HISTORY
MINING HISTORY
No. 2 MINE
This page features pictures and brief descriptions of No. 2 Mine, the plant for which was located on the west side of Compressor Hill between The Green and No. 2 Road. In 1920, a young journalist named Joseph R. Smallwood, who would one day lead Newfoundland into Confederation with Canada, visited Bell Island for the first time to gather material for a series of articles for the Evening Telegram newspaper. He toured No. 2 Slope, which was nearly a mile long at the time, and remarked that walking back up the 15-degree slope reminded him of walking up Blackhead Road, a long, steep hill in St. John's. No. 2 Mine ceased operation in January 1950. The Bell Island Community Museum, which offers daily tours of the land area of No. 2 slope, occupies the area of the No. 2 Mine Yard where the collar of the mine was originally located.

The map below shows the location of the plants for the four submarine mines, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6. No. 2 Mine Yard is seen at point 13, the northern terminus of East Track.
The photo above is of No. 2 Deckhead, c. 1940s, looking from the west. Below is the No. 2 Deckhead as seen looking south from The Green, c.1940s.
The photo below is of members of the Cole Family of No. 2 Road with the No. 2 Deckhead in the left background. No. 2 Mine was closed in January 1950. It is not known when the deckhead was dismantled. Photo courtesy of Gerry Cole. Seated L-R: James Cole and son, Mike Cole. Standing: Nellie Cole, Elsie Cole (wife of Mike), and Theresa, daughter of James & Nellie.
The October 1954 photo below is of the No. 2 Mine Hoist House with construction having been started on the north side of the building (as seen in the right of the picture) to accommodate a curling rink. The original building would house the clubhouse facilities and the ice-making machinery. Photo and story from the October 1954 Submarine Miner, p. 6.