In 1899, aware that prospectors rarely staked claims on near vertical terrain, Duncan Woods studied a map of what became known as Nickel Plate Mountain.

Noting an almost 16-hectare (40-acre) sliver on the edge of a precipice, which plunged 0.9 kilometres (2,900 ft) down to Twenty Mile (Hedley) Creek, he staked his claim.

[1][2] Choosing the Mascot as a name, but unable to secure development funds, his only activity was paying the fee each year to maintain title.

[3] In 1920, HGM gained government permission to cut a 61-metre (200 ft) tunnel through the Mascot claim, without paying compensation.

[1] After HGM closed in 1931, Woods sold his claim to Hedley Mascot Gold Mines (HMG) (owned by BC businessmen) for $150,000.

The deal largely comprised receiving company stock, a director's position, and a company-supplied suite at the Three Gables Hotel in Penticton.

By the 1990s, the insurers for the long abandoned HMG complex were concerned that site visitors could lodge liability claims for personal injuries.