Wheal Jane is a disused tin mine near Baldhu and Chacewater in West Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The area itself consisted of a large number of mines.

Wheal Jane
The Tailings Dam at Wheal Jane, from the air
Location
Wheal Jane is located in Cornwall
Wheal Jane
Wheal Jane
Location in Cornwall
LocationChacewater
CountyCornwall
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°14′31″N 5°07′35″W / 50.242°N 5.1264°W / 50.242; -5.1264
Production
ProductsTin, copper, lead, silver, zinc, pyrite, arsenopyrite, arsenic, ochre, iron ore[1]
History
OpenedMid-18th century
Closed1992
Welcome to Wheal Jane

History

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Wheal Jane was probably seriously worked for tin from the mid-18th century. Given the complexity of ore formation near granitic emplacements, amounts of arsenic, copper, silver and zinc were also worked at some time.

In around 1885, most of the nearby mines became uneconomic. Wheal Jane was able to struggle on for a few years, principally due to its arsenic revenue, but it too succumbed in around 1895. It re-opened in 1906 as part of Falmouth Consolidated, with a modernisation and cost reducing agenda, but it was to close again within a decade. Work recommenced at low intensity in the run up to World War II but interest was turning to more modern processing techniques to recover more tin from what was already available and the old mine spoil was re-worked until 1946.

It was re-opened again in 1969 and much development work was done underground and in improving the surface processing facilities and ownership eventually passed to Rio Tinto Zinc.

Like the remainder of Cornwall's tin mines (Geevor, Pendarves and South Crofty), it was dealt a body blow by the end of the International Tin Agreement in 1985 and the subsequent collapse of the world tin price. It never really recovered and the pumps were finally switched off in early January 1992.

Aftermath

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Ludlamite on Quartz, Wheal Jane mines

Wheal Jane was not out of the news though; these were the days before Environmental Impact Assessments. With the pumps no longer de-watering the mine, groundwater levels rose and flooded the former working areas, picking up waste, washing over the exposed rock faces and contaminating the groundwater.

These eventually overtopped the drainage systems in January 1992 and acid mine drainage rose through the abandoned mine, escaped into the surface water systems, and flowed into the Carnon river and eventually into Falmouth Bay, killing fish and contaminating wild fowl. By 1994, remedial measures including the construction of large settling ponds, were in place. By 2002 the water treatment had cost more than £20 million.[2]

Mineral Statistics

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From Robert Hunt's Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom.[3]

Tin Production (1969-91)
Year(s) Black (Tons)
1969-1971 no-details
1972 650.00
1973 1,600.00
1974 1,480.00
1975 1,276.00
1976 1,073.00
1977 951.00
1979 1,500.00
1980 626.50
1981 1,499.50
1982 1,663.80
1983 1,626.80
1984 1,863.20
1985 3,812.20
1986 4,069.90
1987 4,828.30
1988 2,953.60
1989 3,349.50
1990 3,543.00
1991 2,325.40
Zinc Production
Year(s) Ore (Tons)
1973 2,000.00
1974 3,000.00
1975 2,739.00
1976 3,340.00
1977 3,257.00
1979 8,800.00
1980 4,331.60
1981 10,855.20
1982 10,185.90
1983 8,879.40
1984 7,159.00
1985 5,039.00
1986 5,605.40
1987 6,521.70
1988 5,502.40
1989 5,770.80
1990 6,593.20
1991 877.00
Copper Production
Year(s) Ore (Tons)
1972-1975 no-details
1979 490.00
1980 238.00
1981 607.40
1982 635.80
1983 652.40
1984 657.20
1985 595.60
1986 602.20
1987 750.10
1988 732.30
1989 507.90
1990 945.30
1991 289.80
Employment
Year(s) Total
1982 388
1983 408
1984 415
1985 1,061
1986 853
1987 726
1988 594
1989 572
1990 458
1991 216

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Wheal Jane Mine, Cornwall". Cornwall Calling. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. ^ "The Wheal Jane Incident and water quality". University of Exeter. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  3. ^ Burt, Roger; Burnley, Ray; Gill, Michael; Neill, Alasdair (2014). Mining in Cornwall and Devon: Mines and Men. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-0-85989-889-8.
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