http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Lluest-and-Tongylfach-Silica-Mine/  to the database. If anybody has a better idea of the locations of these two sites feel free to discuss. There are official records of both sites and both are recorded as being 3.5 miles from Glynneath. On the OS map, Lluest and Ton-y-Gilfach are shown on either side of the Nedd Fechan. I have chosen the west bank as the Ll and T mine location, but it seems reasonable to suggest that the mine worked levels on both sides. This leaves the location of Cwmcorrin to work out. I can find no online references or map locations for anywhere with this name, but as the records show it to be the same distance from Glynneath as Lluest I think it might have been located on the north side of Cwm Gored. On the south side of Cwm Gored, under Lluest farm is a very obvious cutting leading into a steep gully from which a powerful stream flows, with obvious iron staining. (Lluest mine?)

This leaves one further recorded site to identify - Kilhepste and Bwamaen, which are obviously up the Mellte/Sychryd and not on the Nedd Fechan, but which of the various mines up there bore this name in the 1890s? I have not (yet) added this. I suspect at least two workings were recorded as one by the Mines Inspectorate - probably the ones either side of the river at the site which cavers seem to call "Upper Mine" or "Dinas Silica Mine". I doubt the former name was used at the time, but please correct me if you know better.

Bwa Maen may be this one? Problem is recent explorers have re-named mines as they see fit on the day!

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Blue-Silica-Mine-2/ 

Edit: IIRC 'rhychydwr' has a map with Lluest/cwmcorrin marked?

Bwa Maen is a cave not a mine in the Sychrhyd Gorge just before the waterfalls on the opposite side of the river to the path

@ geraldus: Bwa Maen means stone bow or stone arch and describes the very prominentl anticline exposed at the popular car park below the mines. Its name has been used for both a cave and for one of the mines.

@ Peter: Three useful books:

K.Jones "The Caves and Mines of the Sychryd Gorge" (Part 9 of Limestones and Caves of Wales),various editions published by Tony Oldham at various locations, from the 1990s onwards.

T.Oldham "The Silica Mines of the Little Neath Valley"),various editions published by Tony Oldham at various locations, from the 1990s onwards.

"Memoirs of the Geological Survey: Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain: vol.6: Refractory Materials: ganister and silica-rock - sand for open-hearth steel furnaces - dolomite: resources and geology", 2nd ed, London, 1920. The gazetteer portion of this volume lists, amongst others "Bwamaen and Kilhepste Quarries", giving locations for them as Lat.51 deg, 45 min, 32 sec, Long.3 deg, 34 min, 15 sec, and Lat.51 deg, 45 min, 32 deg, Long. 3 deg, 34 min, 10 min. Hopefully this will enable you locate these two workings, Peter. Also in the Glynneath area it lists Ton-y-gilfach Quarry (Lat.51 deg, 45 min, 55 sec, Long.3 deg, 35 min, 50 sec), Lluest Quarry (Lat.51 deg, 45 min, 55 sec, Long.3 deg, 35 min, 40 sec), Toryfoel Quarry (Lat 51 deg, 46 min, 10 sec, Long.3 deg, 32 min, 25 sec) and Toryfoel Sandpit (Lat.51 deg, 46 min, 4 sec, Long.3 deg, 32 min, 20 sec).

D.M.Rees published a photo of the 1960s underground workings in "Historic Industrial Scenes: Wales", Ashbourne: Moorland Publishing, 1978, and another in "The Industrial Archaeology of Wales", Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1975 and added a short description of the mine in the latter volume, terming the well-known and extensive workings much-explored by cavers and mining enthusiasts, as "Dinas Mine".

There is some useful information on the silica industry in D.R.Phillips "The History of the Vale of Neath", Swansea, 1925, facsimile pub. Swansea: West Glamorgan Archive Service & Neath Borough Council, 1994. There are a few scant mentions of the mines in E.Jenkins (ed.) "Neath and District: a symposium", Neath, 1974.

The mines have featured in a numbe rof caving clubs' publications but I'm sure that you've already quarried (Ho! Ho!) that source.

Are the photos of the Cwmcorrin ruins showing the remains of the old Glynneath gunpowder factory ? I have a book on this factory but cannot conclusively match any photos in the book to the ones shown. The factory was in operation between 1862 and closed in Dec 1931. The works covered an area of about 180 acres presumably to keep the buildings well spaced for safety reasons.

Bwa Maen is a cave not a mine in the Sychrhyd Gorge just before the waterfalls on the opposite side of the river to the path

I must beg to differ, 'Bwa Maen' is the distinctive (Stone Bow) rock formation on the south bank. Suspect Ogof Bwa Maen was named long after the rock feature?

Are the photos of the Cwmcorrin ruins showing the remains of the old Glynneath gunpowder factory ?

Don't think so, they are in different valleys.

Bwa Maen was a mine inasmuch as it is officially recorded under that name by the Mines Inspectorate. I am simply keen to get the locations and names correct in the database.

Peter, there's at least one copy of the main mine survey at SWCC, (if you've not perused it already). There may be others I was not specifically looking for.

Yes thanks - I know of this and actually spent a day quite a few years ago adding some features to it. I don't know if the copy you refer to is the original or the later one we modified. I have known the area since the 1980s and visit it a fair bit. I was slightly surprised that the Nedd Fechan mines were not in the database, so decided to add them, but like to get things right and was not sure about Cwmcorrin, and to a lesser extent about Lluest and Tongylfach. As we were there on New Year's Day and took some photos, I wanted to post them here so needed a mine entry to add them to!

Bwamaen Quarry I think is shown on the early editions of the 25" OS & was an open quarry with later underground workings accessed by a bridge downstream from the Will's Hole waterfall, & by the present bridge by the Dinas Silica Mine. I think listed in the List of Quarries (but not list of Mines) in 1920.
There are a number of unlocated mines in the area it would be good to locate (need to check my refs, not now to hand)
Lead mine ?somewhere between Dinas & Penderyn mentioned in late 18th C tours (?Warner)
Aberllia ochre mine (N of Ystradfellte, local farmers seem to know about this, worked in 1920's)
Nantllechau lead mine (farm is now in forestry W of Little Neath valley)
PB did you see postings in UK Caving Forum?

Yes thanks - I know of this and actually spent a day quite a few years ago adding some features to it. I don't know if the copy you refer to is the original or the later one we modified.

Suspect the survey I perused may be original as old/fragile with passages shaded in red? First visit probably 1967/8 when haulage gear was intact, 'Polar Ajax' boxes and many drill steels still lying about.

Any idea what year the waterfall ramp/bridge was demolished?

... List of Quarries (but not list of Mines) in 1920...

List of Quarries is far harder to find than List of Mines. First published 1897; annual for first ten years or so, then biennial until WW1, triennial thereafter, lapsed in late 1930s; one typescript update published in late 1940s. (Sorry - exact dates not to hand).

Annual Report of Inspectors of Mines and Quarries (the Inspectors only reported on non-slate Quarries from 1897) was replaced by seperate Mines reports and Quarries reports from around 1920 - generally far less local detail was provided for Quarries than for Mines.

Intact when I first visited in 1974 (10 years after mine closed) though the timber decking was iffy. Recently removed, it seemed, when I next visited in 1986.

Thanks. I can remember several repairs to the decking and cleats over the years, including a top layer of chicken wire at one stage. Cannot find any dated pics, (yet).

The bridge going to Bwamaen quarry was not the one still there in the 1970's (I can remember going up that on a school trip ca 1976), & probably dating from after WWII. The Bwamaen bridge was 19thC & was further down the river. Stone abutments still visible a month or so ago.

'Old Maps' 1:2500 (1904 & 1964) have the old tramway bridge and the later cableway run. I cannot positively remember but bits of old bridge ironwork may have been still about in 1960s?
Would seem that the tramway tunnel has also been, (perhaps) mis-named 'middle mine' at some point?

The "tunnel" at Bwa Maen, which presumably was used at one stage as a through route hence the bridge across the river by the entrance to Dinas Mine, also contains extraction areas - apparently you can climb up to an entrance on the ridge above although I havn't been up to that entrance.
Interestingly from the first edition OS it seems rock from Dinas was trammed to the top of Dinas Rock & tipped over the RH side, perhaps down a chute - tried to trace this last time we were there but couldn't see any obvious traces.

Never given much thought to the high entrance but have scrambled up/down the connection to the tunnel many times, this Geograph image gives an indication of the strata dip the connection follows. Quite steep!

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2995693 

At the bottom, the 'extraction area' dip has levelled off to something more like the main mine as Bwa Maen fold effect runs out.

Extraction area.
🔗Upper-Silica-Silica-Mine-User-Album-Image-49242[linkphoto]Upper-Silica-Silica-Mine-User-Album-Image-49242[/linkphoto][/link]

Further speculation based on the limited access from the tunnel to workings seems to suggest they may have been worked from Bwa Maen quarry end, later to be intersected by the driving of the tunnel?
Only guesswork based on recent speculation on earlier post so open to any differing interpretation.

Bwamaen Quarry I think is shown on the early editions of the 25" OS & was an open quarry with later underground workings

My survey of the Bwamaen workings, 1991.

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/photo/Bwamaen-Silica-Mine-User-Album-Image-82656/