Wheal Busy
Encyclopedia
Wheal Busy, sometimes called Great Wheal Busy and in its early years known as Chacewater Mine, was a metalliferous mine half way 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
.
at the mine was killas
and the mine's main produce was copper, though arsenic and tin were also produced. There are several lode
s at the mine, some of which were crossed by an elvan
dyke
, 15 to 40 ft (12.2 m) wide which in places was highly mineralized.
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 engine
s in the county. Also in 1778, the mine benefited from being connected to the Great County Adit
, which also helped drainage.
. Watched by crowds, a thousand people marched through the village to the mine where the cornerstone for a large new engine house was laid. There was an excursion train on the West Cornwall Railway
, a church service, a dinner was provided for 400 poor people, and at night there was a firework display. The feast itself took place in the marketplace and involved the roasting of a whole ox. Although large quantities of copper and tin ore were produced in the following ten years, no overall profit was made and the adventurers lost more than £150,000 in the mine.
In 1866 there was a wave of sabotage by some of the miners against the adventurers when in an attempt to reduce the mounting losses, a new mine captain imposed what amounted to a tax on their earnings. According to newspaper reports at the time the miners set about "attempting to blow up the boilers, laying trails of [gun]powder about the barracks, setting fire to the clothes in the dry, throwing large pieces of iron in the pumps, and other villainous acts." The mine closed down shortly afterwards.
In the 1850s the water drawn from the mine was being used for the steam engines, but it was so corrosive that each year six of the twenty four boilers had to be renewed. It was not until 1862 that a supply of clean water was arranged to solve this problem. The last significant production of copper ore from the mine was in 1866 (1,630 tons), though it sold small amounts (less than 100 tons) in each of the following three years. In 1873, in the middle of the slump in copper prices, the mine was reopened and a new 90 inch pumping engine was purchased from Perran Foundry, despite there being many second-hand engines cheaply available at the time. Only seven months after it started work the engine was up for sale and the mine had closed without producing any ore at all.
In around 1910 the mine installed a second-hand 85 inch pumping engine, and to help with its production of arsenic, a Brunton
calciner
was built. In the 1920s a set of Californian stamps was installed to rework the waste dumps for ore. During the Second World War, 2,500 American GIs were billeted on the site and were said to have restarted the 85 inch pumping engine.
Today, the site is within area A6i (The Gwennap-Chacewater Mining District) of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
World Heritage Site
. There are good remains of the Brunton calciner, and the concrete bases of the Californian stamps are prominent. The Mineral Tramways cycle path passes the mine.
Redruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
and Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
in the Gwennap
Gwennap
Gwennap is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles southeast of Redruth....
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
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes across Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of the United Kingdom...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Geology
The country rockCountry rock (geology)
Country rock is a geological term meaning the rock native to an area. It is similar and in many cases interchangeable with the terms basement and wall rocks....
at the mine was killas
Killas
Killas is a Cornish mining term for metamorphic rock strata of sedimentary origin which were altered by heat from the intruded granites in Devon and Cornwall, England. The term is used in both Devon and Cornwall.-Origin of killas:...
and the mine's main produce was copper, though arsenic and tin were also produced. There are several lode
Lode
In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock....
s at the mine, some of which were crossed by an elvan
Elvan
Elvan is a name used in Cornwall and Devon for the native varieties of quartz-porphyry. They are dispersed irregularly in the Upper Devonian series of rocks and some of them make very fine building stones...
dyke
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
, 15 to 40 ft (12.2 m) wide which in places was highly mineralized.
Early history
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 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 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
Joseph Hornblower
Joseph Hornblower was an English engineer, a pioneer of steam power.In 1725 he was engaged to install a Newcomen engine at Wheal Rose, near Truro. He settled in Salem, Cornwall in 1748....
in 1727. In 1775 this was replaced by a 72 inch engine designed by John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
which was not very effective and was rebuilt by James Watt
James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
in 1778, making it one of the first Watt steam engine
Watt steam engine
The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum...
s in the county. Also in 1778, the mine benefited from being connected to the Great County Adit
Great County Adit
The Great County Adit, sometimes called the County Adit, or the Great Adit was a system of interconnected adits that helped drain water from the tin and copper mines in the Gwennap area of Cornwall, in the United Kingdom...
, which also helped drainage.
1850 onwards
To celebrate a restarting of the mine in 1856, a "gargantuan feast" was held in the village of ChacewaterChacewater
Chacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles east of Redruth.-Village:...
. Watched by crowds, a thousand people marched through the village to the mine where the cornerstone for a large new engine house was laid. There was an excursion train on the West Cornwall Railway
West Cornwall Railway
The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, formed in 1846 to operate the existing Hayle Railway between Hayle and Redruth and extend the railway to Penzance and Truro....
, a church service, a dinner was provided for 400 poor people, and at night there was a firework display. The feast itself took place in the marketplace and involved the roasting of a whole ox. Although large quantities of copper and tin ore were produced in the following ten years, no overall profit was made and the adventurers lost more than £150,000 in the mine.
In 1866 there was a wave of sabotage by some of the miners against the adventurers when in an attempt to reduce the mounting losses, a new mine captain imposed what amounted to a tax on their earnings. According to newspaper reports at the time the miners set about "attempting to blow up the boilers, laying trails of [gun]powder about the barracks, setting fire to the clothes in the dry, throwing large pieces of iron in the pumps, and other villainous acts." The mine closed down shortly afterwards.
In the 1850s the water drawn from the mine was being used for the steam engines, but it was so corrosive that each year six of the twenty four boilers had to be renewed. It was not until 1862 that a supply of clean water was arranged to solve this problem. The last significant production of copper ore from the mine was in 1866 (1,630 tons), though it sold small amounts (less than 100 tons) in each of the following three years. In 1873, in the middle of the slump in copper prices, the mine was reopened and a new 90 inch pumping engine was purchased from Perran Foundry, despite there being many second-hand engines cheaply available at the time. Only seven months after it started work the engine was up for sale and the mine had closed without producing any ore at all.
In around 1910 the mine installed a second-hand 85 inch pumping engine, and to help with its production of arsenic, a Brunton
William Brunton
William Brunton was a Scottish engineer and inventor.He was the eldest son of Robert Brunton of Dalkeith, where he was born...
calciner
Calcination
Calcination is a thermal treatment process applied to ores and other solid materials to bring about a thermal decomposition, phase transition, or removal of a volatile fraction. The calcination process normally takes place at temperatures below the melting point of the product materials...
was built. In the 1920s a set of Californian stamps was installed to rework the waste dumps for ore. During the Second World War, 2,500 American GIs were billeted on the site and were said to have restarted the 85 inch pumping engine.
Today, the site is within area A6i (The Gwennap-Chacewater Mining District) of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes across Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of the United Kingdom...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. There are good remains of the Brunton calciner, and the concrete bases of the Californian stamps are prominent. The Mineral Tramways cycle path passes the mine.