New mine? · AditNow Community

Mine exploration, photographs and mining history for mine explorers, industrial archaeologists, researchers and historians

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

ditzy
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

had a couple of days on the lleyn and saw a chimney. told it was for a copper and tin mine. it is near Abersoch which has a row of cottages called cornish row from the miners who were brought in to work it. the locals we spoke to new nothing of u/g access to it but told us about the rhiw Mn mine nearby which does have some u/g stuff
anybody know anythimng about it?
it is near llanengan and the locals called it Cillan
SH295267

http://ditzycaving.blogspot.com
my underground blog

Wanna join the discussion?! Login to your AditNow Community forum account or Register a new forum account

BertyBasset
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

I think the Llanengan one in a lead mine. I'm not aware of any underground workings. Across the headland near Abersoch is the Bwlchtocyn Mine SH 322 262 with it's impressive Cornish Engine House. I saw a report somewhere by Harold Morris about a shaft descent here.

A bit further south on the cliffs are some minor manganese workings SH 288 242. The main manganese area is around Rhiw, where a 80' odd shaft next to an old boiler SH 222 281 can be descended to some workings. There are also horizontal workings belonging to Nant Mine at SH 211 266.

Robin

ditzy
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

one man we spoke to said he walked into rhiw to a chamber with tracks going down into the water

from the beach at porth ceiriad we could see two holes high up on the cliff that looked like mine levels at about SH303245

http://ditzycaving.blogspot.com
my underground blog

BertyBasset
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

Quote:

one man we spoke to said he walked into rhiw to a chamber with tracks going down into the water

That sounds like Nant Mine.

I think the Porth Ceiriad ones are manganese trials as well. A nice area in any case with plenty to explore.

Incidentally, the Afon Soch gorge nearby is quite an interesting feature. The river drains a large low lying area to the west, then instead of discharging into the sea on the west, it cuts a deep gorge to enter the sea at Abersoch.

Moorebooks
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

The chimney is almost certainly Llanengan

Mike

hymac580c
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

Over 200 men worked at the Rhiw manganeze mines during the second world war. Not a great deal to see underground now, but some interesting artifacts on the surface .
there was a book written about the mines in 1995 by Wil Williams called 'The llyn peninsula Mines' . Publishers- Gwasg garreg gwalch, llanrwst 01492 642031.

Bellach dim ond swn y gwynt yn chwibian, lle bu gynt yr engan ar cynion yn tincian.

Graigfawr
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

For the definitive history of these mines see J.Bennett & R.Vernon "Metal Mines of Llanengan: mining ventures in a North Wales parish", Warrington: Gwydyr Mines Publications, 2002, ISBN 095147981, 149pp hardback, £15.00.

Alasdair Neill
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

The chimney is on Tan yr Allt or Port Nigel (sic) Lead Mine

Moorebooks
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

"Graigfawr" wrote:
For the definitive history of these mines see J.Bennett & R.Vernon "Metal Mines of Llanengan: mining ventures in a North Wales parish", Warrington: Gwydyr Mines Publications, 2002, ISBN 095147981, 149pp hardback, £15.00.

Unfortunately long out of print and rare as rocking horse droppings. I stupidly sold my own copy and haven't found one since
😞
Mike

BertyBasset
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#10

From heneb.co.uk http://www.heneb.co.uk/llynhlc/llynhlcareasenglish/cilan6.html

Quote:

During the second half of the nineteenth century the lead mines were in operation again. A Cornish engine and engine house was installed in the 1860s. In 1861 there were only three lead miners on the Cilan headland. By 1881 there were 109. Across the parish as a whole there were a total of 212 miners, dressers, washers and engine drivers working in the lead mines of Penrhyn Du, Bwlchtocyn, Tan y Bwlch and a number of smaller operations. There were also 31 miners living and lodging on the periphery of the parish and on the north bank of the Afon Soch, all of which would have worked the Llanengan mines of which Penrhyn Du and Tan y Bwlch were probably the most productive.

unity99
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#11

The chimney is the Port Nigel mine. Unlike other of the Llanengan mines, Port Nigel mine appears to have been purely a lead mine and had no recorded output of copper or zinc (880 tons of lead ore only between 1870-92)

Certainly no tin.

Graigfawr
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#12

No tin in Wales whatsoever, despite some misleading / optomistic claims to the contrary in C19, usually invoking the proximity of Cornwall and ignoring the radicaly different geological setting.

BertyBasset
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#13

Ha!! I've got the Llanengan book- but I must say it's not as easy to dip into as the Gwydyr ones to get a general feel of the area - possibly as it's fewer sites and you need to follow the whole thread of the book.

There are several cross-sections going down to 80+ fathoms in the vicinity. Page 116 is interesting as it shows an engine house - presumably to the west of the Porth Neigwl chimney, so there must be something underground to pump water out of.

Robin

Alasdair Neill
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#14

Some years ago I made a start at summarising all the agent's reports etc from the Mining Journal, with a view to trying to produce grade sections of the various lodes, as well as summarising details of engines etc. This was before Bennett & Vernon's book appeared, I really stopped after that, probably 50% complete. Some of the conclusions I made certainly don't agree with theirs.
Wasn't really planning to continue with this as I don't suppose anyone would really be interested, unless anyone states otherwise...

unity99
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#15

"Graigfawr" wrote:
No tin in Wales whatsoever, despite some misleading / optomistic claims to the contrary in C19, usually invoking the proximity of Cornwall and ignoring the radicaly different geological setting.

Actually there is some tin, albeit microscopic in nature.

The floor of Shadow Gully on the south flank of Snowdon is a mineralised breccia cemented by hematite and magnetite with microscopic grains of cassiterite and scheelite.

Nothing in Wales you could call a tin ore though 😞

Graigfawr
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#16

I was hoping someone would rise to the bait... 😉

There are also tin traces in some south Wales coals - a factor that encourages the granitic-mass-at-depth theory of anthrace formation.

unity99
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#17

Also gold in the coalmeasures in minute quantities, but I| doubt we'll all be rich mining it 😞

ditzy
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

15 years ago

#18

So...the mine with the chimney is called Porth Neigwl / Port Nigel and was for lead and could be 80+ fathoms deep but there is no known access u/g at present...
for the mines list put it in english or welsh, or call it llanengan or cillan?

There is a Port Nigel lead mine in the db so added the pic there
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Port-Nigel-Lead-Mine/

http://ditzycaving.blogspot.com
my underground blog

unity99
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#19

As far as I'm aware, although the bay nearby is named Porth Neigwl, the mine itself was always Port Nigel. I don't think I have ever seen it referred to as Porth Neigwl.

Not aware of any underground access 😞

Gwyn
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

15 years ago

#20

Neigwl (Neugyll 1291, Newgwl 1352) was the centre of the commote of Cymydmaen, for which Porth Neigwl would have provided important sea access. The origin of Neigwl is rather obscure but is probably a personal name, perhaps Irish or old Norse.
References include:- Nygull C16, Porthnegoll 1561, Porth Nigwl 1629, Neigwi or Hell's Mouth 1805, Porth Neigwl or Hell's Mouth 1816.
Neigwl may be of similar origin as the English Newgale.
From where did the mutilation "Port Nigel" come? Is it from Bennett & Vernon 2002? It has certainly raised a few laughs!!