New Galilee, Pennsylvania
Clay was an abundant resource in Beaver county. According to the 1955 circular of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, In 1955 Beaver County produced 13.7% of Pennsylvania's total clay output. There were 13 companies that mined clay in Beaver county at that time. Two of these companies, The Negley Fire Clay Co. and Ralph A. Veon, Inc. mined fire clay of the plastic variety from open pits and marketed the output for use in manufacturing fire brick and block, foundries, and heavy clay products. In addition, Ralph A. Veon, Inc., mined and sold fire clay of the burley variety. In 1955, New Castle Refractories mined stoneware clay from an underground mine near New Galilee for use locally in manufacturing pouring channels
Clayton West
There is evidence of 700 years of mining in the adjacent village of Emley. Records from the 13th century indicate that monks from Byland Abby mined and smelted iron ore. They mined using bell pits. A pit was sunk to a depth of 7 meters and worked outward from the bottom of the shaft. Pits dating back to the 16th century can be seen off Woodhouse Lane. Evidence of bell pits is also clearly visible in the woodlands around Duke Wood, down the hill from Cliffe Woods, in Clayton West. Joseph Norton was the owner of a number of mines around the 1870s which he used to mine to produce coal to power his textile mills located at Cuttlehurst and in Scissett. One of these was a mine in Duke Wood. This shaft still acts as an emergency exit and air vent for the privately owned "Flacks" mine, the only mine still operating in the village.