Iron ore was carried downhill in skips via an inclined tramway, crushed in a steam-driven rock breaker, then transported across the valley by an aerial ropeway to bins, from where it was loaded into rail wagons and sent to Lithgow.

[16] The iron ore mine was the site of a disastrous accident, on 10 March 1921, in which nine miners were killed as the result of the premature explosion of a blasting charge.

[17][18] Iron ore mining at Cadia ended soon after the relocation of blast furnace operations from Lithgow to Port Kembla in late 1928.

Most of the dwellings are built of iron, tins, hessian, and similar materials, and almost every place is a 'boarding-house,' where the food as a rule is as rough as the language of the boarders."

The rest of the town consisted of, "The hotel, a couple of small stores, and a rickety tin post office ... not forgetting, of course, the two corrugated iron churches."

Across the creek were the school and teacher's house, "whose beautiful flower garden forms the one bright spot in Cadia."

[28] When the 'Iron Duke' iron ore mine was re-opened in late 1942, during World War II, new staff housing had to be built and a temporary 'tent city' established for the workers.

[7] Although mining had taken place in the vicinity for well over a century, it was not until 1992 that the porphyry gold-copper potential of the district was recognised by geologists of Newcrest.

[31] The enormous scale of the modern mines has led to the relocation of some artifacts of Cadia's history and cultural heritage, including a scarred tree[5] and the former village's cemetery.