Lefka has historically been a copper mining town. The copper reserves around the town were first mined in the middle bronze age. Their operation continued into the Phoenician and Roman rules. They were closed by the end of the Roman period, in around 150. Ancient tombs dating to Hellenistic and Roman eras (between 310 BC and 150 AD) have been found around the town. In the Roman period, the nearby Karavostasi served as a port town for trade with and transport to Egypt.