Blasting starts for new modern underground exhibit at Sudbury's Dynamic Earth

Blasting has started at the Dynamic Earth science centre in Sudbury, Ont., for a new underground exhibit that should recreate a modern mine.

Ashley Larose, the CEO of Science North, which also operates Dynamic Earth, said the Go Deeper Underground Experience is expected to open in 2024.

"What we want to do is show visitors what a modern mine looks like," she said. "It's big, it's bright and it's a place where hopefully folks are going to want to work."

What is now Dynamic Earth grew out of the Big Nickel mine attraction, which was built in the 1960s. The outdoor site remains the home of Sudbury's famous Big Nickel.

In 2001, the science centre opened, with a focus on geosciences and mining. It included – and still has – an underground mine tour that shows visitors what Sudbury mining was like in the early 1900s, up until the early 2000s.

"Now it's time to tell the next chapter of the story," Larose said. "And to do that we need some new infrastructure."

In a press release, Science North said blasting started on Sept. 12, and is expected to continue until February 2023. 

Larose said contractors are blasting at the site three times per week, and are expected to carve out a drift, or horizontal tunnel expected to exceed 100 metres.

When it's completed, the Go Deeper project will include an underground multi-purpose theatre, a modern mine drift with current mining equipment, and a multimedia show called the Big Impact.

"For us to tell the story of what a modern mine looks like, we need bigger spaces because the vehicles are bigger, the equipment is bigger," Larose said.

"And so our new drift will actually be a hard hat-free zone."

In addition to its expansion in Sudbury, Larose said Science North also has big plans for Thunder Bay.

Plans are underway to build a new science centre in the city, along the Lake Superior shore.