Callington Mining District - Calstock & Danescombe

OS Explorer Map 108: Grid reference SX426695

Location
The sett of Calstock and Danescombe Mine lies in East Cornwall about one mile northwest of Calstock in the Tamar Valley of the Callington Mining District.

History
Calstock and Danescombe Mine Group includes Calstock Consols, Danescombe and Consolidated Tamar mines.

Calstock Consols dates from the 1820's and was formerly known as East Calstock Mine. It was mainly a copper mine although a small amount of tin was produced in the 1850's. It is recorded by Spargo in his book The Mines of Cornwall; Statistics and Observations (1865) as having a 40-inch pumping engine, a 25-inch winding engine as well as a 40-foot waterwheel used for crushing. It employed 32 people - 27 men, 3 females and 2 boys. The mine was leased from the Duke of Cornwall, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and Lord Ashburton, the mineral lords.

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There are also reports of galena (lead sulphide) and blende(zinc sulphide) being present.
The mine worked three lodes, named Main Lode; South Caunter Lode and North Caunter Lode. Calstock Consols was in production between 1822 and 1879 with its main period of production between 1856 and 1864.

Records of output were: 3132 tons of 5.25% copper ore and 44 tons of black tin for Calstock Consols and 29 tons of 69% lead ore, 1581 tons of pyrite and 25.5 tons of arsenic for Calstock Mine for the periods between 1860-62 and 1874-81.

Danescombe Mine lies to the south of the area and worked the Danescombe Lode from Hughe's; Engine and Collom's Shafts. Records of output, as part of Calstock and Danescombe (1882 - 1885) were: 390 tons of 4.25% copper ore and 3141 tons of pyrite.

Consolidated Tamar Mine lay opposite Calstock Consols Mine on the west side of the Danescombe Valley. It was mainly a copper mine producing some tin and wolfram (tungsten) as well as arsenic and arsenical pyrites from Whim Shaft. There are no records of output available.
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