re wheal jane... thats the thing the water aint that bad yes theres a lot tho but they where getting to grips with it bit by bit.. janes gonna have to big scale.. but its tarred with a bad reputation.. so dont know we shall ever see activity 😞 for sure the ores are there maybe the best around even.. something like 7-15 % zinc %.05+ copper and at least 1% tin .

Jane had a reputation for being wet, but the snag was that they were pumping out a lot of gwennap. Including Consols to about 60F and United to about 120F (If I recall right). Bear in mind that both Consols and United had some SERIOUS pumping gear (even though they ultimately got to the 300F level).

The decline was an interesting project and I've spoken to a fair few people about it, they cut some very localised rich stuff around the burger van area but it wasn't exactly the sort of thing a mine like jane would take on...I also gather that Wheal Squire had some interest and they too found some small scale rich bits and bobs. I gather (but have seen no evidence on paper) that the decline was to be extended under Ting Tang and Wheal Damsel.... Whether any of these structures meet deep down would be something interesting, as many of them seem to have a common origin...as well as the associated elvans.

I know that Clemow's shaft of West Jane (and no2) are on the superduper "don't build around them" county plan, however I think what is going on/around the site might have sterilised any potential of reopening. I imagine the water would be a major, major hurdle.

I find the Gwennap Area fascinating, but whoever tackles it in the future will find themselves pumping most of it out. Unlike the bit of Crofty which hasn't been mined, the stuff of interest in the area is pretty much surrounded closely on all sides including underneath with flooded extensive workings.

I am convinced that apart from a few major operations, the stuff which will be the most common in due course will be concord sized operations.

What would be interesting would be the relating the rough pumping costs of unwatering an old mine by comparison with something like Lean's tables.

I'd love to see Jane pumped again as the stuff which would be explorable would be sublime.

When you consider that Old Jane was unwatered to the bottom (formerly had a 60" engine) and bottom level was 70F (IIRC) and United had a 90" and 85" and was virtually unwatered by jane, no wonder it was so wet!

re wheal maid u say it wasnt somithing jane would take on yet they did ..what we dont know was what was the thinking there what where they after beyond white works ..somebody must know the general plan .anyway white works is screaming out for twenty + men 5 mill and some DD both under and around it as mentioned in other threads .

Wheal Fortune lode (the BIG one in Consols) is faulted and a heavily stoped limb of it is somewhere below Whiteworks South Lode. This would probably present itself as a problem if you tried going down too much. Likewise, anything in Squire Woods hits various United Structures and the Squire Structures themselves which are all flooded and ultimately connected to Jane.

I think anyone looking at working Whiteworks would be looking at the area being pumped by a bigger operation for starters.

I wonder if Parc an Chy is a viable thing now separation methods have improved.

The Wheal Maid decline, or to give it it's official title 'The Western Decline' was systematically diamond drilled in all directions. The big idea was to go out under united and venture into some of the under-explored areas around the Squire and Ting Tang mines.
A small shaft on the edge of the playing field was explored and sampled with Cu values looking very attractive. There was an awful lot of work being done around that area at that point in time, the results of which are probably gathering dust somewhere.

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hmmm very interesting so how could this area be worked again .. do we hope forever that jane takes on the whole lot or maybe try white works worked small scale with a hope of bigger things in that area perhaps sell to a bigger concern , with that in mind jane could get looked at again maybe split the district between two operations to spread the cost of pumping.

I think Jane will be one of the last places to open again and anything associated with it, ie:- Squire Woods, Whiteworks, Britannia will also be left until then. No people in their right minds would invest anything in a set of workings which could strike extensive water, without major reserves and backing.

As I have discussed with various chums, Whiteworks would be something for some hillbilly adventurers to have a go at, but it would encounter a load of hurdles which would probably put a stop to it. Sadly, nanny state has increased her remit and "adventurers" are probably a bad thing....

In Reply to Knocker.
The information is on the Cornwall 24 News site,do a search for South Crofty Pumping.Loads of interesting information.
The cleaning units are made by Ecoloclean Industries of Texas,USA.First one being shipped in June.

u are probably rite stuey.. what i will say is there is no shortage of tonnage under jane.. so yeah some risk with that but then there's risk with anything those in the business know there's nothin easy ,those in the know must know it was the price collapse that killed it, i think its fair to say that it was successful in proving complex ores could be worked and that the area has considerable potential to anyone willing to take it up again(even with two large old mines flooded and a half clogged adit) .

Braveduck, I was wondering if that was the one you were looking at, that unit was trialled in July 2007 and wasn't particularly successful, as far as I'm aware ecoloclean do not exist anymore.

Current progress as I understand: -
2. WUM have in the last few days cleared the brush around Gossan Shaft (Behind New East Shaft), I would speculate that this is the target for pumping from, where they intend to drop the water level by 90m, which will then enable further downward development.
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Hi Knocker there is a lot of clearance work going on now around this area especially around the old streaming works, do you know if this all down to WUM or is it Cornwall council / highways preparing for the new link road or both ?
When it is free of workmen, I will have a poke around for any hidden remains..
Thanks!

D

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The clearance work in the valley is for the new road, where construction starts on April 2nd. The valley is being filled in at that location with two tunnels (similar design to the railway embankment at Brea).
What I can't figure out is where the fill is coming from, as there is no cut of any significance on the route, the only guess I can make is they are going to take it from the area where they cleared the knotweed last year (the new mill location), which would kill two birds with one stone - enabling the mill to be constructed.

Thanks..
somehow I think the road past warriors will be a no go for a few months soon...
It maybe a good place for South Crofty to dump any underground waste material for a few months as well.

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Was in Cornwall for a week (last week) - stayed near Wheal Busy. Just wondering (as an ex coal miner) are there two shafts back to back at South Crofty (as headgear seems to indicate)?
Went over to Wheal Jane - are both shafts still open?
Nice to see the Cornish flag flying and traces of the language, similar to Welsh in many ways.

Hi Miner1985, no its only one shaft, it was reconfigured in the mid 1980's to a four compartment shaft, in a 4x1 arrangements (like most cornish shafts it is rectangular). When the shaft was reconfigured, a second winder (North) was added and basically a second headframe (the lower sheave wheels) bolted onto the back of the taller older south headframe.

Thanks for the reply knocker - am I right in assumming that many of the shafts in Cornwall have not been filled (as is the case in South Wales) and could be pumped and reopened? Do they intend to ever use the shafts at South Crofty (noticed the ropes have gone) and if so why did they abandon Robinsons shaft? I know this might be a stupid question but I often hear Mount Wellington when references are made to Wheal Jane, is this one of the shafts or a near by mine?

Robinsons shaft was condemed by the mines inspector, Mt wellington and Jane are 2 different mines although they did join up underground Welly is a easy one to get into BUT there is some very bad air(low O2) in places.

Some of the later plans are a bit inaccurate, names wise.

The stuff on the Jane side of the stream is called "Wheal Jane" and then there is a gap where Wellington is and then "Wheal Maid".

It's one of those things where (new) Wheal Jane is actually West Wheal Jane and between Wellington and West Jane are Nangiles, right by the stream and Wheal Widden between them. Lodes wise (off the top of my head). The main (old) wheal jane big slopey lode was worked through Wheal Jane and West (new wheal jane) and there is a bit of barren ground between them with the lowest level being deep adit. There was also a copper lode (Ready money lode) in both mines, but more developed in OWJ (anciently). The main jane lode continued through Nangiles (where it was worked, but apart from where the engine house is, which is on another copper lode - it is a bit complicated here....wheal andrew lode continued??? (there are no plans of this, IIRC). The wellington lode ran out under Ale and Cakes part of united, but were not heavily worked), the main show at united were great lode and hot lode (aka south lode) - I'd double check that last sentence. United and Ale and Cakes were nothing to do with Wheal Maid, which is on the NW side of the Consols Valley workings. There may have been a bit of lazy reporting done since the "Western Decline" Jane did in Consols valley was aka "Wheal Maid Decline". If they were splitting hairs, it should have been "West Wheal Fortune Decline". As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the most fascinating areas in Cornwall and not to have poked around it when it was pumping is a great shame.

There was enough stuff dry down there to keep a team of explorers busy for months if not years. :oops: :offtopic:

Robinsons shaft was condemed by the mines inspector, Mt wellington and Jane are 2 different mines although they did join up underground Welly is a easy one to get into BUT there is some very bad air(low O2) in places.

Not supprised at that, No 1 drive east in 310 fathom level was condemned when I was there back in the 70's but we still used it, there was a few stretches where the floor sounded decidedly hollow when tramming a load of full wagons, the hanging wall was on the move as well which was even more worrying.
At the jusnction of No 1 drive and the main crosscut was the ore pass grizzly, the resident trammer had undone one end of one of the GWR's so it could be pulled to one side to let the biguns through, definately a dodgy practice as he never used the saftey harness.

Lozz.

im amazed we havnt seen more movement than just that at dolcoath. i have seen pics where that level in robs is crushed in totally now how much longer will it be before somin big moves somewhere round there .