Plynlimmon is not an old mine, nothing was done until 1866 when a lead vein was discovered in the bed of a stream.
Initially, the mine was worked by George Williams and showed great promise. In 1867 the mine was sold on to The Royal Plynlimmon Mining Company formed to take over the mine, a usual practice. Unfortunately, the mine was continuously troubled by unreliability of water supply as this mine just like most others in central Wales relied on water power. To compound these problems the remoteness of the mine also made it difficult to recruit labour.
In 1869 the mine was sold to a new company, Plynlimmon Mining Company and within a year the new company had invested £700 in a horizontal steam engine. In 1874 the mine was transferred to a new limited liability company who worked the mine until 1882.
Although the mine was very productive the companies were continuously in the red as ore sales barely covered costs. The mine must have been cursed with bad luck as in 1876 the reservoir had burst.
Initially, pumping had been done by a system of flat rods that had given a lot of trouble. Later, these were replaced by wire rope which was becoming quite common and the company must have seen a solution to the problems in the use of this material. It was also used for pumping at the Temple Mine in the Rheidol Valley.
In the late 1870s the price of lead declined and in 1883 the mine changed hands for the final time, however little was done and in 1897 the mine was finally abandoned and has stood idle to this day.