Billy Clarke has forwarded a link to a film made by HK URBEX of a visit by the group underground at Ma On Shan Iron mine. I think the visit was in March 2014. From their website “HK URBEX visits the once booming iron ore mine. Between 1953 and 1976, this was home to thousands of iron ore miners. But […]
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Hugh Farmer: The article, Needle Hill Tungsten Mine, says that, “The deposit was discovered in 1935 by a civil engineer, Mr G Hull, who was working on the construction of the Jubilee Reservoir (now known as Shing Mun)…Hull obtained a mining licence in the same year but the lease was subsequently transferred to Marsman Hong Kong China Ltd. Marsman undertook prospecting […]
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HF: “Tsang Tai Uk (曾大屋, literally the Big Mansion of the Tsang Family) is also called Shan Ha Wai (山廈圍, literally, Walled Village at the Foothill). Its construction was started in 1847 and completed in 1867. Measuring 45 metres by 137 metres, it was built by Tsang Koon-man (曾貫萬, 1808-1894), nicknamed Tsang Sam-li (曾三利), who was a Hakka (客家) originated […]
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Our article Needle Hill Tungsten Mine has the following extract: “This abandoned mine is situated on the southern slopes of Needle Hill between Upper Shing Mun reservoir and Tai Wai. It was among the largest mining operations Hong Kong has seen, [and certainly its biggest Tungsten Mine]. The deposit was discovered in 1935 by a civil engineer, Mr G Hull, […]
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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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HF: New information in red I am assuming, until corrected, that there was only one To Kwa Wan quarry. The quarry dates back to pre-colonial times. Patrick Hase, in his Indhhk article, Quarrying and transportation of stone in Hong Kong, 1841, says, “The most prestigious stone in Canton and the Pearl River Delta area for such quality buildings was Hong Kong granite, which […]
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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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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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