St. Hilary was once a thriving mining community, with its mining activities contributing to its development as a former village of granite cottages. 

Many mining sites in St. Hilary are within the Cornubian World Heritage Site, reflecting the parish's historical role in the wider Cornish mining landscape. 

Mining has a long history in the parish of St. Hilary, with tin and copper being the main extracted minerals, though lead and arsenic were also significant.  Wheal Fortune and Wheal Guskus were the main mining sites in the St Hilary Parish that contributed to the area's industrial past.

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