# Dolcoath Mine - Camborne - Cornwall



## jhluxton (Apr 20, 2018)

I have paid two visits to the site of Dolcoath Mine in the past 6 months or so. Though I have photographed many Cornish Mine over many years - I have hardly paid much attention to Dolcoath once described as the Queen of Cornish Mines as it became the deepest and largest mine in Cornwall. The mine closed around 1920 as it was becoming worked out. A new company was reconstituted in 1923 to work the mine via a new shaft. Eventually part of the mine was amalgamated underground with the nearby South Crofty.

My first visit in October 2017 was in the area around Harriett Shaft. In recent years the remains of the original winding engine have been reinstalled at the site along with a German made "Cornish" boiler. 





















The next view shows the cylinder bed stone in Wheal Harriett engine house. The engine house built in 1860 originally housed a 60" Cornish pumping engine built by Perran Foundry. The engine later received a 65" cylinder in 1865.





Below Wheal Harriett Shaft engine house, with the former Miners' Dry - now the Elim Church seen to the left.





Wheal Harriett Shaft, Dolcoath Mine. The large building on the right is now the Elim Church is the former Miners' Dry.





My second visit was in March 2018 when I visited New East Shaft and New Sump Shaft sites.


L2018_0523 - Dolcoath Mine, New East Shaft, Camborne, Cornwall by John Luxton, on Flickr





New East Shaft engine house contained a rotative beam engine. A secondary beam pumped water from adit level to provide a supply for the ore dressing floors. A new steam winder was installed in 1894 which resulted in the house being abandoned. In 1913 the house was converted to an electricity substation.





New East Shaft engine house contained a rotative beam engine. A secondary beam pumped water from adit level to provide a supply for the ore dressing floors. A new steam winder was installed in 1894 which resulted in the house being abandoned. In 1913 the house was converted to an electricity substation, with the boiler house right accommodating the switch gear. The legacy of the later use of the engine house as an electricity sub station is clearly visible as many electricity power lines converge on the site to this day. The Cornish mining industry was an early adopter of electric power and assisted the spread to homes and other businesses around the mines.





Interior of the boiler house which became the switch gear house when the engine house was converted to an electricity sub station in 1913.





Another view of the boiler and later switch gear house.





New East Shaft Engine House interior which housed a rotative beam engine used for winding and pumping. The pipes inserted in the gable ends of the building were provided for the power lines to enter the building to connect with a transformer inside.





New East Shaft engine house extension which is believed to have been the boiler house until the building was converted into a substation in 1913 when it became a switch gear house.





New Sump Shaft compressor house. The house built in 1886 housed a Holman Compressor for powering rock drills.





New Sump Shaft compressor house





Another view of the compressor house


Finally a March 2018 view of the Wheal Harriett shaft whim (winding engine)


L2018_0580 - Dolcoath Mine - Harriett Shaft by John Luxton, on Flickr

I will return at a future date to explore and document more of the remains at Dolcoath.

For a full gallery of images of which the above are only a selection please click here: https://www.jhluxton.com/Industrial-Archaeology/Mines-of-Devon-Cornwall/Dolcoath-Mine/

John


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## prettyvacant71 (Apr 26, 2018)

Your passion for historic mines is clear from your descriptions and pics

Lovely thanks!


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## jhluxton (Apr 30, 2018)

prettyvacant71 said:


> Your passion for historic mines is clear from your descriptions and pics
> 
> Lovely thanks!



Thanks - I have been into old mines since I was quite young - one of my first explores at Giew Mine near St. Ives around 1966 aged 6. My mother unfortunately insisted on including me in the photograph. I only wanted her to photograph the mine buildings and she would only take the one shot. However, looking back I am glad she did include me as it is a record of my early interest!


Giew Mine, Cornwall - Circa 1965/6 by John Luxton, on Flickr

John


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## krela (May 1, 2018)

I notice that there's talk of reopening some of the mines as tin and the lithium which is found with it is now extremely valuable again thanks to the demands of modern electronics.


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## smiler (May 1, 2018)

krela said:


> I notice that there's talk of reopening some of the mines as tin and the lithium which is found with it is now extremely valuable again thanks to the demands of modern electronics.



Don't see it happening, great shots Lux


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## Dirus_Strictus (May 1, 2018)

smiler said:


> Don't see it happening, great shots Lux



Speaking from the heart to protect your beloved Cornwall? Sadly with the price of Li on an ever upward spiral, some of the Cornish deposits are beginning to look viable for extraction. All depends on the next, 'must have', hand held electronic 'miracle' to hit the market. 'Hard drives' now fit in a match box I am told, must get rid of my wardrobe sized unit some time. Joking aside, I am amazed sometimes at the speed and scale of the advancement of electronics in my lifetime. From playing about with an old R1154/R1155 set and a crate of valves and coils in my teens, to getting the same world wide coverage on a Ferguson Transistor set in my early '20's!


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## smiler (May 1, 2018)

You are absolutely correct about my heart will always rule my head DS, but I really don't see it happening, all our mines are interconnected although this doesn't always appear on drawings because if a miner broke through while chasing a load it didn't often get recorded.
The upper level of our main mines, Geever, South Crafty, Wheel Jane are probably workable but the flooding in the lower levels make them a risky investment.


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## krela (May 1, 2018)

Well many of the mining licenses have already been applied for, so if you can't see it you may just be going blind. 

There's no problems in the Cornish mines that modern technology couldn't easily overcome. Flooding included. 

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-b...cient-mines-for-electric-future-idUKKBN1HY0Y4


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## smiler (May 1, 2018)

I hope the investors are as confident as you are, we welcome anyone who wants to give us money, 
I won't hold me breath. 
ps
Me eyesight fine


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## Dirus_Strictus (May 1, 2018)

The Reuter's article makes rather unsettling reading if one takes a particular tack in its understanding. The main reason for the article is to promote a Satellite Imaging Company that says it can detect valuable minerals underground, from the vegetation growing on the surface. Zoomed in on Cornwall because of the centuries old knowledge that 'there be tin under the sod'. All a bit fishy and money orientated in my mind - the vegetation over tin deposits in the other countries examined is nothing like the Cornish vegetation (why should it be?) and is unique to each of the other two countries overflown by the satellite. However it all comes down to the fact that tin and lithium ores were laid down together - but whether the lithium is in mineable amounts is another matter all together.


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## smiler (May 1, 2018)

Think I'll check out the spoil heaps S, make me fortune.


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## fluffy5518 (May 3, 2018)

smiler said:


> Think I'll check out the spoil heaps S, make me fortune.


Thats exactly what they're doing in North Wales ....... !!


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## caiman (May 4, 2018)

South Crofty will definitely reopen. It has full planning permission until 2073 and got the permits to dewater the mine late last year. They are currently building the pumping and water treatment plant and will start pumping later this year.

The Cornish lithium business is a tad more speculative to say the least.


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