Partridge Jones & Co. Ltd began work sinking two new shafts to the north of the Crumlin viaduct in the Ebbw Valley in 1907. Four years later they hit the rich 'Black Vein' seam at a depth of 1,536 Feet. The 'Black Vein' which reached a maximum thickness of 18 feet in places produced a rich steam coal which influenced the choice of the new mine's name. Many of the collierys in South Wales had names which hint at a naval connection, The Royal Navy and Merchant Marine were the largest customers for South Wales steam coal with many of the most famous Atlantic shipping lines using South Wales coal exclusively. As a result many of the steam coal producing colliery's adopted a naval name as a form of advertising and as an attempt to differenticate themselves from the colliery's which produced anthracite or house coal. The new colliery at Crumlin was one of many to adopt the name 'Navigation' to the men who worked there it was known as the 'Navi'

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At its peek in 1923 525 men were employed at the colliery producing steam coal from the 'Black Vein'. In 1925 a second colliery Aberbeeg South was opened by Aberbeeg Collieries Co a subsidiary of Partredge Jones & Co a few hundred yards to the north of Navigation Colliery. Unlike Navigation Aberbeeg South produced house coal for the domestic market from the 'Tillery' seam it employing 182 men and producing 50,000 tons a year. The two colliery's worked independantly until nationalisation in 1945 when they were merged into a single unit. Production of House coal ceased in 1965 and the decline in worldwide demand for steam coal lead to the final closure of Navigation Colliery in 1967.

Following the colliery's closure the shafts were infilled and headgears were removed for scrap. Fortunatley one of the collierys winding engines was removed and preserved at the Welsh Industrial Museium where it can still be seen today. The site was sold off by the NCB with many of the buildings remaining intact, and the at Navigation became a scrapyard which only recently closed. Only the bath house at Aberbeeg has survived converted in to an upholstery factory which also closed recently. Today much of the colliery buildings remain in a deralict condition protected by a council preservation order. The fan house is currently in use buy a railway contractor for storing fencing and other parts. while the remains of the scrap yard in the upper yard are currently being cleared.