Reading about the Roman era history of Britain,one of the reasons why the Romans invaded Britain was to secure a supply of tin. Tin was very valuable in the ancient world, because it was used to make bronze-which was used for all manner of things. Anyway, I understand that tin was mined in Cornwall-are these mines still active?
No afraid not. The last one closed in March 1998 - South Crofty. The last in Europe according to http://www.cornwallcam.co.uk/bestofinland/scrofty2.htm
Geevor was the only other for a while, but closed in around 1990 I think. http://www.geevor.com/
I’m curious…were the Cornish tin mines closed because they were exhausted, or because the world price oftin is low? I thought that tin is a commodity that is losing its usefulness (aluminum cans replacing tin cans as food containers).
Anyway, too bad…I heard that cornish tin was of especially high purity.
Hey I am dredging up my memory from university days (Mining Geology degree - not the greatest career move even then :rolleyes:) but IIRC it was due to the costs involved.
Pretty much any deep hardrock mining is very very expensive compared to digging a HUGE whole in the ground somewhere in Australia and carrying it away in dumper trucks. Things like it being labour intensive, technically difficult, etc plus the environmental costs involved in extraction and transportation from what is still an area fairly poorly served by transportation links but with a strong tourist industry and thus harsh planning laws.
Mines are rarely if even exhausted there just becomes a point where it is no longer economic. Regretably, unlike other industries, a non-open cast mine cannot be mothballed. Once you stop maintenance/pumping out the water it is dead never to return.
Cornish tin (and copper before that) was indeed of very high grade - but it is not as if they did not have a pretty good innings given the Phoenicians were trading with Cornwall for both back in, erm LOTS, b.c.