Lin Ma Hang Mine – additional information

HF: Lin Ma Hang Lead Mine, also known as Robin’s Nest Mine, is the biggest lead mine in Hong Kong in terms of its scale. Records of the lead occurrence can be found as early as Qing Dynasty, during which the mine was operated by the Portuguese. It continued to operate during the colonial period and officially ceased in 1962. The area was located inside the ”Frontier Closed Area” since the 1950s and was excluded from the area on the 30th June 2013.(1)

The Lin Ma Hang mines once provided a livelihood for scores of lead workers who dug tunnels hundreds of metres into the northern side of Robin’s Nest mountain. The adits, long abandoned, now serve as a home for large colonies of bats. A mining company was initially formed in 1917 and in June 1925; a 75 year mining leas was taken out by Morrison Brown Yung, who operated the mine until his death in 1932. Following a brief period of limited operation by a Chinese company, Hong Kong Mines Ltd. acquired the lease and property in March 1937. The company had just been taken over (in January) by Nielsen & Co. Inc, an American firm based in the Philippines. During 1938, the peak period of production, the mine employed 350 people and 150 surface workers, and ore delivery was increased from 150 to 225 tonnes a day. With the outbreak of World Wat Two, work was suspended in 1940. Small scale mining continued during the Japanese occupation from 1941, but there was considerable damage done to the adits, partly because the Japanese had removed ore from rock pillars used to support the roof.(2)

Sources:
1)Hong Kong Mining History, Jackie C.T. Chu & Jacky S.L. Chan
2)Hong Kong Landscapes, Bernie Owen and Raynor Shaw
This article was first posted on 30th December 2025.
Related Indhhk Articles:
a)Lin Ma Hang Lead Mine
b)Lin Ma Hang Mine, Part 1, The Early Years
c)Lin Ma Hang Mine, Part 2, The Yung Years