South Crofty
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Cornwall has a strong heritage of mining history, and the areas around Camborne, Pool and Redruth are synonymous with the industry. There are records of mining activity in and around South Crofty dating back to the 13th century. Albeit there have been numerous periods of high activity, it was only towards the end of the 19th century that the industry peaked.
Historically South Crofty is larger than the site boundary. Taylor’s Shaft, Roskear and other shafts in the area are away from the denoted site boundary. The ownership of mineral rights underground covers in the region of 5 square kilometres, and roughly stretches from Camborne through to Redruth.
The South Crofty mine site in question here has seen mining activity since the 1600’s. This is the only mine site in the County that can boast 400 years of continuous mining up to the present day. South Crofty has a varied mix of buildings reflecting its continuity of use. Traditional stone built buildings housing modern equipment are juxtaposed with 1970’s and later buildings constructed to improve the economic viability of mining in Cornwall.
The best-known shaft on the site, Cooks Kitchen, was believed to have been opened circa 1740. The only remains of this mine are the two decaying engine houses on the southern part of the site. The engine house to the east is under the ownership of Kerrier District Council while the other remains within our site boundary. New Cooks Kitchen Shaft started to be sunk in 1907. This was the main shaft until the closure of mining operations in 1998. New Cooks Kitchen Shaft sits below the iconic Headframe that can be viewed from all around Pool. Its current configuration was constructed in 1988 and allowed for man-riding and ore-winding to be carried out at the same time due to it having separate winding gears. The winding gear equipment is still in place in their original enclosures.
Although this site has been a centre for mining activity over the years there are few structures left intact that reflect its long history. However, there are four listed buildings on the site and two directly bounding it that reflect its more traditional past. There are also further structures that have great importance due to their associations of use with the mine rather than for any whimsical architectural reasons.
The site and its history have significant importance to Camborne, Pool and Redruth due to the heritage and cultural contributions that go hand in hand with its existence as a centre of mining in Cornwall. Unfortunately Camborne, Pool and Redruth have felt the full force of the dissolution of its main industry since its hayday of the late 19th century.
The South Crofty Mine has seen continuous production for over 400 years, it now extends almost two and a half miles across 3,000 feet down and has mined over 40 lodes.
South Crofty Mine, at Pool between Camborne and Redruth, is an ancient tin mine. For several centuries its shallow workings exploited copper rather than the deeper tin mineralisation. References implying mining, rather than streaming, occur in the area as early as 1592, and clearly by the mid 1600's mining was well established. During this period part of the mine which today is known as South Crofty was then called Penhellick Vean. The first really significant developments came in 1710 when Francis Bassett obtained a lease of Penhellick Vean and a drainage adit was begun. Over the next twenty years these shallow workings (less than 40 metres deep) produced copper of great value and made the fortune of the Bassett family. Following the opening-up of the numerous copper mines on Anglesey, which occurred in the 1770-1780 period, most of the mines around South Crofty closed down.
[edit] History
By 1822, copper ore was being raised at a new mine in the area, East Wheal Crofty, which by 1833 included Penhellick Vean. Mining depths were now 80 metres or more, and throughout the 1830's a substantial investment was undertaken to improve the mine; so much that by 1842 East Wheal Crofty was regarded as a 'model' mine. This state of affairs did not last, however, and by 1863 part of the property was for sale. The remainder of the mine, now at least 210 metres deep, was renamed South Wheal Crofty which, with the deletion of 'Wheal', has been the name ever since.
The mine now faced on of its most far-reaching changes. In the 1860's, South Wheal Crofty was still almost entirely a copper mine but by 1873, after a substantial investment in new dressing machinery, the mine was - financially at least - dependent upon tin. Copper remained significant until 1880, when shallow reserves were exhausted. the mine was now operating at the 260 fathom level, where only tin was found. The collapse of the tin price affected South Wheal Crofty both directly (loss of revenue) and indirectly, via increased pumping costs as neighbouring mines closed down. In February 1896 mining was suspended and the mine flooded.
In 1899 further backing was obtained and South Crofty gradually reopened, and acquired the adjacent New Cooks Kitchen mine. Improvements were made in the mine and the deepening of Robinsons Shaft commenced in 1903. The mine returned to profit and in 1906 a new era began, with the incorporation of South Crofty Limited.
By 1908. Robinsons Shaft had been sunk to the 205 fathom level and work had begun on a second new shaft at New Cooks Kitchen. increasing use was made of rock drills and, by 1910, the mine operated profitably hoisting 60,000 tons of ore annually.
For the next seventy years South Crofty continued to modernise and expand. As nearby mines closed, they were acquired by South Crofty to supplement its ore reserves at depth. The major purchase was of Dolcoath mine in 1936. Ore production, which had not exceeded 75,000 tons a year since 1906, was increased to 92,000 tons in 1959 following improvements in both mine and mill. Production exceeded 100,000 tons in 1968 for the first time.
In 1967 South Crofty Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Siamese Tin Syndicate Ltd and Siamese Tin's subsidiary, St. Piran Ltd. This change of ownership was the start, in 1969, of a £1 million programme to increase ore hoisting capacity and to make substantial improvements to the mill. By 1975 the mill was processing more than 200,000 tonnes of ore (including some from Pendarves mine) to yield around 1,500 tonnes of tin concentrate.
In mid 1982 the company was acquired from St. Piran by Charter Consolidated, which subsequently disposed of 40% of its holdings to Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ), These holdings were vested in a new holding company, Wheal Crofty Holdings Ltd, with the same balance of ownership. Then in 1984 RTZ acquired Charter's 60% interest and South Crofty became part of Carnon Consolidated Ltd.
In October 1985 the price of tin dropped dramatically on the world markets following the collapse of the International Tin Agreement. Carnon rationalised the operations, involving closure of the Pendarves mine which had supplied ore to the South Crofty mill. With a diminishing ore supply, this mill was progressively shut and by 1988 all South Crofty ore was trucked for processing at Wheal Jane.
As well as a reduction in manpower, the mines were rationalised and a programme of modernisation, started by RTZ before the price crash, was stepped up. This was made possible by the co-operation and financial support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the form of loans for the capital improvement. The majority of this capital was put into the South Crofty mine. In addition, RTZ also provided a loan to fund the operating losses.
Carnon became privately owned in June 1988 when the business and assets of the group were purchased from RTZ through a Management Buy Out. A trust was established for the benefit of the employees who received twenty percent of the equity. Carnon Holdings Limited, was incorporated at this time.
In February 1991 the DTI stopped all further support of capital projects. The company substantially reduced labour costs which coupled with a small rise in the tin price allowed the mine to continue operating at a small loss. The losses were funded through the sale of surplus land and redundant assets.
The company Baseresult Holdings bought the land and buildings together with mineral leases and equipment in 2001. They have made extensive plans to re-open the mine but at present are only carrying out limited activity on the site. They have announced that they intend to employ at least 200 people. The Cornish public are split on whether to support the re-opening of the mine or alternative regeneration of the area for other uses.
