Timeline of the Bell Island Mine

Bell Island is well known for its iron ore mining, which took place from 1895 to 1966. It was regarded as one of the most important iron ore producers in the world.

It operated from 1895 to 1966; the mines produced nearly 80 million tonnes of iron ore.

As early as 1578, an English merchant noted rich reddish rock deposits on Bell Island. In 1628, settlers from John Guy's colony at Cupids sent ore samples to England for testing, though the site remained unmined for over two centuries.

Open-pit surface mining officially began in the summer of 1895. By 1902, surface deposits were depleted, so submarine expansion took place; it was the largest underwater mine in the world.

Following World War II, the mine was extended more than 5 km offshore beneath Conception Bay. Annual production peaked in 1960 at over 2.8 million tonnes of concentrated ore.

The mine closed completely on June 30, 1966. Following the closure, the population fell dramatically.