Parks Trust (NPT).

Minister George then presented the proclamation to the chairman of the NPT Mr. Allan Parker in front of a gathering of nearly two hundred people including Chief Minister Ralph O'Neal, Deputy Chief Minister Hon. Julian Fraser, Natural Resources Ministry Officials, the Coppermine Restoration Committee, Conservation Chief Mr.Bertrand Lettsome, school students, the elderly, friends of the trust, and public works employees.

Mr.Parker also received the requisite land transfer documents from Hon.George, and the ceremony ended with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque overlooking the two major structures of the old coppermine factory: the chimney stack and the engine house.

"The importance of protected areas, either for cultural or natural purposes in the British Virgin Islands and particularly on Virgin Gorda cannot be underestimated", Minister George remarked during his feature address.
"Just as the ruins of Mount Healthy on Tortola, which were employed to process sugarcane during the 1800s, this new national park will serve as an enduring testament of our cultural and economic heritage and the great strides taken in developing these islands", he added.

The ruin's new status as a National Park has come at the heels of a ten year campaign by the Virgin Gorda Restoration Committee to raise funds for and awareness of the site's preservation. One of the founding members, the late Mr. Malvin Flax was honoured at the ceremony for his commitment to the cause.

A tribute was paid by his niece and Committee chairperson Ms. Myrtle Reese, who described him as the member most knowledgeable of the area. In attendance were Mr. Malvin Flax’ widow, Mrs. Eda Flax, his son, former Speaker of the House Mr. Keith L. Flax, and his daughter, Mrs. Maizie Woodall and other family members. "Mr. Malvin Flax made his monetary contribution to the fund, attended meetings regularly, and was always willing to offer from his wealth of experience having tended his cattle
nearby as a boy on the properties known as Red Point and Black Witch Hole", she told the crowd.

"That this giant step for Virgin Gorda is being made, let us keep the ball rolling, realizing that tomorrow is not promised to us. Therefore we must do what has to be done today. We offer our deepest gratitude to his widow and children for his untiring service to our restoration project", added Ms. Reese in her tribute.

The VG Restoration Committee was formed in May 1993, under the guidance of a former national parks trust official Ms. Angela Shaw, who attended the ceremony and was recognized by Ms. Reese.
Minister George said that the tireless efforts of Ms.Reese, in working with the National Parks Trust, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour, and other members of the community are worthy and very appreciated. He made special mention of: the late Mr. Malvin Flax, Mrs.Beverlie Nesbitt, Mrs. Nidia George, Mrs. Barbara Craig, Ms. Franka Pickering, Mrs.Bernice Sprauve, Mr. Peter Willmott, Mr. Verne Wheatley, and Mr. Vincent Wheatley.

The Chief Minister, Honourable Ralph O'Neal also had high praise for Mrs. Barbara Craig, Canon Keith Gibson and the members of the restoration committee. "I salute the committee, because they have brought to the front burner the need, the great need, to preserve areas not only the Copper Mine, but there are several other areas in Virgin Gorda and the BVI that need preserving and we can use them", he said.

Described as a 'red letter day' by Chief Minister O'Neal, last Friday also marked the completion of Phase One of a Government Funded project to stabilize the mine's two main structures at a cost of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), and to cut a proper roadway entrance for which eight different petty contractors were hired.

"The (NPT) Trust needs money!", exclaimed the Chief Minister. "They have a lot in Virgin Gorda to preserve, on Tortola there's Sage Mountain, and
all the Marine Parks...these things are going to cost money to maintain and to maintain properly, so that visitors and residents can enjoy them", said Mr. O'Neal who went on to suggest that the trust open a toll booth at the foot of the ruins.

He recalled that talk of making this and other sites, protected areas, had surfaced as early as the 1960s. "I thank God that I have lived to see this day, when this (Copper Mine site) has been vested with the National Parks Trust", he added. Director of the National Parks Trust Mr. Joseph Abbott explained to The Island Sun newspaper that the completed first phase of preservation work was concerned with stabilizing the engine house and clearing out debris.

An initial assessment was done by Mr. Robert Allen of Cornwall, England. That was followed by input from Mr.David Rollinson of Nevis, and a mason, Mr. Phillip McCall also of Cornwall England. However, the hard labour for this first phase was undertaken earlier this month by Mr. Wilbert Issac of the Virgin Gorda Public Works Department and a handful of helpers.
"Walls facing the land and to a lesser extent walls facing the sea have been
restored", he said. "It also entailed some of the clearing of all of the (tree)
roots which were intruding on some of the ruins. They had to be carefully removed", he added.

PWD labourer Mr. Issac, who is from St. Vincent, gathered stones from the nearby bank to fill gaps on the main structures. "Everything was completed in two weeks. I gathered rocks, I selected them and just started to build. I take time and settle them and join them out, and I had one man mixing mortar for me",he said.

"It (the improved structure) will withstand any wind or earthquake because I
reinforced it with steel from the bottom up, it is really strong", added the
labourer, who has been doing 'finishing work' for over 20 years, including similar projects on the island of Mustique, SVG.

Phase two will target restoration work of the Chimney. From there, the NPT will move on to repairing some of the nearby dwellings that consist shafts and mines. Although the chimney and engine house are the most visible points of the ruins, there is an entire series of ruins going hillside, including the shafts and the mine themselves.

Mr. Abbott said the Trust is aiming at securing between one third and half a million dollars for the entire restoration effort, meanwhile plans are afoot to raise funds. The mine is the latest addition to protected area in Virgin Gorda following The Baths, Devil's and Spring Bay, Little Fort, Gorda Peak and the Islands of West Dog and Prickly Pear.

Historical accounts indicate that Amerindians first extracted copper from this site during the pre-Christopher Columbus era. This was then followed by another active period of copper ore extraction, which dates back to the 1830s when Cornish miners migrated here. [A detailed account of Virgin Gorda’s history can be found in Vernon Pickering’s “Concise History of the BVI”]

The present structure is believed to be the remains of a factory that was built when further development occurred in the 1860s. By the first World War, locals were said to have extracted molybdenum for export as a component for ammunitions.

Today, remnants of the mine include living quarters, cisterns, ancillary buildings, and old shafts and mines which followed copper veins and were tapped for export. Minister Reeial George said Friday that the evolution of this site over one hundred years of active development is worthy of study.