I n the middle of spring, the toy train outside Schefferville’s town hall is almost completely submerged, its round body and chimneys just poking out of huge white drifts. As the weather warms above freezing in May, it begins to emerge from the melting snow, black paint peeling slightly to reveal rusted metal. It is a reminder of the heyday of a remote Canadian town that was once home to around 5,000 people.

As of 2016, only 155 people lived in Schefferville (although 646 lived in an adjoining First Nations reservation, and another 906 in a second reservation nine miles away). The story of the town’s birth and decay is, in large part, the story of the riches hidden beneath its soil. Soil that is rust-red and, like the toy train, can only be seen during the short summer months.