The only mineral worked at the present time is gravel for aggregate, although chalk, brick clay (Ampthill and Kimmeridge clays), phosphate (from Woburn Sands, Gault and Cambridge Greensand), sand and gravel, and peat have been worked on a small scale in the past".
Pred obsežnim in večinoma uspešnim izsuševanjem močvirij v sedemnajstem stoletju, je postal Ely trgovsko središče za blago izdelano iz vrbe, trsa in rogoza in lovom na divje ptice, ki je bila glavna dejavnost lokalnih prebivalcev.