Aerial photograph showing the extent of underground coal mine workings in Nanaimo (yellow).

Che-wech-kan peoples of Nanymo Bay first brought coal to the Hudson's Bay Company Fort Victoria in 1849. Soon thereafter, Hudson's Bay Company opened mines at Nanaimo to provide fuel for coal-burning steamships. Other companies and owners, including Robert Dunsmuir, opened mines from Ladysmith to Port Hardy. Working conditions underground were harsh; about 700 men died mining coal on Vancouver Island. The coal industry declined during the 1950s as coal was replaced by fuel oil. Only the Quinsam coal mine near Campbell River operates today.

Horse-drawn coal cart in underground mine, Nanaimo

The ground above abandoned coal mines, can subside, damaging buildings, roads, and other structures; however, subsidence can be minimized by reinforcing building foundations or by filling the underground mines. Concrete caps have been placed on old mine shafts in Nanaimo, including one shaft beneath a house! Coal waste can spontaneously ignite, as happened once under the centre of Nanaimo. Most of Nanaimo's abandoned mine workings are now flooded by groundwater.