Anyox, British Columbia

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Anyox was a small company-owned mining town in British Columbia, Canada.^[1] Today it is largely destroyed and abandoned. It is located about 60 kilometers (37 miles)southwest of Stewart, British Columbia on the shores of Observatory Inlet. In the first decade of the 20th century, Anyox grew to a population of almost 3,000 residents, as rich lodes of copper and other precious metals were mined from the nearby mountains. Situated on Observatory Inlet, Anyox was a company mining town run by the Granby company. Copper was mined from Hidden Creek and Bonanza deposits and smelted on site.

Anyox was almost wiped out by forest fires in 1923, but the townsite was rebuilt and mining operations continued at the nearby Granby Mine. Acid rain from the plant denuded the trees from the hillsides which soon became bare.

By the early 1930's the mine had been played out and the population of workers shrank to nothing. The mine shut down in 1935, and the town was abandoned. Some building shells still exist at Anyox but are in poor condition. Salvage operations in the 1940's removed most machinery and steel from the town, and a forest fire burned all remaining wood structures.

Attempts to rehabilitate the dam are currently underway and active mineral exploration continues in the area.