In 1990 I was lucky enough to get myself on a 4-hour tour of Geevor and Levant, and I have just uploaded the photos of this trip. 🙂 A write-up can be found at http://www.wcms.org.uk/pages/u2nl1990_3.shtml#levant_winter1990 

Photograph:

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And now I've added 8 photos of the Geevor section of the same trip.

Photograph:

🔗Geevor-Tin-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-035[linkphoto]Geevor-Tin-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-035[/linkphoto][/link]

Very interesting. Well done!

I would like to know more about how they were doing when the price pinched them shut.

Is it a prospect, I wonder or a dead worked out hole.

Very interesting. Well done!

I would like to know more about how they were doing when the price pinched them shut.

Is it a prospect, I wonder or a dead worked out hole.

The seaward extensions of the Levant lodes are a complete unknown. Have you got the money to pump it all out again?

I've got Cornwall's future mines and Geevor, Wellington and Jane as well as Crofty were working, so they don't mention a thing about them. Since we are in a tin price boom and the Chinese and Indians are likely to want more, considering the working out of existing other mines, perhaps it is worth a thought.

One of our local drilling chaps mentioned the fact that people might have been having a sniff around. From what I gather Jane/Wellington were a waste of time. The drilling done in levant was a failure and they only drained it to the bottom so that Geevor could go deeper. I've heard different stories thant this. I gather that quite a lot of mines in the area have to go deeper in order to get the good stuff. Geevor and Levant were quite dry (apart from the 40 backs incident) and once pumped could tick over nicely, rather than somewhere like jane, which was stupidly wet.

One thing is certain, it has to come out at some point. My bet is that it would be easier to flash up Geevor than start a fresh mine at Killifreth/etc.

Anyway........

Might be worth remembering that although Cornwall County Council own the Geevor site, the mineral rights are still privately owned. There is a covenant in the purchase agreement that nothing can be done on the site that would hinder mining at a future date. This includes the restoration work now being done on the site and the amazing new museum opening in mid-August [Shameless plug!]
Access to Deep Adit is problematic due to ground movement blocking the portal and a fall of deads from a raise. These are going to be sorted - dreckly.

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Having said, looking at the minerals plan, the resources (of some largely worked out mines) have to be kept accessible.

Perhaps the minerals authority are looking for some distant mad max day in the future where people are working refuse tips for minerals and petrol is £2 a molecule.

Geevor has some European cash to improve its surface workings/ Buildings & museum, but it would be really great if they could one day pump out the main shaft a little further so that the public could access the old workings. Many of us who visit these Mining museums would love to have a chance to go properly underground as well as walk around a surface museum. I know they have the small 18th Century ? workings for tours but these feel like a scratch in the surface. When I went to Geevor a few years ago, I am sure I saw something which said they hoped one day in the future to be able to open the main shaft again.

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Looking at a plan I have of Levant, assuming there is seepage into/out of the workings (which there is to a degree), it would indicate that the level of water in the mine is below the adit and hopefully between mhw and mlw. That would give a whole lot more workings than are above adit. Levant also goes back a very long way. I wonder how many of the shafts are capped and if Phillips shaft is open. This would allow water out from 30ft below adit if it did.

I'm not sure about the Geevor section. I'm still looking for the Noall book on it, but it's rare.

Will have to have a poke around levant at some point.

One thing is certain, it has to come out at some point. My bet is that it would be easier to flash up Geevor than start a fresh mine at Killifreth/etc.

Anyway........

Just out of interest during the last reincarnation about 40 years ago, I believe the last shaft in Cornwall was sunk. And that was the first for 40 years.

Pendarves Mine
Old workings known as Pendarves Consols, Pendarves United and Tryphena occur between Pendarves [646 379 and Beacon [657 393]. Cornish Explorations began re-examining this area in 1962 and a drilling programme commenced in 1963 with limited examination of old workings. Various mining companies financed the venture includinc Bibis Yukon, Guggenheim Exploration Co. Ltd, Pacific Tin Consolidated Corporation and Tehidy Minerals Ltd. Union Corporation (UK) Ltd joined the consortium in 1966 to manage the project. The consortium, under the name of Camborne Tin Limited, drilled vertical boreholes on the site of the proposed Pendarves Shaft upon which work was begun in late 1967. The shaft, first to be sunk in Cornwall for 40 years, was completed to 260m and commissioned in 1969. In 1970 the company managing the mine became Camborne Mines Ltd and started underground exploration by crosscutting north-west and south-east to Harriet and Tryphena lodes respectively. A decision to commence production was made and in 1971 Straus Exploration Incor¬porated obtained additional finance for this purpose.
Also in 1971, the Cornish Tin Smelting Company Ltd was purchased in order to process the Pendarves ore at their Roscroggan mill. 432 tonnes of ore were produced but operations were suspended in 1972 and the mine was taken over by Great Western ores Ltd, a subsidiary of South Crofty (St Piran Ltd) in 1973. The shaft was deepened to 6-level in 1976 and further exploration of Harriet and Tryphena lodes carried out. By 1973 the shaft had been sunk to 7-level and exploration of Tryphena Lode yielded poor results. A drilling programme was initiated in the same year to ex¬amine the Great Flat Lode in the area west of South Tolcarne Mine [656 386], and possible extensions of Dolcoath South lodes. As a result of the international tin crisis of 1985/6 the mine was closed and placed on care and maintenance on 31 July 1986.

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I remember reading that Pendarves didn't have an adit......

Is there anything left you can go in?

Is your info from the RTZ book?

The info is from 'Geology of the country around Famouth'.

Don't know if you can get in; RM would know.

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I don't want to use all my "ask roy's" in one go!!!

In which case, stuey, it's Falmouth. :blink:

My trip into Levant has to be in my top 3 most memorable underground visits, as I saw so much of what I had only read about, and never dreamed I would actually visit. Now the trip is almost certainly never going to be possible again, it makes it all the more important to me.

Geevors mineral rights belong to Lord Falmouth, as I believe do Wheal Jane's. South Crofty are somewhat unique (In cornwall) in that they own their own mineral rghts, they also owned the mineral rights f Pendarves, I don't know if that is still the case, but I believe the Western end of the new twin decline will be getting remarkably close to Pendarves.

Does LF still get to have ££££ from the minerals, or is it more of a token thing? I thought LF sold quite a lot of the rights a long time ago in an effort to supplant his income (specifically wheal busy)

I'm aware that a major oil company owned and perhaps owns what's left of the GFL.

It makes me wonder about the latest crofty plans, as they cut a new lode, I wonder if it would be equally possible to cut some flooded workings.

Anyway.........

Absolutely right about underground access to the Geevoir workings. There is potentially one of the best 'underground visitor experiences' [ugh!] in the UK. The workings above the adit are extensive and impressive and could be opened without the need for pumping.
To put an acceptable means of access for visitors into the workings would be technically simple but would cost real money. It's a difficult thing to find funding for - the normal funders like HLF won't look at it. We are committed to try to do it, however.

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Hopefully one day (soon) the funders will appreciate that a crucial part of mining heritage is to experience the underground side and enable funding accordingly. I am sure if this were done visitor numbers would increase even more.
I for one would visit more often. I am also sure that there is plenty of expertise and enthusiasm from those involved to make this possible. In the meantime I guess it is down to public donations to get the shaft reopened. Is there any special fund for this?

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I've got Cornwall's future mines and Geevor, Wellington and Jane as well as Crofty were working, so they don't mention a thing about them. Since we are in a tin price boom and the Chinese and Indians are likely to want more, considering the working out of existing other mines, perhaps it is worth a thought.

One of our local drilling chaps mentioned the fact that people might have been having a sniff around. From what I gather Jane/Wellington were a waste of time. The drilling done in levant was a failure and they only drained it to the bottom so that Geevor could go deeper. I've heard different stories thant this. I gather that quite a lot of mines in the area have to go deeper in order to get the good stuff. Geevor and Levant were quite dry (apart from the 40 backs incident) and once pumped could tick over nicely, rather than somewhere like jane, which was stupidly wet.

One thing is certain, it has to come out at some point. My bet is that it would be easier to flash up Geevor than start a fresh mine at Killifreth/etc.

Anyway........

Have you read Jack Trounson's book on mining prospects in Cornwall? How much of that was wishful thinking?