Abandoned quarry with mineshaft and carts in agathuna, Newfoundland

[@codraven57]

I'm glad you explained where it was because I had no idea. Too bad it didn't get cleaned up........just a mess left. It was a limestone quarry or mine that started in 1911 by Dominion iron and steel company or Nova Scotia iron and steel company and it operated until 1964. Agathuna is Beothuk for "White Rock".

[@offgridadventurers]

Hard to believe it was that long ago buddy!

[@TerrencePower-k2d]

At the end of the quarry where you turned back is the end of the Gravels Walking Trail, ( renamed in recent years ), probably the nicest hiking trails on the west coast. It travels all the way back to the causeway parking lot. Some of the coolest rock formations and little coves around.

[@offgridadventurers]

Yes buddy I agree, it's a beautiful spot! And thanks for the extra info on the area, greatly appreciated!

[@dwaynehinks3040]

The area where you seen the wood still standing in the water and you thought it was for loading boats, was actually the location of a pump house that pumped sea water in the process of sea mining which operated there until 1966. The lobster claws are the results of seal's they only eat the tails and body's.

[@offgridadventurers]

Awesome buddy thanks for the info!

[@TerrencePower-k2d]

The tunnels are just natural erosion , the whole coast along the walking trail is full of them. I believe the tunnel with carts is actually to do processing quarry rock and not mining. The last time I was there there was bulldozer on top of embankment shovelling rock of top into dump trucks on the level you parked at. The large circular concrete foundations were tanks for processing and the object with all the metal tubes I believe was a boiler. The remains of the dock like structure by water was likely a tailings line for dumping waste product in to ocean. All speculation on my part after several visits there over several years of taking photos there. In my teens I worked in Sudbury at mine mill and everything is kinda similar.

[@DaveCutler-w6m]

What you thought was mine shaft was actually part of a conveyor system that carried limestone the loading dock. The loading dock was a wooden pylon pier and you were correct in assuming the remaining wood structure was used to load ships. The Agiathuna limestone mine was an open pit operation that closed in the mid sixties . The circular structures you first looked at were part of a sea mining experiment that operated for a short time, I believe in the early seventies or late sixties and were not part of the limestone quarry. The piece of machinery with all the tubes was part of the equipment used to extract the minerals from the water pumped up from the ocean. I don't remember what minerals they were looking for at the time.

[@offgridadventurers]

@user-hs5du9zd8l thanks for the info, always like learning more on places I've been. I believe they were after limestone there but not positive on that. I've heard recently there's an old asbestos mine on the other side of fox island that I hope to check out soon. Also, there's supposedly a plane crash site over there too, and may be the tail end of the plane still there. So much exploring to do just here on the west coast!

[@DaveCutler-w6m]

​@@offgridadventurers Go to Tube tube and search "Newfoundland builds" You'll find an old film of the sea mining equipment when it was in operation. They were mining magnesium.

[@dunk22]

I enjoyed the video. That round structures had a large bin on top of it, it was always filled with water or something, looked very green, it was tall. We would see them all the time when we walked the ridge behind it. In the 70's the quarry had a bunch of shallow ponds that would freeze over early before there was any stow or ice anywhere else, us kids would walk the trail along the cliffs (now Danny's trail) from port au port west and play hockey on them, no trouble getting a crowd to play hockey in them days.. Great spot to grow up.

[@offgridadventurers]

@dunk22 that's awesome! Love hearing stories on the stuff I post. I didn't get into exploring much until the last few years and it's nice to hear of things that went on years ago in these spots. There's also alot of stuff from the quarry on the other side of the road too

[@dunk22]

@@offgridadventurers Yep, I pretty much knew every inch of it, spent a lot of time there as a kid. There used to be a warf we would fish off for mackerel and at both ends of the quarry there were tiny creeks that we would fish for trout. The last time I was there those creeks seemed to have disappeared, the first one was by the road that entered from the left as soon as you got to the bottom of the hill down into the quarry and the other one was at the far end as you were exiting the quarry heading into Boswarlos, some of it used to flow underground. Take care!

[@offgridadventurers]

@dunk22 you too buddy and thanks for all the info and memories!