[1] Before the coming of the mine with construction starting in 1981 the Wopkaimin lived in a subsistence economy.
The mine severely impacted the tribe, totally disrupting their traditional patterns of life.
For one thing, Tabubil a town of 12,500 to house mine workers was built in the midst of their territory.
Work for wages was available to tribal members, but only at the unskilled level and not on a regular basis.
In 1992, a species of bat, Bulmer's fruit bat (Aproteles bulmerae) previously thought extinct was discovered to still live in Luplupwintem Cave, an enormous cave above the Hindenburg Wall in their territory.