Gwinear Mining District - Boiling Well Mine

OS Explorer Map 103: Grid reference SW578396

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The remains of Boiling Well Mine lie just within the dunes, about one mile south southwest of Gwithian near Hayle in West Cornwall, parts of the sett were later occupied by the National Explosives factory. There are thought to be around thirty shafts littering the area of 'Dynamite Towans' as it is known locally, but they have been made safe by Cornwall County Council.

For more information on the mine capping exercise, please Click Here.

Known to have been at work prior to 1815, the main produce of Boiling Well Mine was copper, lead and zinc as well as some silver in the period between 1821 and 1856. The enterprise had a chequered history closing and reopening several times in its short life.

Its main shafts were: Engine, Austins, Syrett, Fieldings, Kings, Vrens and Flat Rod Shafts. The mine raised 2,900 tons of 6% copper ore, 410 tons of 74% lead ore, 54 tons of zinc ore as well as 5,000 ounces of silver between 1854 and 1861. The main lodes were North Lode, Middle Lode, South Lode, Hallet's Lode and King's Lode. Working at the mine was suspended in 1865.

For more information on production dates and so on please see Roger Burt's excellent book Cornish Mines: Metalliferous and Associated Minerals, 1845-1913 (Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom, 1845-1913) or what is widely regarded as the mining enthusiasts bible by H G Dines - The Metalliferous Mining Region of South-West England: Vols I & II (Economic Memoirs).

For those of you with possibly a little more time to explore, once you've done 'the tourist bit', why not explore Cornwall's industrial heritage through its Tin and Copper Mines or learn more from my Cornish Bookstore