Had an afternoon wandering around Camborne area while in Cornwall for my son's wedding.

Paid a brief visit to the Heartlands Project, dear oh dear..

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Don't you mean Wastelands?

From its inception, it was always a house building exercise wrapped around the lie of a heritage project.

Begs the question of "heritage", really. Met an old friend whose children have grown up in the Stithians/Fourlanes area who have no real idea of what the mining remains represent, let alone any real idea of what South Crofty and Geevor were until quite recently and certainly don't see any of that as particularly relevant to their lives

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""Hopefully now we've left the EUSSR (well almost), rather than the EU money being channeled into turning mining sites into unwanted industrial estates (Hallenbeagle and Wheal Harmony), since all of the left handed lesbian carribean dance troupes have already got their money, hopefully some can be spent on providing/maintaining quality features to tie the locals (whether redruthski or polski) to their area a little better.""

It'll be the same old story, those that use the correct convincing words on the application forms get the dosh:)

Lozz.

Tolgus Tin must deserve preservation as an authentic 1970s tourist attraction, by now!

Seriously, TT is at least, actual machinery still in operating condition (to varying degrees) at its commercial location, unique in that respect. Worth preserving.

I'm far from convinced by the whole Brexit business. Starting a major enterprise with no coherent plan rarely works out well, in my experience.

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We were there the other week and came to the same conclusion. The place even has a tattoo shop! The greatest shame was that of the £35 million that was spent they could not find a couple of grand to fix the timber so that people could get out onto the bob platform.

Tolgus has a very long and chequered history! I went there when I was at CSM, in the 70s, at the time it ran on run-of-mine from Pendarves, or burrows dirt which could be bought very cheaply in unlimited quantities.

Even the burrows dirt had enough tin in it, especially as any tin extracted was put back into the cycle so there was quite respectable quantity in the loop.

TBH, I think the combination of its isolation at one stage by the construction of the bypass, competition from and manouevering by the Wendron/Poldark operation relatively close by, and lack of interest has combined over time to sadly degrade what could have been quite unique. It's a pity that something of the sort couldn't be incorporated at Geevor/Levant where it would, at least, have a chance of being seen and maintained.

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Anyone remember Hydraulic Tin?

Lozz.

when I was at tolgus I was offered the chance for the mill to be used as a pilot plant for a local company looking to extract tin from "some where" would have ment some investment from them in restoring some of the mill I was all for this but when I pit it to the powers that be was told no way ,says it all not long after that I quit lol

when I was at tolgus I was offered the chance for the mill to be used as a pilot plant for a local company looking to extract tin from "some where" would have ment some investment from them in restoring some of the mill I was all for this but when I pit it to the powers that be was told no way ,says it all not long after that I quit lol

Ellis Moses's outfit down at Bissoe. I remember it well and the Wear transport lot that shipped in the 'stuff' from the burrows later in its existence. I got very handy at dodging the lorries on Mt Wellington hill. They had no respect for man nor beast, seemed to be consistently overfilled and had trouble stopping at the bottom of the hill, especially when there were leaves all over the road :o

They made a fortune from the first mill at Mt Wellington, as it was losing a huge percentage down the river. They also re processed some stuff from Nangiles tip and a bit more from the same area near the old river bed. untill Lord Falmouth's agents told them to 'go away' :lol:

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Ellis Moses's outfit down at Bissoe. I remember it well and the Wear transport lot that shipped in the 'stuff' from the burrows later in its existence. I got very handy at dodging the lorries on Mt Wellington hill. They had no respect for man nor beast, seemed to be consistently overfilled and had trouble stopping at the bottom of the hill, especially when there were leaves all over the road 😮

roughly how many of those burrows had been approved for removing before hand you reckon? I've been told 10% would have been a generous figure! they must have processed a lot of crap for the volume they took in mind

Anyone remember Hydraulic Tin?

Lozz.

Yep. I worked there late '79. 12 hour shifts 8 'til 8. Tea hut in the flotation room and a grizzled old boy as fit as a whippet ran the gravity side on our shift and made tea in a pot so thick with tannin you could've mined it. On cold nights the best place to be was alongside the diesel heater...the only warmth in the place to keep the tables from freezing.

The tin was put through a couple of sulphide cells before kieving - the kieves were sat on off-balance driven beds to settle - by another tall cadaverous chap whose skin was generally the same colour as the sulphide froth.

They had a small RB there feeding the grizzly with burrows material - they seemed to go all over Cornwall to find suitable burrows.

Billiton took over in 1980 along with Wellington Mill reprocessing Wheal Maid tailings dam. All going for the big project of dredging Restronguet Creek - announced to all and sundry as a goer by Xmas 1980 but closed within a few months:(.

R

Oh yeah I sort of know about the Heartlands project too....