Why all the inhabitants left the town on the border with Alaska, not even turning off the lights
I imagine a Ghost town, stand before the eyes of the ruins: houses without roofs, dirty broken Windows, rotten floors... But Kitsault, which is located on the North coast of British Columbia in Canada, can be found only a continuous series of perfectly preserved houses, shopping centers, restaurants, banks, pubs and theatres. All of them abandoned and empty, but looks pristine and perfectly clean. The light in the town is always on, the streets are decorated neatly trimmed trees, the lawns here are well maintained, but nobody called Kitsault his home since 1982.
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Kitsault town near the border with Alaska is 115 km drive on gravel road from the terrace. Survived this town for long. Its history began in 1979 when it settled the community of miners that work in the molybdenum mines. Molybdenum is added to various alloys to create a hard and stable carbides and is used to impart stainless steel properties. But just when life in this pristine mountain utopia began to improve, the molybdenum market collapsed, and the entire population of the town — about 1200 people left it.
In this part of British Columbia, at the end of the Bay of the Observatory for nearly a hundred years have mined precious and noble metals such as silver, lead, zinc and copper. This led to the formation of a large number of rapidly growing towns, including Alice and ARMA Anaxa. Molybdenum was extracted here since the late 60's to early 70's, but production stopped when company profits began to fall. By the end of the 70s the price of the metal rose again, as its reserves in Alaska, British Columbia and the Western United States began to dry up. The American mining company Phelps Dodge decided to seize this opportunity.
A large swath of land several hundred acres have been allocated for the city Kitsault, and started building up unprecedented for British Columbia proportions. In the fjord of Kitsault arrived in ships with building materials. From the terrace over the mountains were hastily laid gravel road. From all over North America at a paying job came engineers and builders.
It was built over hundreds of private single-family homes and duplexes, as well as seven apartment buildings containing more than two hundred apartments. Here there was a modern hospital, shopping Mall, restaurants, banks, post office, pub, pool, library, two centers and facilities with whirlpool and saunas, and a theater. Underground laid cable TV and telephone line. The city was equipped with water treatment plants with the latest technology, and the taps flowed the purest water in the province.
It took barely 18 months after the settlement of the first families, the molybdenum market collapsed because of the crisis and the emergence of molybdenum by-products. The mine was closed, people began to leave, and about Kitsault forgotten.
In 2005, the us businessman of Indian origin Krishnan Suthanthiran bought the town for $ 7 million and began planning its rebirth. Since then, the millionaire has invested about $ 25 million in enhancements and maintenance of the city in order. About two dozen caretakers bypass homes and other buildings, checking their condition and carrying out repairs. They cut lawns, pruned the trees and sweeping the streets.
Suthanthiran plans to recoup his investment, turning Kitsault in the center for the production of liquefied natural gas in British Columbia. The future of the town depends on the success of the gas project.
Keywords: Alaska | Ghost town | Canada | Industry | Emptiness | Miners | Mines