Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Bell Island No. 2 Mine was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2006 for its historic, scientific and cultural value.

Although small-scale mining may have taken place as early as 1819, the first industrial iron ore mines were not established on Bell Island until 1895. Operations at No. 2 Mine began in 1902, run by the Nova Scotia Steel Company Ltd. The mine sits on a large iron ore vein that runs beneath Bell Island and under Conception Bay. The ore was mined using the “room and pillar” method of excavation. This method leaves large pillars of iron ore in place to support overhead weight while “rooms” are excavated, with the ore brought to the surface for processing. The No. 2 Mine was dug at a ten percent slope with a series of fairly uniform tunnels approximately four meters wide and four meters high. In the main tunnel, where the ore was transported to the surface using a rail system, each pillar was numbered for navigational purposes (with the lowest number starting near the collar). The No. 2 mine was once the world’s largest submarine iron ore mine. A network of tunnels extended nearly five kilometres under the waters of Conception Bay. When the mine closed in 1949, the pumps used to maintain these submarine tunnels were turned off. As a result, all tunnels below sea level (level 23 of the mine) are now flooded. Since 1998, the No. 2 Mine has been part of the Bell Island Community Museum, which operates tours down to level 23.

Bell Island No. 2 Mine had a great cultural impact on Bell Island, particularly the community of Wabana (which was built as a mining town). Before the mines were established, the island had a diverse economy of small-scale fishing and farming. The transition to waged labour brought a certain amount of prosperity to the island, but it also brought economic reliance on a single industry, one with poor working conditions that caused dozens of accidents and deaths during the mines’ operation. The Bell Island mines were a major contributor to the world steel market in the first half of the twentieth century. An influx of workers from across Conception Bay swelled the island’s population to over 12,000 at the peak of production. During the Second World War, the Bell Island mines were a vital source of iron ore for Allied forces. This made Bell Island one of the few places in North America to be targeted by Axis attacks. In 1942, U-Boats sank four ore ships (killing a total of 69 crew members) and fired a torpedo at the Scotia Company docks. Despite its wartime significance, the No. 2 Mine ceased operations before the close of the decade. The expensive submarine mines could not compete with the cheaper, open pit iron ore mining in Labrador and Quebec in the post-Confederation era. The last of the Bell Island mines closed in 1966, ending seventy-one years of an industry that saw nearly 80 million tons of ore extracted and sold worldwide. This devastated Bell Island’s economy for decades, causing outmigration and a rapid population decline. Although the mines have been closed for over 50 years, street names like Compressor Hill and Ore Pier Rd. still reflect the role of mining in Wabana’s development. In more recent years, sites like the No. 2 Mine have been part of efforts to build a heritage tourism industry in Bell Island.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Wabana – Bell Island No. 2 Mine – FPT 2681”

Character Defining Elements

ll those original elements of the early twentieth-century iron ore mine, down to level 23 and to a width of two tunnels extending from each side of the main tunnel, including:

-man-made tunnels to a depth of level 23;
-existing patterns of the room and pillar method of construction;
-tunnel layout and chamber height, width and dimensions; and
-remnants and evidence of mining activity.

Community

Wabana

Municipality

Town of Wabana

Civic Address

Compressor Hill

Construction (circa)

1902 - 1902

Builder

Nova Scotia Steel Company Ltd.