Tin Mines
From rock to metal.
Cornwall is famous for it, so let's see how tin mines worked. I apologise for the quality (or lack thereof) of the underground pictures; my camera only has an inbuilt flash and I did not have any external flashguns with me, the camera uses an optical focus so it cannot see what to focus on in the dark, I could not take any time to set up pictures or I would slow the tour, and I did not have any proper experienced models with me. I have done the best I could in the circumstances.
A collection of engine houses and chimneys near Redruth. Looks a lot more substantial than your average setup.
A nearby monument.
A nearby building. No idea, but I pointed the camera at it anyway.
The commercial centre at Poldark Mine feels very artificial, but the mine itself is real, and that is what we were there to see.
A pump - although it is later than the mine itself, and would not have been used here.
Bump starting a big engine.
Preparing to enter the mine.
The layout of the mine. The tour is fairly complete, covering almost all of the mine.
Entering the mine. Most of the connecting passages between the lodes are like this.
A miner, supposedly. Looks emaciated to me, but maybe that was the fashion at the time. Miners lived on average for only 30 years, usually suffering from the dust and exertion of their work. Their wives would work breaking rock, and would live for longer, and would be widowed on average 3 times!
A tin lode. This is the ore containing the tin. It is not always so obvious, and is usually distinguished by its weight, not its colour.
A boarded passage - the boards are there for the tourists, and are often replaced as they rot.
A mined lode. Natural bridges are left to replace the need for stemples. The bridges do not rot. Sadly, the unnatural light does mean there are misplaced plants growing there, but whatever.
A wooden mining ladder. This rots too, by the way. And people are usually on it when it rots.
Metal stepped walkways for the tourists, following the mined lode down to its low level, below the water table.
The upper part of the mine shaft. It follows the lode, sloping at whatever angle that may be. The original entrance will be at the top, covered with wood and earth. Safe - not.
The lower part of the mine shaft. The smooth wall is caused by the buckets of ore being hoisted up. The metal walkways above are where the last picture was taken from.
Stemples in the lower part of the lode.
Now below the water table, water leaks in, and pools up on the floor. It is then pumped out. Originally, there would have been no automated pumps.
The passage climbs with the roof so low, even a child has to stoop.
A mine truck. Not so sure it is really at home here; the mine does not have rails. Perhaps they are under the boards.
Risør has one underwater, Poldark has one underground. Tourists, tourists.
Miners started work aged 8, shovelling ore into buckets, and when in their mid teens would be upgraded to full mining.
There's tin in them thare hills!
After grinding a sample of ore into fine sand, the vanning shovel is then used to separate it from the rock, in the same way as a gold pan. The brown stuff is good, the light brown stuff is bad, the black stuff needs to be crushed and reprocessed. This can then be used to assess if it is worth setting up a full mining operation.
An automatic rock crusher operating in a pool of water, with a mesh to separate tin from waste. The tin is then smelted to convert it into the pure metal.
The rotating peg drum that lifts the hammers, driven by a water wheel.
Waste rock, discarded on the hillside.
Pouring molten tin into a silicone rubber mold - each mold can be used upto 200 times before it fractures.
A collection of engine houses and chimneys near Redruth. Looks a lot more substantial than your average setup.
A nearby monument.
A nearby building. No idea, but I pointed the camera at it anyway.
The commercial centre at Poldark Mine feels very artificial, but the mine itself is real, and that is what we were there to see.
A pump - although it is later than the mine itself, and would not have been used here.
Bump starting a big engine.
Preparing to enter the mine.
The layout of the mine. The tour is fairly complete, covering almost all of the mine.
Entering the mine. Most of the connecting passages between the lodes are like this.
A miner, supposedly. Looks emaciated to me, but maybe that was the fashion at the time. Miners lived on average for only 30 years, usually suffering from the dust and exertion of their work. Their wives would work breaking rock, and would live for longer, and would be widowed on average 3 times!
A tin lode. This is the ore containing the tin. It is not always so obvious, and is usually distinguished by its weight, not its colour.
A boarded passage - the boards are there for the tourists, and are often replaced as they rot.
A mined lode. Natural bridges are left to replace the need for stemples. The bridges do not rot. Sadly, the unnatural light does mean there are misplaced plants growing there, but whatever.
A wooden mining ladder. This rots too, by the way. And people are usually on it when it rots.
Metal stepped walkways for the tourists, following the mined lode down to its low level, below the water table.
The upper part of the mine shaft. It follows the lode, sloping at whatever angle that may be. The original entrance will be at the top, covered with wood and earth. Safe - not.
The lower part of the mine shaft. The smooth wall is caused by the buckets of ore being hoisted up. The metal walkways above are where the last picture was taken from.
Stemples in the lower part of the lode.
Now below the water table, water leaks in, and pools up on the floor. It is then pumped out. Originally, there would have been no automated pumps.
The passage climbs with the roof so low, even a child has to stoop.
A mine truck. Not so sure it is really at home here; the mine does not have rails. Perhaps they are under the boards.
Risør has one underwater, Poldark has one underground. Tourists, tourists.
Miners started work aged 8, shovelling ore into buckets, and when in their mid teens would be upgraded to full mining.
There's tin in them thare hills!
After grinding a sample of ore into fine sand, the vanning shovel is then used to separate it from the rock, in the same way as a gold pan. The brown stuff is good, the light brown stuff is bad, the black stuff needs to be crushed and reprocessed. This can then be used to assess if it is worth setting up a full mining operation.
An automatic rock crusher operating in a pool of water, with a mesh to separate tin from waste. The tin is then smelted to convert it into the pure metal.
The rotating peg drum that lifts the hammers, driven by a water wheel.
Waste rock, discarded on the hillside.
Pouring molten tin into a silicone rubber mold - each mold can be used upto 200 times before it fractures.