The Mist Mountain Formation contains economically important coal seams that have been mined in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.

[3] Plant fossils from the Mist Mountain Formation include remains of ferns, cycads, cycadeoids, ginkgos, and extinct conifers.

Economically important coal seams in the Mist Mountain Formation reach a maximum thickness of 18 metres (60 ft).

This also produced localized thickening and thinning of the coal in some areas due to shearing and fault-repetition of the seams, especially in the cores of folds and flexures.

[9][10] As of 2019, it is being produced from large open-pit mines near Sparwood and Elkford, British Columbia, and the majority of it is exported to international markets for use as coking coal.