Continuing our celebratory theme about Trevithick and the steam power he developed to make deep mining in Cornwall possible, Alan Barnes visits the great Levant mine, whose engine was restored by members of the formative Trevithick Society.

The restored buildings at Levant Tin Mine in the far west of Cornwall. Note the cooling pond to the left. ALAN BARNES

The Levant is one of Cornwall’s most famous mines and can be found perched on the edge of the rocky coastline some two miles north of St. Just. In common with many other mines in the area there are few details of its early history on record but the workings can be traced back to the days of Elizabeth I.
Historically there has always been a strong connection between Cornwall and mining activities and archaeological evidence indicates the association of early settlements with local mineral deposits. As prehistoric settlers made increasing use of metals, the demand for tin and lead grew and these resources formed the basis of a new industry. Ancient records show that foreign trade developed at a very early stage with Cornish metals being traded with the Phoenicians in return for pottery, salt and cloth.
By the 11th century the tin mining industry had become highly organised and would continue to expand over the following centuries. By the 15th century underground lode mining had developed and Articles of Association exist for the mine at Wheal Widden and are dated 1684. Expansion continued and a series of mines were opened with names like Fortune, Ale & Cakes, Poldory and Cupboard. As the diggings expanded they came into conflict with each other in attempts to mine the richest lodes and a series of mergers followed which also allowed the raising of additional capital for continued expansion.

Prosperity for the Cornish industry continued into the 17th century which saw the introduction of gunpowder for underground blasting to break up the rock. The technique involved drilling holes into the rockface into which the explosive was packed. It was extremely hard work with a drill rate of about 2in per hour.
Up until the 18th century, only shallow mine workings were possible as there was always the ever-present problem of water seepage and accumulation in the diggings. However with the introduction of machine pumps driven by steam engines, hundreds of gallons of water per minute could be lifted, and from much greater depths than had been worked to date.

The installation of the first steam pump in Cornwall in 1710 marked the beginning of a rapid increase in the production of both tin and copper. By the first half of the 19th century, Cornwall and Devon provided over 40% of the world’s copper output and in 1801 there were 75 mines in Cornwall employing around 16,000 people.
The industry continued to develop and expand with larger controlling companies such as Great Consolidated and United merging to become very productive companies. By 1839 there were over 200 mines employing 30,000 men, women and children. The youngsters and women worked mainly above ground, breaking up rock with small hammers as it was brought to the surface, before loading the ore onto trolleys to be taken to the crushing machines.

Yet it was only a relatively short time later that the industry experienced a sudden and rapid decline. In 1862 there were a recorded 349 working mines with over 50,000 employees but 1866 saw a financial crisis with the competition from cheaper foreign ores bringing about a collapse in copper and zinc prices. Almost overnight the copper mining industry collapsed and many Cornish miners emigrated abroad to work in the very countries which had caused the problems in Cornwall.

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