HF: From the company website “KWP Quarry Co. Ltd. is a joint venture operation between K. Wah Quarry Co. Ltd. and Pioneer Quarries (HK) Ltd. where K. Wah Quarry Co. Ltd. is the majority shareholder. The company is operating Anderson Road Quarry under HK Government Contract NO. GE/96/10 “The Rehabilitation of Anderson Road Quarry”. The Contract commenced in January 1997 […]
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HF: New information in red Guy Breshears contacted me explaining he lives in Hong Kong and is working on a HK history project. He wondered if we had any information about Tai Shek-ha 大石下 Stone-quarry – A hamlet which is mentioned in a 1841 HK Census. The first set of census results were published in the 2nd issue of H.K. Govt. Gazette, […]
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Thomas Ngan and HF: Neither of us are certain of the factual accuracy of all the following. HF in particular as almost everything about the school and to a lesser extent about the four hills/quarries is in Chinese with poor translations. Thomas is working on more accurate translations. We are probably taking on too much in one article as we […]
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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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Tymon Mellor: On the 28th March, 1886, the first of many blasts was initiated at the Mui Wo silver mine. The owner, Mr Ho A Mei (see Part One of this article linked below) wanted to extract the galena ore to aid in the mineral processing of the richer ore from a Mainland mine of his. The mineral processing facility […]
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Tymon Mellor: Immediately after the end of the Pacific War, the price of graphite, a form of carbon, peaked before declining as the world demand for steel dropped. Following the successful exploitation of graphite on West Brother Island, a number of licences were issued to allow the prospecting for Graphite throughout the New Territories during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Prospecting […]
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Tymon Mellor: In 1955 mineral prices were on the rise and there was a large influx of new population into Hong Kong, mineral extraction and mine development was a growth industry. Sensational mining stories and corruption were not uncommon. In April, 1955 an amateur geologist, Corporal William Bruce Harries, of the Royal Army Educational Corps discovered a deposit of Beryl […]
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Hugh Farmer: Researching my recent Quarrying in Hong Hong article brought up lots of place names with quarrying associations. And even more questions. Can you help answer any? A Kung Ngam Quarry: “A Kung literally means maternal grandfather or old man in Cantonese while Ngam means rock, but in the case of this place name, “A Kung” refers to Tam Kung, sea god, who the […]
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Tymon Mellor: It has never been clear why if there was a lead mine at Lead Mine pass, no one has developed the site when exploration has been undertaken all over the territory. There are references to the mine location on the contemporary maps and within Government reports following the take over of the New Territories in 1898. But no further […]
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