Penrhyn Du headland and Porth Bach - geograph

The Penrhyn Du Mines are a collection of mines situated near

Llanengan Llanengan is a small village and community (Wales), community around Abersoch in Gwynedd in north-west Wales. It had a population of 2,024 at the 2001 census, which had been reduced to 1,989 at the 2011 Census. The popular seaside resort villag ...

on the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

. It encompasses the Penrhyn, Assheton, Western and Tan-y-Bwlch mines. The whole region can be called Penrhyn Du which literally means "black headland". Tan-y-Bwlch Mine was probably the richest of the mines with a recorded output of of

lead ore Lead () is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead ...

, of zinc ore and of copper ore between 1873 and 1886.

History

There is a possibility that Roman miners were the first to mine the Penrhyn Du headland After any Roman mining the mines were rarely worked until the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

where the need for

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

was high. In 1637 Thomas Bushel was asked by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

to inspect and report on the prospects for Welsh mining. In his report of that year Bushel states:

"...that at Pottherly there is a vein which has never been wrought though known about these twenty years..."

during the 18th century various pumping engine powered by water wheels and horses were installed and in the early part of 1779 an order was placed for a Boulton & Watt steam engine which was put to work on 26 August 1780.

Richard L. Hills Richard Leslie Hills Order of the British Empire, MBE (1 September 1936 – 10 May 2019) was an English historian and clergyman who wrote extensively on the history of technology, particularly steam power. He helped to found Manchester's Sci ...

& David Gwyn (2005) "Three Engines at Penrhyn Du, 1760–1780", ''Transactions of the Newcomen Society'', 75:1, 17-36, DOI: 10.1179/tns.2005.002 This appears to have been unsuccessful as in 1781, Thomas Pennant noted that there had been

“...considerable adventurers for lead ore; and of late years attempts to drain the mines, by means of a fire engine: but the expences proved superior to the profits”.Thomas Pennant, Tours in Wales (Volume 2) published 1781

Ore was still be exported in 1789 but by November of that year it was indicated that:

“the engine will soon be destined for a coalmine and unless he situation isaltered for the best, this will take place in the spring”

The main period of working was in the 19th century. The engine house appears to have been altered and a Cornish Engine installed, and Cornish miners were also employed in the mines. By the turn of the 20th century the mining operations had mostly ceased. The last recorded output was in 1930 at just 5 tons.

Location

The Penrhyn Du mines are located within

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

in north-west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. There are south of the village of

Abersoch Abersoch () is a village in the community of Llanengan in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a popular coastal seaside resort, with around 2,600 residents, on the east-facing south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula at the southern terminus of the A499. It is a ...

and east to the village of Llanenganon

Recent history

After the mines closed modern developments have covered up many of the workings. Some evidence of the Cornish miners has been left, the most prominent of which is the ruins of the engine house and Cornish Row made up of the old

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s of the Cornish miners.

Ore list

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

References

{{reflist Llanengan Former mines in Gwynedd Lead mines in Wales Copper mines in Wales Manganese mines in the United Kingdom Zinc mines in the United Kingdom Iron mines in the United Kingdom