With the Nantlle one. I think there's also an adit under the road.

A couple I don't think have been thoroughly explored are:
Benallt - Rhiw. I've been down the shaft belaying off the old engine to the 100' level, but there are a couple of winzes down there covered with metal gratings that I'm not aware of anyone being down.
Bronygadair - Pentrefelin. There is a low hole emanating water in the field next to the Criccieth road. I've always fancied this is an adit.

As for the old copper mine between Tal-Y-Sarn and Nantle.....

Which one is that mate?? 🙂

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Gwernor mine, Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire SH502525

References:
- Bick D E, The Old Copper Mines of Snowdonia 1st Ed. 1982 pp. 8, 49, 50
- Clwyd Record Office – D/KK/333
- Gwynedd Archives Service – Caernarfon Archive Office – XM/1778/7
- Mining Journal 1851 p. 51,1
- Thomas, John E, A Geographical and Geological Description of Caernarvonshire, 1874

It's marked on the 1901 OS 6" map as "Old Shafts".

Dave

Gwernor mine, Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire SH502525

References:
- Bick D E, The Old Copper Mines of Snowdonia 1st Ed. 1982 pp. 8, 49, 50
- Clwyd Record Office – D/KK/333
- Gwynedd Archives Service – Caernarfon Archive Office – XM/1778/7
- Mining Journal 1851 p. 51,1
- Thomas, John E, A Geographical and Geological Description of Caernarvonshire, 1874

It's marked on the 1901 OS 6" map as "Old Shafts".

Dave

Perfect spelling, grammar, punctuation and referencing..... you must be feeling better Dave??! I take it the cold/'flu has passed? :lol:

Thanks for the info. Looks interesting. :thumbsup:

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Bronygadair - Pentrefelin. There is a low hole emanating water in the field next to the Criccieth road. I've always fancied this is an adit.

Every time I drive past Bronygadair I wonder if that hole goes anywhere interesting!

Mines at Bron y Gadair ...

Bron y Gadair copper mine, Dolbenmaen, Caernarfonshire SH523393
References:
- Atlas Sir Gaernarfon: Hanes a Daearyddiaeth, E H Owen & E Thomas (1954)
- Bick D E, The Old Copper Mines of Snowdonia 1st Ed. 1982 pp. 11–14, 114
- Gwynedd Archives Service – Caernarfon Archive Office – BJC D8 383
- Memoirs of Samuel Holland – Merioneth Hist & Rec Soc Extra Publn No. 1
- Memoirs of the Geological Survey Vol. 2 Pt.II
- Mining Journal 1845 pp. 540, 580
- National Library of Wales – Harrison Deeds Box 65 Pcl 2 1841
- National Library of Wales – Price of Rhiwlas – 161, 165
- Ordnance Survey six-inch map of Carnarvonshire 2nd ed. sheet XXXIV SW revised 1899, published 1901
- The Gestiana, Robert Isaac Jones as Alltud Eifion (1892), trans. Jack Kidd, ed. Richard Walwyn, 2013 pp. 43–45
Also known as Pen y Foel copper mine
- Bick D E, The Old Copper Mines of Snowdonia 1st Ed. 1982 p. 12
- Mining Journal 1845 p. 540

Also there is an "Old Copper Mine Shaft" shown on the Ordnance Survey six-inch map of Carnarvonshire 1st ed. sheet XXXIV SW surveyed 1887, published 1888 at Treflys, Caernarfonshire SH52263922

Dave

Yes, you can see both shaft and 'adit' on the lidar scan.

Additional ref. for Bronygadair or Porthmadoc:

J.R.Foster-Smith "The mines of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire", British mining no.4, Sheffield, 1977, p.33; this contains a few further refs.

Additional ref for Gwernor:

J.R.Foster-Smith "The mines of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire", British mining no.4, Sheffield, 1977, p.29.

Both these small mines are omitted from H.Dewey & T.Eastwood "Memoirs of the Geological Survey: special reports on the mineral resources of Great Britain: vol.30: copper ores of the Midlands, Wales, the Lake District and the Isle of Man", London, 1925.

if you clamber over the ridge above smyddyn du mine there is an adit in the valley below the nantlle ridge. some piles of tailings by entrance. not mentiuoned anywhere.

there were at least two other sulphur mines in the area. Trecastle was on i think. If you walk to the end of the forest track past cae coch, where it joins the top road there is an adit in the stream. Very wet and muddy but not sure what it is.

The adit over the ridge (south) of Smydde Dylluan Mine sounds like Mountain Lode which comprises three trial adits driven in 1920-23 on two lodes containing copper-lead-zinc minerals. The working is summarised in J.R.Foster-Smith "The mines of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire", British mining no.4, Sheffield, 1977, pp.28-29, with a longer and more detailed account in "Memoirs of the Geological Survey: special reports on the mineral resources of Great Britain: vol.23: lead and zinc ores in the pre-Carboniferous rocks of west Shropshire and north Wales", London, 1922, pp.57-58. This latter account states that no.1 level is 199ft long, no.2 is 177ft long, and no.3 is 133ft long.

'Tailings' refers to the fine sediments remaining after ore dressing. The tips at the entrances to these levels will be development rock.

There were a number of minor sulphur mines in the region around Cae Coch Mine. Details are given in J.Bennett & R.W.Vernon "Mines of the Gwydyr Forest: part 7: Llanrwst: Coed Gwydyr and Cae Coch; Llangelynin: Trecastell and Derwen Deg", 1997. Trecastell Mine produced lead and zinc, not sulphur ore - it lay significantly north of the main occurrences of pyrities in the Cae Coch area, although pyrites was examined at Trecastell at the end of working in the 1950s.

there's supposed to a copper mine by the slate quarry across the road from Dorothia slate quarry, called Gwaith copper. Ibelieve the site belongs to Mcalpines or someone similar. Have looked but failed to find it..

Recorded non ferrous metal mines / trials in the area around Dorothea Slate Quarry are:

Gwernor SH 504 / 523 - minor pre-1850 working, discussed up-thread.

Ty-mawr SH 509 / 534 - 50ft shaft intersected by a 240ft long adit; early 1850s.

There were also small trials at Carnedd-goch SH 505 / 505 - no information; but these lie rather further away to the south.

if you clamber over the ridge above smyddyn du mine there is an adit in the valley below the nantlle ridge. some piles of tailings by entrance. not mentiuoned anywhere.

Yes, you are right. I walked past that several years ago whilst tracing the leat that feeds the reservoir at the valley bottom. If I recall, it was a gash above the leat.

Robin

Some of those workings are covered by this paper:

Colman, T.B. 1990. Sediment-hosted base-metal vein mineralisation at Drws y Coed and Cwm Pennant, Snowdonia, North Wales. British Mining, no. 41, 41-59.

there's supposed to a copper mine by the slate quarry across the road from Dorothia slate quarry, called Gwaith copper. Ibelieve the site belongs to Mcalpines or someone similar. Have looked but failed to find it..

It's called Ty Mawr. The slate quarry you refer to is known as Ty Mawr West. Ellis Thomas from Nantlle operates half of it as a quarry, mainly crushing waste slate to make aggregates for construction. The other half is an inert landfill operated by Watkin Jones.

Not sure exactly where the copper workings are though.... I'll ring Ellis and ask. He probably buried it! ??

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There is a shaft marked the OS 1:2,500 1899 ed on the National Library of Scotland website, 100m ENE of Nantlle Terrace at roughly the grid reference that Foster-Smith gives: see my post up-thread. This shaft is marked but not labelled on the 1888 six-inch map. It was still marked and labelled on the 1948 six inch map. The adit does not appear to be specifically marked but it is stated to be 240ft long to the shaft.

As i work for I.S.C, i have an unlimited supply of equipment, so a trip down this shaft is a must. Anyone interested ?

I.S.C?

I.S.C?

Perhaps
http://www.iscwales.com/