CAIN No. 195034

TITLE:
Britannia Beach Mining and Smelting Company Ltd. fonds

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
3 m of textual records

DATES:
1915-1958

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Copper mining activities began at Britannia Beach, B.C. in 1898 under the auspices of the Britannia Syndicate. In 1908 control of the property passed to the Howe Sound Company of New York which operated the mine as a wholly-owned subsidiary, Britannia Beach Mining and Smelting Company Ltd.. The scale of operations expanded until, in the late 1920s, the mine produced the largest copper output in the British Empire. Mining continued on a reduced scale during the Depression while, by comparison, many other copper mines were forced to close entirely. The Britannia Beach Mining and Smelting Company was finally placed in voluntary liquidation in 1958 as a result of rising production costs and declining ore grades. Shortly thereafter, the Howe Sound Company reopened the mines and operated them as a division of the parent company until the property was sold to Anaconda Copper. Mining operations finally ceased at Britannia Beach in 1974.

SCOPE AND CONTENT:
The fonds consists of employees records cards containing the following information: employee's record of employment at Britannia, payroll number and file number, previous employment, occupation, date of birth, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, names and address of beneficiary and signature of employee. Some of the cards include a photograph of the employees. There are three groups of cards: A (1915-1945), B (1943-1947), and C (1946-1958) and a separate grouping of cards on Chinese and Japanese employees.

REPOSITORY:
University of British Columbia Library Rare Books and Special Collections

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS:
Some restrictions may apply.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Title based on the contents of the fonds.

PROVENANCE:
Britannia Beach Mining and Smelting Company

SUBJECTS:
Britannia Beach Mining and Smelting Company