The Mines of Gwennap - Ting Tang

OS Explorer Map 104: Grid reference SW730410 Map

Location
Ting Tang is situated 1 mile south of St. Day, near Carharrack on the south-eastern flank of the Carn Marth Granite. Ting Tang also known as Tintang, lies just to the west of Wheal Squire and also the Clifford Amalgamated Mines Group (Poldory, United Mines, Ale and Cakes and Great Consolidated Mines). To the north of the sett lies Wheal Damsel whilst to the west lies Pennance Consols and Buller and Beauchamp. The sett of Ting Tang mine lay part way along the former Redruth to Chacewater Railway (Opened 1826 - Closed 1915) now part of the Mineral Tramways Coast to Coast Trail between Portreath and Devoran.

History
The mine dates from the 18th Century and was already quite a major tin producer prior to 1810. Copper production is recorded for the periods 1816-35 and 1845-47 when the mine produced over 40,000 tons of copper ore at 8.5% grade.

The Wheal Moyle Section to the south of the sett produced 285 tons of low grade (2.25%) copper ore between 1861 and 1863. Ting Tang absorbed Wheal Moyle in 1865 forming the new sett of West Clifford United.

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).

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