The large, inclined gravity mill was built on the northwest side of Mount Sheer to assist the transfer of copper ore through the chemical and mechanical processes of the plant.

It is a landmark in Britannia Beach, British Columbia some forty-five kilometers north of Vancouver.

As such, the town and mill sit on the western shore of the Britannia Range and defined by the large fjord of Howe Sound.

A fire in 1921 destroyed these, and a concrete and steel structure to house a new concentrator was completed (immediately to the right of the 1914 plant) in early 1923.

In the late 1880s prospectors from Texada Island had surveyed the area for gold, one of them Dr. A. Forbes, then staked claims.

[3] In 1904, a gravity concentrator was installed at the site,[2] capable of processing 200 tons of ore daily.

[3] A ground level inclined railway was built to lower the ore down from the Jane Basin mine.

Much of this was due to the outbreak of the First World War and the demand for copper shell casings and bullet jackets.

In the winter of 1921, a fire spread throughout the concentrator building, destroying it and terminating mining operations.

[4] Fortunately, fire crews managed to save the pelton wheel powered, hydro electric plant—a small one story structure that sat right beside No.2 Concentrator.

(The mine generated half of its power needs, and the other half came from BC Electric which strung a power line to the mine up the Capilano Valley,) A temporary decline in copper prices provided the company with an incentive to upgrade the concentrator, and it hired San Francisco metallurgical engineering firm Bradley, Bruff, and Labarthe[5] to design a new structure to house it.

[4] In 1922, Britannia Mines began building a new gravity concentrator capable of processing 2,500 tons of ore daily.

Large fans for ventilation, electric lights, pumps and air drills assisted the work.

Workers lived in town and were unable to leave except by scheduled Union Steamship Company boat.