Tymon Mellor: In the early 1930s, a small mining operation was underway near Lok Ma Chau for wolframe, antimony, silver, gold and tin. The mine was unsuccessful in the commercial exploitation of minerals and the owners consequently lost their investments. The location of the mine has never been identified but the parties involved are well documented. This article describes the […]
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Galena ore, the main source of lead was first discovered at Lin Ma Hang in around 1914. As described in Part 1, a number of attempts were made to commercially exploit the lead ore, but they all failed. That was until Mr Morrison Brown Yung took an interest in the site and introduced modern mining methods to extract the lead […]
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Tymon Mellor: The mine at Lin Ma Hang was the most advanced mining operation in the colonial era of Hong Kong before the Pacific War. However, like many mining ventures, this one had a slow and difficult start. This article explores the discovery and early years of the mine’s development along with the workings that are still visible today in […]
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Tymon Mellor: Development of a modern mine at Castle Peak to extract Wolframite or Tungsten ore was awaited with much anticipation by the Colonial Government, but following a number of failed ventures and after much illicit mining, nothing came to pass. Mining Lot No. 12 was returned to Government and the area absorbed into the Ha Tsuen/Castle Peak Firing Range. […]
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Tymon Mellor: Directly after the Pacific War, like many other places, Hong Kong was struggling to recuperate. There was limited capital available and the Government had few resources. Mining was seen by many as a low cost investment, creating employment, generating hard currency and providing revenue to the Government. Unfortunately, this vision was not shared by the Government’s Interim Mining […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the previous article on tin mining in Hong Kong, the existence of a pre-war tin mine was identified near Yuen Long but the actual location of the mine was a mystery. Following further research, new details on the mine and its location have been identified. Following the introduction of the Prospecting and Mining Ordinance of 1906, parties […]
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Tymon Mellor: The Shek Pik reservoir is part of a larger scheme to supply Hong Kong Island with a water supply through submarine pipeline from Lantau Island. The reservoir has a capacity of 24.5 million m3 with a direct catchment of 7.8 km2but with the completed catch waters the catchment area is expanded to 53 km2 or 40% of the […]
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Tymon Mellor: In February, 1951 The International Tin Study Group, an industry body for the tin industry wrote to the Hong Kong Government requesting information about tin mining activity in the territory. A report by the US Office of International Trade on Hong Kong economic activity in 1949 had indicated that Hong Kong had an annual tin ore production of […]
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Introduction Tymon Mellor: One hundred years ago this year, according to records, mining for Wolframite (or Wolfram as it used to be called), commenced at Needle Hill, possibly one of the oldest and most extensive industrial historical sites in Hong Kong. The mine workings now lie abandoned and overgrown on the hillsides above the Lower Shing Mun Reservoir. If you […]
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One of the smaller mines in Hong Kong is located at Ho Chung, near Sai Kung, where Wolfram, the ore of Tungsten was exploited in small quantities over many years. The village of Ho Chung was founded around 1550, farming rice in the terraced valley. After the First World War, mining of the ore commenced and continued intermittently until the […]
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