By the time the last mine
closed on Bell Island,
Newfoundland and Labrador in
1966, 79 million tons of iron
ore had been extracted and
sold worldwide over the
industry’s 71-year history.
   The first mine on Bell
Island was a surface mine,
going underground and

breaking out at the sea’s
shoreline. But in 1902 the
first of four submarine mines
was built, extending out for
miles under the sea floor.
Mining continued at Number
Two right up until 1949.
   Eventually Bell Island
claimed six mines: Numbers
One and Five were surface

mines; Numbers Two, Three,
Four and Six went submarine.
   Roughly four billion tons
of ore are left in the mines,
but the industry shut down
because the cost of getting
the ore from the mines to the
market was too high.
   The history of mining on
Bell Island is one of

constant change: the
population grew from a few
hundred to 14,000; companies
moved in and out; the
technology of production was
upgraded.
   
   This Community Memories
exhibit highlights those
changes over 100 years of