Heritage & Culture.
The Marmora Mine viewing platform on Highway 7 looks down on the most distinctive landscape in central Hastings County — an 850-metre-long, 450-metre-wide, 213-metre-deep former Bethlehem Steel iron-ore pit, opened in 1952 and closed in 1978, that has filled naturally with cyan turquoise water. Pit access and swimming are not permitted; the lookout area is the public view onto the Marmoraton legacy.
The brief.
Bethlehem Steel removed roughly 120 feet of limestone overburden to reach the iron-ore body and operated the pit for 27 years (1952–1978), shipping pelletized iron at peaks of half a million tons annually. After closure the company retained the pit, slag mounds, and surrounding acreage.
In 2011, Northland Power proposed a pumped-storage hydroelectric project at the site — leveraging the pit's depth as a battery for renewable-energy storage. The mine is one of four geological sites on the self-guided Miners' Loop Tour and a featured stop on EOTA's Tweed–Bancroft snowmobile and ATV route.
Within the township, the historic mining village of Deloro carries a separate heritage layer from earlier gold and silver works. Marmora and Lake itself was formed January 1, 2001 by the amalgamation of the Village of Marmora with the Township of Marmora and Lake; its four named communities are Deloro, Malone, Marmora, and Marmora Station, and Crowe Lake takes its name from the Crowe Anishinaabe First Nation that lived along its shore.
3. places.
- 01
Marmoraton (Marmora) Mine viewing platform
On Highway 7 north of the village; lookout over the water-filled pit (850 m × 450 m × 213 m deep); pit access and swimming not permitted.
- 02
Miners' Loop Tour
Self-guided walking and driving tour covering four geological sites in the area, including the Marmora Mine viewing platform.
- 03
Deloro
Historic mining-village community within the township; former gold and silver works.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.