Mines of the Callington District - Harrowbarrow Mine

OS Explorer Map 108: Grid reference SX400700

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Harrowbarrow Mine, lies two miles southwest of Gunnislake in the Callington Mining District of East Cornwall. Also known as Harrowbeer Mine, it was worked with the nearby Prince of Wales Mine at times.

Harrowbarrow Mine worked on five main lodes trending east to west. They were: Goodluck Lode, Wheal George Lode, Silver Lode, Well (also known as North Copper) Lode and the Main (Harrowbarrow) Lode. The lodes were worked mainly from the following shafts: Cooks Shaft, Watson's Shaft and Engine Shaft on Main and Well Lodes; Wheal George Lode was worked from Viger's Shaft, George Shaft, Old Footway Sump Shaft and Hancock's Shaft; whilst Goodluck Shaft worked unsurprisingly on Goodluck Lode and Queen Shaft and Western Shaft worked the Silver Lode

Known to have been working from the mid-1770's, production from the mine is scarce to find. The only reported output from the mine is 148 tons of pyrite in 1861, 8 tons of black tin in 1873. Also known as Newton Mine there are records of 6753 tons of arsenical pyrite produced for the period 1873-80 and in 1897. There was also 242 ounces of silver produced.

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