Albert County Museum & RB Bennett Centre

There was considerable effort put into mining copper in New Ireland, Alma, and parts of Elgin. Manganese was mined from 1875 to 1877 at Waterside and from Shepody Mountain beginning in 1860. Bog manganese was harvested in Dawson Settlement from 1897 to 1900. Bog manganese is not mined but is instead harvested. Underground streams carry manganese up to the surface, the manganese is then deposited at an outlet of the stream on the surface. This manganese then forms into a bog. The manganese harvested from this bog must first be dried before it can be sold. All of the copper and manganese mining operations listed above failed largely due to mismanagement and lack of capital required to make the operations profitable. Manganese was also mined in Elgin for a short period following World War II.

One of the oldest and most important materials mined in Albert County was ordinary stone. One of the earliest storiesof mining in Albert County tells of Thomas Calhoun and his brother William harvesting grindstones from Grindstone Island and shipping them to the United States around 1771. Grindstones were used to grind down metal, for example, they were used to sharpen sword edges. These stones were so valuable that they were traded as currency. Many beautiful historic buildings in Boston, Halifax, and Saint John were constructed out of stone imported from the stone quarries of Albert County, such as the quarry at Mary's Point. Since many of these quarries were located near the Petitcodiac River or the Bay of Fundy it was easy to transport these heavy stone blocks by ship. Recently when a historic building in Halifax was being rebuilt new stones for the reconstruction had to be obtained from the old quarry at Mary's Point to ensure the authenticity of the building was maintained.