Observing evidence of copper ore, he staked a claim, but no significant mining activity occurred during the following decade.

[2] In 1912, an investment syndicate, chaired by Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh, purchased a group of claims on the summit for a quarter of a million dollars.

The next year, the earl, and Lady Marjorie, his daughter, joined the inspection team visiting this site called the Ptarmigan Mine.

When the inception of World War I evaporated finance and labour sources, construction ceased.

Mothballed, the mine was restored in 1932, but the absence of economical transportation prompted closure the next year.

Favourable assay reports over the years indicated the mountain could have developed into one of the largest mining areas on Vancouver Island.