Abandoned for centuries, it was rediscovered for the Crown by Lewis Morris. Following an ownership tug of war with Lord Lisburne, Morris was dismissed.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1756 | Let to Lord Powis, worked under guidance of Payntor and John Ball. Results disappointing. |
| 1766 | A drive of 350m on the lode intercepts and drains old workings allowing them to be worked by opencast methods. |
| 1788 | Under the control of John Probert. By now £150,000 or ore had been removed and the mine was in decline. |
| early 19C | Worked sporadically without much reward. |
| 1850 | Lease held by Cardiganshire Crown Mines (together with that of Nantycria). Examined by Captain Hitchens who reported little work done apart from sinking a 35fm shaft. |
| c1853 | Esgair Mwyn Mining Co acquire site woth Matthew Francis as consulting engineer. |
| 1854 | Shaft down to 40fm under adit, still in old mine workings. Ore returns poor, Francis and a couple of senior figures replaced by Captains Samuel Vials and Josiah Paull, |
| 1857 | Shaft reaches final depth of 75fm below adit level. A waterwheel just above the shaft drove the pumping, water being taken from the Llyn Fyrddon leat. Dresing floor had 30“ diameter crushing rolls. |
| 1878 | The Penmor/Western Shaft was started near the entrance to the adit, railtrack laid to move ore up to the dressing floors. Ore was found in the 30fm level, but not exploited. |
| 1890 | Mine closed at time of particular low lead prices. Plant acquired for dismantling by Thomas Ward from Sheffield. Instead he worked the Penmor lode that improved very much with depth, extending over 100fm depth, and the shaft reached 145fm, with another 20fm woked by winze below. Ward raise many thousand tons of ore. |
| 1927 | Closure |
| c1949 | Elenith Mining Co cleared the adit for 90fm in the hope of finding blende indicated on old plans, but dangerous old stopes prevented this. Plant installed to process lead and zinc from the waste dumps. |
Publications (19)
- (1850); Cardiganshire - MJ Articles; 2 pages
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- (1989); CATMHS - Trip Report Easter - Easter Wales Meet; 5 pages
- Bick, D.E. (1991); Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales, The; South of Goginan - Part 1; pp.34-36
- Bick, David (1994); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 12-3 Sum - Early Mining Leats and Ponds in Wales; 4 pages (37-40)
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1971); BSA Proceedings Vol VI, No 46 - Mineral Field of Mid Wales, The; 8 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1976); Cardiganshire - Its Mines and Miners; 52 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1988); UK Journal of Mines & Minerals No 5 - Decline of Mining in Mid Wales and Prospects of Revival, The; 10 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1990); UK Journal of Mines & Minerals No 8, Autumn - Llywernog Mine and Museum, Dyfed, Wales; 8 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1991); British Mining Volume 43 - Castell & Nant y Creiau Mines, The; 23 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2006); Miner's Lot, The - Version 1; 6 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2006); Miner's Lot, The - Version 2; 13 pages
- Hughes, Stephen (1994); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 12-3 Sum - The Hushing Leats at Cwmystwyth, The; 6 pages (48-53)
- Liscombe & Co (1880); Mines of Cardiganshire, Montgomereyshire & Shropshire; 52 pages
- Nancarrow (1919); Nancarrow Cardiganshire Report; 21 pages
- Palmer, Marilyn and Neaverson, Peter (1989); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 10-6 Win - Comparative Archaeology of Tin and Lead Dressing in Britain during the Nineteenth Century, The; 32 pages (316-347)
- Sables, David (2015); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 19-3 Sum - Monks Who Mined, The; 13 pages (8-20)
- Timberlake, Simon (1994); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 12-3 Sum - Archaeological and Circumstantial Evidence for early Mining in Wales; 11 pages (133-143)
- Timberlake, Simon (2001); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 14-6 Win - How Old is the Owld Man - Discovering Ancient Mines; 7 pages (54-60)
