Originally developed for copper, this mine saw significant expansion from 1799 onwards, stretching for 500 fathoms along the length of the lode with the assistance of 18 shafts. The engine shaft, the deepest, reached 90 fathoms.

In 1833, a smelting plant was established on the site, processing ores from numerous surrounding mines and partially smelting tin ores from Dartmoor workings. Slag material can still be found in the track leading up to the fields opposite the recycling plant. This slag contains a considerable amount of metal, as evidenced by substantial copper leeching from the stonework underneath the bridge where the track crosses the Tavistock canal.

The mine was prospected again in 1923-1926, revealing a rich shoot of arsenic up to 4 feet thick, although no extraction apparently took place. Access is now through a 50-foot deep shaft (possibly Gill’s) into an open stope. Quartz-fluorite vein stuff with pyrite (assayed at 2-4 drams of gold and 1 ounce of silver per ton of ore), arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite can be found on the floor of the stope. Cuprite is also found between the beds in occasional pieces of killas. An adit heading southwards passes under another blocked shaft and then into another area of stoping, primarily below adit level.