Cornwall's mines

When the South Crofty tin mine closed in 1998, about three thousand years of metal mining came to an end in Cornwall. We can't be sure when mining started, but Cornwall must certainly have been a key source of tin to make the bronze tools that gave the 'Bronze Age' its name. There is some evidence that traders from the Mediterranean came to Cornwall to buy tin in prehistoric times, possibly as long as 4,000 years ago, but the first recorded report of a thriving tin trade came as early as 365BC.

Tin attracted buyers from far away because it was essential for the production of bronze - an alloy of tin and copper - which was harder and stronger than any metal produced before. It was ideal for weapons and tools, and became the 'must have' material of its time. Even the long, dangerous journey to the British Isles was profitable for successful traders.

Tin cannot be dug out of the ground as a raw metal: it is always found mixed with other minerals in a rock known as an 'ore' with the scientific name Cassiterite. Until the 1500s these metal ores were mined where they were close to the surface of the earth and could be dug out by hand. You can still see the brightly-coloured red and orange rocks in Cornwall's cliffs. When these supplies began to run out, miners had to dig tunnels into the rocks to get out the tin.

Mining was, and remains, hard and dangerous work. As mines were dug deeper into the rock they became wetter and the rocks had to be lifted further to the surface. The water was emptied by digging extra tunnels - called 'adits' - as drains; the rock had to be carried by hand or pulled up by ropes and buckets. None of this was easy, or cheap.

By the 1500s technology began to come to the rescue: water-powered pumps and winches helped shift waste water and rocks, supplemented by horse-powered pumps and hauling equipment. Still they struggled. Then a new invention arrived that would change everything: the steam pump.

The ancient Greeks knew that steam could be powerful, but no-one created a practical steam device for industry until a Devon man, Thomas Newcomen, combined earlier inventions to create his Newcomen Engine - a crude steam-powered pump. Newcomen's pumps were expensive and inefficient but still much better than water or horse power. His device was unchallenged for fifty years, and used all over Europe, until an engineer called James Watt improved Newcomen's pump, making it more efficient and more powerful. Watt's contribution to steam power was considered so important that his name was used as a measurement of power - which is why, for example, electric power is measured in Watts today. Newcomen's (cheaper) engines remained popular, and together these pioneers provided the power for the Industrial Revolution that changed the world, while Cornwall provided the tin needed by the new industries.

Cornwall itself was changed by the growth of technology and mining. When copper ore was discovered in the 17th century, Cornwall experienced its first 'boom'. From 6,000 tons of ore in 1720, production rose to 30,000 tons in 1770. Production peaked at 210,000 tons in 1855.

Mining became the major source of employment in Cornwall. Deep mines were dug and the characteristic engine houses, with their high walls and tall chimneys, were built for the steam pumps. The landscape was scarred by waste tips and mine shafts. Horse-drawn tramways were built to carry metals for sale and, when steam power was transferred to locomotives (pioneered in Cornwall by Richard Trethivick), steam railways built to take goods faster and further.

Cornwall's success was not to last: the metals mined in Cornwall and the steam engines developed for her mines enabled ships to travel across the world, where new and cheaper sources of copper and tin were waiting. Cornwall's industries began to decline.

Copper ore was the first mineral to become uneconomic. For a while tin remained profitable, but nothing could stop the shift to overseas supply. Mines closed and villages emptied as people were forced to find work elsewhere.

By the 1980s only a few mines remained but the future looked good: record profits were recorded in 1984. However, In 1985 a sudden 60% fall in the price of tin threatened the mines. Miners marched in London to save their jobs, took wage cuts and worked extra days without pay. It was not enough: Geevor tin mine shut down in 1986, re-opened, then closed again in 1990. In 1991 its pumps were shut down and the mine flooded. The Wheal Jane mine closed in 1992, leaving just one mine, South Crofty, producing tin.

South Crofty struggled on until 1998, when it closed for the last time. There have been attempts to re-open the mine, but none-have been successful and it seems likely that mining in Cornwall will never begin again.

All that remain in Cornwall are the scars in the landscape, the ruined engine houses and a few preserved mines - most notably Geevor, which is now a heritage centre. But Cornwall's mining past is with all of us in the modern world, which was created with materials and technology from Cornwall.