A mate of mine has moved into the area. There is an old level near to where he lives , a couple of old farmers say it was for spar, but he has recently found it on an old mapmas a lead mine. It doesn't appear to go very far . It's more or less on the banks of the river Rhiw. Does anybody have any info on this.
Thanks
Clive

The Afon Rhiw is over 20km long - please can you provide a more precise location, preferably an Ordnance Survey national grid reference (OS 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps are available for free on Bing maps).

The standard gazetteer (J.R.Foster-Smith "The mines of Mongomery & Radnorshire" (British Mining no.10), Sheffield, 1978, lists only two mines close to the Afon Rhiw:

Montgomery no.22: Adfa, NGR SJ 060/010, a trial for barytes made in 1939.

Montgomery no.23: Fachwen, NGR SO 106/997, trials comprising open pits and a shallow shaft made 1920-23 on strings of calcite with a little barytes, with traces of iron and copper.

'Spar' can refer either to barytes or to calc-spar; both the above trials accord in that respect. If the level is on old maps as being for lead then it suggests that it predates the 1920s-30s trails listed above, and could indeed have been made in the hope of finding lead as that mineral was of greater interest in the nineteenth century than barytes or calc-spar.

Historic OS six inch maps are available for free on the National Library of Scotland website: is it marked on these maps? If so, please can you quote the sheet number and give an approximate location within the sheet?

If you can provide a location people may be able to make some suggestions.

Grid Ref = SJ078037

National Grid Field No = SJ 0703 8178

Latitude = 52°37'25.24"N
Longitude = 3°21'43.23"W

Yes. Those refs Mick just gave.
Hey Mick. You flowing me:guns:

Ha Ha 'Yeap looks like it' :lol:

Yes it does appear on the OS Six-inch Scotland old maps 1888 - 1913

Thanks; I see it now at approx NGR SJ 078/037 where there is a label "Old Shaft (lead)" on the 1884 six inch map, and a label "Old Shaft" on the 1901 and 1949 six inch maps (Montgomeryshire sheet 29.NW). There is no obvious symbol marking a shaft or a tip but massively enlarging the image suggests there might be an open circle symbol close to the river.

The location of the shaft suggests the possibility of a shallow adit to the shaft having been driven from the south bank of the Afon Rhiw. There is nothing visible on satellite images but there is a lot of tree cover along the river and along the road.

The presence of a shaft suggests that the trial was sufficiently promising to encourage the sinking of a shaft below river level.

Roughly how long is the level and does it end in a fall or in a blank wallk?

It's also on the 1977 1:2500 map, with the 'o' symbol

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Been in the level, unfortunately that's all it is, NO shaft.The level enters the base of a hill side horizontally for perhaps 100 yards, remains of a narrow lode 30-50mm only, in the roof can be seen. This disappears towards the end of the level & it appears that numerous attempts were made to relocate it with small drivages but only a few feet in each direction.