Wheal Busy
Old mine buildings at Wheal Busy
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chacewater |
| County | Cornwall |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°15′29″N 5°10′26″W / 50.258°N 5.174°WCoordinates: 50°15′29″N 5°10′26″W / 50.258°N 5.174°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Mainly copper, tin and arsenic |
| History | |
| Opened | 16th century |
| Closed | 1920s |
Wheal Busy, sometimes called Great Wheal Busy and in its early years known as Chacewater Mine, was a mine halfway between Redruth and Truro in the Gwennap mining area of Cornwall, England. During the 18th century the mine produced enormous amounts of copper ore and was very wealthy, but from the later 19th century onwards was not profitable. Today the site of the mine is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.
The country rock at the mine was killas and the mine's main product was copper, though arsenic and tin were also produced. There are several lodes at the mine, some of which were crossed by an elvan dyke, 15 to 40 ft (12 m) wide which in places was highly mineralized.
There were probably mine workings in the area of Wheal Busy since the 16th century, but it was not until the 1720s that the mine started to produce large amounts of copper ore. The principal landowner was the Boscawen family. The mine was located in what was known at the time as "the richest square mile on Earth". During its life it produced over 100,000 tons of copper ore, and 27,000 tons of arsenic. The mine adopted the name of Wheal Busy after 1823. At one time the mine also smelted the copper ore it produced.
The mine suffered badly from underground water and in order to pump it out, one of the first Newcomen engines in Cornwall was installed by Joseph Hornblower in 1727. In 1775 this was replaced by a 72-inch engine designed by John Smeaton which was not very effective and was rebuilt by James Watt in 1778, making it one of the first Watt steam engines in the county. Also in 1778, the mine benefited from being connected to the Great County Adit, which also helped drainage.
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Wikipedia