Mines of Methedras

The great Mines  on   the   slopes   of Methedras were  the  main  source  of  the iron ore needed for crafting the arms and armour  for  the  armies  of  the White Hand. As Saruman’s  designs  broadened  he  knew  he  would  need  weapons  and  armour. But purchasing such from lords of  the  land  would  reveal  his  ambitions  and  expose  his  plans,  so  he  set  about  fashioning  such  tools  within  Isengard. To conceal his purposes, he also needed his own source of raw materials. To this task he set his Orcs, tunnelling and burrowing into the mineral-rich rock under  Methedras. They followed  the  veins  where they led, shoring up their delvings  with timbers to prevent them from collapsing  beneath  the  mountain’s  weight. For the most part, Isengard’s mineshafts led north, away from Isengard and ever  deeper  into  the  core  of  Middle-earth. Although these tunnels sometimes linked into  the  system  of  Orc-warrens,  they  were deeper beneath the surface.