Part of the eastern extension of the main Van lode, situated in Silurian Gwestyn shales and lower Frongoch formation beds. The mine was primarily worked for galena, and despite being on same lode as Van - here explored for 1/2 a mile - East Van was as poor as Van was rich.
Consisted of three shafts (SN 9498 8846, SN 9521 8855, SN 9584 8775), a long adit (SN 9525 8850), and four levels (SN 9453 8832, SN 9505 8864, SN 9552 8880, SN 9566 8876), all located north of Nant Gwyden. The engine house, approximately 15m x 11m, was built of local shale with brick quoins and housed a horizontal rotative engine. Its interior includes a flywheel pit, iron support rods, and masonry remains of a bob-pit. Power was transmitted to the winding wheel via a crankshaft.
The boiler house, positioned west of the engine bed, was constructed to accommodate the cylindrical boiler. A terraced platform to the south may have been used for coal storage.
The site also contains the engine shaft, now filled with debris and surrounded by spoil tips. To the west, former brick-built mine stables and possibly a smithy remain intact, now repurposed for agricultural use. A level extends northward into the hillside.
The site’s intact octagonal chimney represents a rare survival in the Powys ore fields.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1869 | Purchased from the heir of the late Edward Morris by the Van Company. |
| 1871 | Sold for £60,000 to a company with London businessmen T.C. Munday and George Batters amongst directors. William Williams as mine captain sank engine shaft and drove long adit along the lode from the east. Horizontal steam engine and 30ft x 7ft dia boiler installed. |
| 1872 | Engine at work, adit extended 50 fm beyond shaft. |
| 1875 | Tempest SHaft commenced near the old coach road. |
| 1876 | Crosscut driven north on 15 fm level reports good ore. £5 shares rise to £22 before falling to £9. Tempest Shaft still not down the required 67fm to reach 25fm level where it was needed partly to clear bad air. |
| 1878 | Despite promises, the Mining Journal records ‘East Van, with £90,000 paid capital has never sold a pound of mineral.’ |
| 1880 | Shares down to £2. Company turns attention to Glangwden sett to the east, and fritters the rest of its capital driving trial adits to a new lode. |
External Links
Publications (10)
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- Bick, D. E. (1980); Montgomery Metal Mines list , Archaeology in Wales : 36 : 83
- Bick, D.E. (1991); Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales, The; West Montgomeryshire, Aberdovey, Dinas Mawddwy & Llangynog - Part 4; pp. 45-47
- Foster-Smith, J. R. (1978); Mines of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, The
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1991); UK Journal of Mines & Minerals No 9, Spring - Van Mine, The; 21 pages
- Jones, J. A. & Moreton, N. J. M. (1977); Mines and Minerals of Mid-Wales, The
- Jones, O. T. (1922); Lead and Zinc. The Mining District of North Cardiganshire and West Montgomeryshire
- Liscombe & Co (1880); Mines of Cardiganshire, Montgomereyshire & Shropshire; 52 pages
- Williams, C. J. & Bick, D. (1992); List of metalliferous mine sites of industrial archaeological importance
