Gwinear Mining District - Mellanear

OS Explorer Map 103: Grid reference SW561362

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Mellanear lies threequarters of a mile northeast of St. Erth.

It worked from 1815 to 1888, producing 66,400 tons of copper. The mine extracted lead ore, zinc ore and tin as well as the copper. Records show that between 1878 and 1885 Mellanear employed between 200 and 300 people. Its main shafts were: Gundry's, Skip, Mellanear (Engine) and Old Engine (or Garden) Shafts. The main lodes were North Lode and Main Lode. The mine was abandoned in 1889. Little now remains at the site except for some old dumps in a field to the east of the B3302 road into Hayle.

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