Ma On Shan Iron Mine – biggest mine in HK – recent underground images

IDJ has sent the link to a recent visit by the HK URBEX (Urban Exploration) Community. They describe themselves as  “a group of urban explorers who want to photograph and immortalise the buildings and sites that have been abandoned – but also the items that people have left behind. What results is a uniquely divergent view of our city and its people. We are a motley crew of photographers, film makers, journalists, writers, adrenaline junkies…”

In, I think March 2014, they visited the abandoned Ma On Shan Iron Mine and photographed what they found underground.

They write “In the second part of our subterranean series, HK URBEX visits the once booming iron ore mine in Ma On Shan Between 1953 and 1976, Ma On Shan was home to thousands of iron ore miners. But as demand for steel declined in the 70s, the mine began losing money and was left abandoned leaving its elaborate network of caverns and tracks intact. Some say it can go 100 meters deep”.

In fact the first Prospecting Licence was issued to the HK Iron Mining Company in 1906 so there was activity there for around 70 years. I think it was the largest mine in HK by almost any measure and certainly the only one that had an underground railway to remove ore.

It is quite easy to go underground into the mine as you can see from the first couple of photos in their collection. However I think I should repeat what HK URBTEX warn – Please do not enter the mines without safety equipment. It is pitch black, full of cave-ins and often wet.

See:

1. HK URBEX Ma On Shan Mine
2. The HK URBEX home page

This article was first posted on 18th October 2014.

Related Indhhk articles:

1. Ma On Shan Iron Mine 1906-1976 – biggest mine in HK
2. Ma On Shan Mine – Part One, The Open Cut Years
3. Ma On Shan Mine – Part Two, Going Underground
4. Kuhn Mines Ltd, railway(s) at Ma On Shan mine
5. Kuhn Mines Ltd, railway(s) at Ma On Shan mine – any information needed!
6. Ma On Shan Iron Mine – recent damage caused to explosives storeroom
7. Ma On Shan Iron Mine 1906-1976, open-pit and underground mining
8. Ma On Shan Iron Mine – underground film, 2014
9. Ma On Shan Iron Mine – SCMP article, nearby miner’s village, three buildings restored
10. Ma On Shan Iron Mine – HK Naturalist 1931