I wonder if I can prevail on the experts....again
😉
This mine lies between Catherine and Jane Consols and the hamlet of Rhyd, on a west facing hillside...the next ridge further east from Bwlch-y-Plwm. It's grid ref SH633414.

The tip is visible on the hillside from the path to C&J. At the bottom of the workings is a substantially built stone working and the remains of what might be a mule track. To the left of the tip and behind the building is a substantial wet adit. Above this on the tip level is another adit, dry and leading to stoping.
There is a further adit above which has run in.

Further to the north there are the vestigial remains of structures at the same level and some waste.

The tip is mainly small chalcopyrites and iron rich rock, no sign of quartz or blende in the mine, although obviously there has been some chasing after a vein as the sides of the adit show signs of hammer marks. There are occasional hand drilled jwmpwr marks.

Here are some photos, if I can get the hang of this web thingy. I'll put them in the appropriate album once I know.
Thanks for your help!

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Its Rhyd Mine, and I believe a lead mine. I do not know of any written reference.
It could have once been part of the Catherine and Jane set as other adits in the area. The deep adit was buried until dug out by members of the Welsh Mines Society. There is a miners felt hat in the DA, please leave.

Adjacent to the path from the main C and J site there is an adit leading to an engine shaft running through stopes, an iron rod once part of a power chain is lying on the floor.

The clearance of vegetation at C and J was done recently by the Welsh Mines Preservation Trust.

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Also known as Hafod Boeth mine (lead) SH637415, see Foster-Smith, J R, The Mines of Merioneth (British Mining 6), Northern Mine Research Society, 1977 p. 9.

The 6" map [OS 1st edn: XI NE (1882)] shows "Manganese Works (Disused)" at this location.

Alun Richards, A Gazeteer of the Welsh Slate Industry, p. 115 states that there is a report of Hafod Boeth being a slate operation in the 1860s, but that there is no sign of remains of slate working. (He gives the location as SH638418.) He concludes that the report is due to confusion between this site and the Hafod Uchaf slate working approximately 2km north of this location.

Dave

Also known as Hafod Boeth mine (lead) SH637415, see Foster-Smith, J R, The Mines of Merioneth (British Mining 6), Northern Mine Research Society, 1977 p. 9.

The 6" map [OS 1st edn: XI NE (1882)] shows "Manganese Works (Disused)" at this location.

Alun Richards, A Gazeteer of the Welsh Slate Industry, p. 115 states that there is a report of Hafod Boeth being a slate operation in the 1860s, but that there is no sign of remains of slate working. (He gives the location as SH638418.) He concludes that the report is due to confusion between this site and the Hafod Uchaf slate working approximately 2km north of this location.

Dave

Thanks for this Dave.
I have Foster Smith in photocopy form and was thinking of digitalising it by scan and OCR. That kind of typewritten manuscript usually OCR quite well.

Foster Smith describes it as a "trial for lead ore" which was "not sucessful", however the workings have stoping extending between the open upper and lower adits which I descended some years back before the deep adit was reopened. At the far end of the upper adit a descent past hanging death brought me very close to the deep adit, but the look of the place was enough to prevent me attempting digging through.
Apart from this, the place is fairly stable and safe to explore.

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Thanks very much gentlemen, I really appreciate the information :thumbsup:

Yes, I checked out the Hafod Uchaf mine a while ago, certainly nothing like this, although lovely in it's own right.

The information about the levels and stopes is encouraging. Incidentally, at the lower wet adit, it's possible to see just how high the water was before the mine was dug out. I'll post a pic to the mine album. We have Hafod Boeth on here as a slate mine, so perhaps I should start a new one for "Rhyd Mine, Lead"?

Thanks again for all the input, it's what makes this site so brilliant.

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How about Hafod Boeth AKA Rhyd? Or vice versa.

I would enter it as Rhyd with Hafod Boeth as an alternative name.
Nice pictures by the way, this Weekend?
Weather was quite nice, came out of Rhosydd late last night and it was sunny but very cold wind.

By the way, I have a nice north Wales surprise in store for you all, but want to explore and take pics first.

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There are also stopes going up to daylight from the upper level.

I would be reluctant to name it Rhyd mine as (a) it's at Hafod Boeth (so named on the 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 OS maps) and (b) it already has the name Hafod Boeth in a published source.

Dave

OK I agree, Hafod Boeth aka Rhyd Mine. Thanks Dave and John for that.
Roy, yes, it was this weekend, didn't really expect to find anything special so this was a fab find. Thanks for the help.

We had been in Drum Boeth on Saturday...a huge "thank you" to whoever drained the lower adit :thumbsup: it's lovely and dry now.

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I am in the middle of doing a clearfell above the mine and have come across a raise to surface and a trial. The raise could be used to drop down to the level below

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Hafod Boeth... My very first venture into a mine at around 12yo. Three of us armed with Ever Ready bike torches I recall. My parents having warned me not to go towards Corn Pigyn of course. Corn Pigyn is the local name given to the area as C&J’s chimney stood proud until a few years before and could be seen from all around (until the Forestry commission or equivalent decided it shouldn’t be there).

Pretty sure it was much darker inside such places then. 🙂