Welcome to Britannia Village

Britannia Beach first developed in the early 1900s as a residential area for staff of the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. The mine operated from 1904 to 1974 and was once the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth! At the height of production in the late 1920s to early 1930s, it was supplying an impressive 17% of the world's copper.

The grounds of the old Britannia Mines are now the Britannia Mine Museum, an award-winning National Historic Site. Adults and kids alike can experience what life was really like in a busy mining town by getting up-close looks at machinery, ore carts, a working Lime Tank and the famous Mill 3 where the ore was once processed. 

Working with the province, land owners and community, an intensive environmental remediation campaign was launched in 2002. The end-result has been a successful turnaround. Life has returned to the waters surrounding the mine, including Howe Sound. In 2011, pink salmon returned to Britannia Creek for the first time in over a century, and killer whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins are regularly seen near the creek's outlet.

The newly completed Britannia Village is the final step in a decades-long effort to reclaim and renew the historic mining town. The Village features shops, restaurants, and services housed in nine original mine town buildings—each carefully restored and upgraded to modern safety standards, creating a one-of-a-kind destination on the Sea to Sky