Great Wheal Vor has to be classed as one of Cornwall’s richest tin mines, but has its chequered history resulted in a mine that has yet to be worked to its full potential? The possibility of an untapped critical mineral resource has led to the exploration programme currently being undertaken by Cornish Tin Ltd.
During the early part of the nineteenth century Great Wheal Vor was one of the richest tin producers in the world, even necessitating its own smelting works. For several years during the 1820s the mine accounted for a quarter of Cornwall’s tin output, producing over 1,000 tons of tin metal per annum. The majority of the production was derived from a single lode and grades were exceptionally high, averaging over 3% tin. However, various aspects of the mine’s history from the commencement of its main period of working in 1810 through to its closure in the late 1840s restricted the full development of the mine. The foremost reason for this was a protracted and costly litigation that resulted with the mine adventurers deciding to work-out the ‘eyes’ of the main lode in order to minimise the apparent capital value of the mine. By the time of closure the workings had reached a depth of 600 metres, but in view of the mine’s impending demise very little effort had been made to implement exploration for other lodes.
In 1852 an ambitious attempt was started to reopen the mine, using a 100” engine (the largest beam pumping engine ever used in Cornwall), together with an 85” engine to pump out the workings. It took over 4 years to completely dewater the mine, by which time the huge cost that had been incurred meant that the adventurers had lost confidence in the undertaking and were not prepared to invest yet more money into the mine. Consequently in 1860 the pumps were stopped and the mine allowed to reflood.
Another attempt was made to re-open the mine in 1906 using electric pumps. After refurbishing the main shaft and commencement of dewatering, a catastrophic failure with the electric generator led to the cessation of this project in 1911. Since then, the mine has remained abandoned. A short exploration programme was undertaken in the 1960s, with some encouraging results, but difficulties with mineral ownership and negotiations with the local water authority, prevented further activity.
The Wheal Vor area is considered to still contain potentially economic deposits of tin ore, and as such is included as part of a Mineral Safeguard Area. Cornish Tin Ltd has interest in the entire Wheal Vor and Carleen area along with 25 former tin and copper mines, including the rich Wheal Metal, and covering an area of approximately 17,000 acres. The first phase of their exploratory coring programme commenced in 2022 and encouraging results from Phase 1 led to Phase 2 in 2024. A combined total of 9,290 metres has been drilled and the total funds raised to date comprise almost £4.9 million. The exploration has led to the discovery of a new high-grade tin lode and several other new tin lodes, together with a new lithium field in the G5 granite, also associated with high tin values. Cornish Tin was awarded the 2024 Discovery of the Year Award at the UK Mining Conference in Cornwall in June and is working towards raising further funding to advance the project.
Tony Bennett, Director of the Cornish Chamber of Mines and Minerals, has published a book entitled Great Wheal Vor: A Study of the History and Working of One of the Richest Tin Mines in Cornwall
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