This immense slab of native copper weighs 2590 pounds or 1175 kilograms. In 1905, prospectors found the copper on the upper White River, 250 miles northwest of Whitehorse. This is the Yukon's largest copper nugget, possibly a Canadian record.
Six men ventured into the wilderness in April 1958 to fetch the trophy nugget. Using a Canadian Army caterpillar, the slab was hoisted 400 feet to the riverbank. Guided by dog teams, the group hauled their copper cargo through wilderness, around two canyons, across a river and over a blazed trail to the highway. The operation took five days.
The nugget is dedicated to the pioneer prospectors of the White Rive country: Frank R. Miles, Harry Townsend, Frank Slaggard, Clem Eminger, Bill Blair, and others who staked claims on the White River between 1900 and 1958.
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