​HISTORY
MINING HISTORY
​MINING EQUIPMENT
SHOVELS USED IN HAND-LOADING IRON ORE
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created August 27, 2024 
The photo below is from a display at the Bell Island Community Museum. The card attached reads:

"Jones Shovel. This shovel is the type used in the mines at Bell Island. Donated by J.R. Whalen."
Following are two early surface mining photos (c. late 1890s to early 1900s) showing miners with what looks like the Jones-type shovels.
In the 1949 photo below, we only see the shovel from side-on. This is a George Hunter photo taken August 1949. It shows Jim Slade(?) and Edgar Parsons hand-loading iron ore into an ore car at 900' West Level, No. 3 Mine, while two trackmen in the background lay track to bring the ore car in closer to the muck. Source: Library and Archives Canada / George Hunter / PA-170820.