Vancouver Island, off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, has considerable deposits of minerals, notably coal and copper.
Many communities were established as a result of the need to export the mineral, notably Crofton, which was the site of a smelter set up by Henry Croft.
Sicker, which reached several hundred tons per day at its peak, was carted to the small town, processed, and shipped away.
Today, there is still some mining, mainly on the north of the island, but it no longer is a dominant part of the economy as it was in the 19th century.
The mine produced a number of materials, primarily copper, and also gold, silver, molybdenum, and rhenium.