Graphite Mining in the New Territories

Mine Map

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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Ma On Shan Mine – Part One, The Open Cut Years

Coastal Village

Tymon Mellor: Introduction The mine workings on the south-west slopes of Ma On Shan mountain are now no more than mere scars in the hillside, but in the middle of the last century, the mine provided employment for up to 6,000 people and supplied high grade iron ore and other minerals to the Japanese steel industry. This article describes the […]

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The Chinese Engineering and Mining Company, China, 1900-1949 (dissolved 1984)

The Chinese Engineering & Mining Company Limited was established in 1900 to mine coal for steamships in the area around Tientsin, China. The company was reformed in 1912 as a public company registered in London. Also in 1912 the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company and the Lanchow Mining Company Limited formed the Kailan Mining Administration to administer the coal mines. […]

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Kei Lun Wai – Limonite Mine,Tuen Mun, and the Interim Mining Policy Committee

Limonite Rock

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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Hong Kong Clays and Kaolin Company (香港磁泥有限公司) – Kaolin Mine, Cha Kwo Ling

York Lo: From 1903 to 1983, kaolin clay was mined in a quarry in Cha Kwo Ling, a village near Kwun Tong facing the harbor. The 19 acre mine was operated by Hong Kong Clays and Kaolin Company (香港磁泥有限公司)… …In post War Hong Kong, George McBain operated out of the South China Morning Post Building in Central and the primary operation […]

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Hong Kong’s Klondike, prospecting for wolfram ore in 1951

Lin Fa Shan 3

IDJ has sent the following newspaper article about what he calls “Hong Kong’s Klondike”. If you are not familiar with this: The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. The image below comes from Tymon Mellor’s article, Lin Fa Shan Mine, linked below, and bears a passing resemblance, except for the […]

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