I was trying to piece together a list of mines that are likely to have been worked since 1920. It's more tricky than I thought as the literature isn't so hot. I'd appreciate any ideas you may have.

Cornwall.

Geevor, Levant, Bellan, Concord, Jane, Poldory (trial), Wellington, Whiteworks (Carharrack), Kitty, Crofty, Dolcoath, E Pool, Hingston Down, Redmoor, Pendarves, Tresavean, Nangiles, Tye?

Devon.

Bedford United, DGC?, Crowndale, Friendship?

I'm sure there are a fair few missing/mistakes. Feel free to correct :thumbsup:

Hi Mate,
Some good stuff in 'Mines Of Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley after 1913' by PHG Richardson. 🙂

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Castle-an-Dinas. :angel:
Park-an-Chy
Cligga
Treburland
Hawskwood
Trebartha Lemarne
Hemerdon

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Just been reading about parc-an-chy. Interesting stuff. Sadly a bit difficult to poke around now.

killfrith pevor(1970s) great work bassett and grylls polberro(1937) great perran iron load(1930s-40s)

Wheal Arthur - Calstock 1925-26
Ashburton Umber - Ashburton 1942-44
Lady Ashburton (prospected) 1942 -43
Bedford United 1914-30- Tavistock Hamlets
Wheal Benny 1925-28- Calstock
Birch Tor & Vitifer 1915-28 & 39- North Bovey
East Calstock 1954 - Calstock
Crowndale 1923-26- tavistock Hamlets
Dimson 1935- Tavistock Hamlets
Ding Dong 1920s, 1939-45 Tavistock Hamlets
Little Duke 1923-24 -South Tawton
Gooseford 1918-24 - South Tawtom
Hemerdon 1936-44 - Plympton st Mary
Holditch 1923 - Marytavy
Prince of Wales 1938-49 - Calstock
Quither 1924, 37, 42 - Milton Abbot
Roborough Down 1938-42 - Bickleigh
Silver Valley 1938 & 1943 - Calstock
Whitstone Ochre 1942 - Brentor

Drop me your Email via PM and I'll send you the list with NGRs and some other mines too.

Devon Wheal Friendship 1912-25
Devon United Mines upto 1922
Wray 1920 -Bovey Tracey
Pepperdown 1940s- Bovey Tracey

and so on...

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This is great.

It's nice to see some modern remains once in a while. I spend too much time amongst the 18th and 19th cent

It's nice to compare the newer techniques/methods with those from earlier. I really need trounson's "other" book.

When did Great Work pack in? Some of the shaft collars look modern......

All tin producers in the 1920s or 30s:
Polhigey (Wendron)
Giew (St Ives)
Wheal Prosper (Lanivet)
Wheal Reeth (Breage)

New Consols, Luckett.

Duchy Great Consols?........

Go in winter to Devon United nr Marytavy, Shaft collars, Peltham Wheel, Wheel pits, Calciners, even a rocker bob in one shaft... :thumbup:

New consols heavily gorsed, sadly much gone down hill.

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New Consols is also falling down. Engine house has seriously collapsed.

Bloody shame really. They were the last remaining roofed houses. The rolls house is still good though.


Ferret, get your photos up.

I was gutted when Phillips was allowed to collapse on Engine Shaft... The site has changed out of recognition since 94 on my first visit!! There was a bl**dy huge owl in one eng house, swooped past me head and scared the crap out of me... funny tho!

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Bridford Barytes Mine (Closed 1958)
Great Rock Iron Mine (Closed 1969)

They did a load of "stuff" to Wheal Buller as well.

Kistle's Shaft...... Proved the ore shoot was in the wrong place.

Scorrier Wolfram was another sort of "work"

Devon Great Consols

Bedford Estate direct working 1903 (ish) - 1930 Pre circa 1915 Copper precipitation and dump reworking. Post 1915 Underground activity (Arsenopyrite) at Fanny (1915 - 1924/5), and Maria (1920 - 24/5) plus limited activity at Anna Maria (1920) South Fanny (1923). Frementor (tin/ wolfram) was also worked - firstly during the Great War and secondly 1925 - 30.

During this phase DGC was worked in conjunction with Bedford United

Late 1930 Reggie Toll was operating a precipitation works and some dump recovery

1930s - early 1940s Harry Higman was dump reworking - precipitating.

1940s some ochre recovered from blancdown adit,

Circa 1965 - 1978 Earnest Gregory, Dump reworking, Copper precipiation. Expanded with fairly extensive tin recovery operation under vatious names inc DGC Ltd, Redcaves, Nottsvale, Tamar Valley Metals.

1979 - 80 Deep dtilling programme Cominco (UK) Ltd.

Why did they drill DGC latterly? I thought the search for tin was complete prior to that.....?

West Wheal Towan (between Portreath and Porthtowan) work centred on Vivian's Shaft late 1920s.
Wheal Sally (lead) near Porthtowan c1922-1925.

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The Governmental 'List of Mines' was published annually down to 1938 and three further editions appeared: 1945, 1948 (actually contains 1947 data) and 1950. They list every working mine in the UK, and provide manpower details (undergropund and surface), manager's name, owner's name, and identify minerals wrought (though do not provide output data).

The governmental 'Annual Reports of H.M.Inspectors of Mines', were published annually down to 1938; the metalliferous mines reports were less detailed thereafter (and were published as a short summary report for the war time and immediate post war years) but are atill an important source of information down to 1956 when reportage fundamentally altered in the wake of the 1954 Mines & Quarries Act. Although post-1920 reports for coal mines are relatively uninformative as mines were not generally mentioned by name, the reports for metal mines continued to note developments, opening, reopening and closures, and correlate these to prioce and demand movements in the metals market. At the rear of each volume for the years 1920 to 1928 is a comprehensive list of openings and closures.

There is a lack of national series data from 1951 until the early 1970s.
From about 1973 or 1974 the 'Guide to the Coalfields' began to list working UK metal mines, providing mine name, mineal wrought, and owner's name only. This information ceased to be published around 1980. (I don't have the exact dates to hand - apologies)

From around 1982 to the present the British Geological Survey have published 'Directory of Mines and Quarries' approximately every three or four years. (I don't have the exact dates to hand - apologies) It lists every working mineral extraction site in the UK - though I'm not sure offhand whether it lists tip reprocessing and tin streaming.

Between them, these sources provide annual series data down to 1950 with war time gaps, and reasonably frequent series data from the early 1970s to the present, leaving only 1951 to the early 1970s as a gap.

The plentiful mining history books published over the last 30 years, and local newspaper reports should enable the gaps to be filled and a comprehensive list of working mines assembled.

Why did they drill DGC latterly? I thought the search for tin was complete prior to that.....?

Cominco were exploring to depths of -2200 whereas the deepest point reached in 19th century was Richards shaft which reached 300 fathoms (1800 feet) below collar. The drives from the bottom of Richards were very limited.