MineArchiveMines in Cardiff
Cardiff is not a mining city in the way the valleys behind it are, but it was built by mining all the same: the docks that made it the greatest coal port in the world handled other men's coal, brought down from the Rhondda and the Taff. Its own extractive history is quieter and older — Carboniferous limestone and dolomite quarried from the Garth ridge in the north, haematite mined beneath it, and a little Silurian building stone from the outcrop at Penylan that turned out to hold some of the best fossils in Wales.
| Mine | Worked | Commodities |
|---|---|---|
| Little Garth Mine | Early 19th century in earnest, from 1805–1884; brief reworkings 1926–1937 | Iron, Ochre |
| Penylan Quarry | By the mid-19th century–Not worked since the 19th century | Sandstone |
Record created: 5 September 2026 · Last researched: 5 September 2026