Great Polgooth is located just east of Polgooth village, about one and a half miles southwest of St. Austell. The eastern part of the mine’s area, situated on Mulvra Hill, is now occupied by the St. Austell Golf Club.

Operating under various names such as Old Polgooth, Polgooth United, Tregontrees, and Old Polgooth, mining activities have been documented here since at least the 1590s.

Great Polgooth exploited numerous lodes, boasting ‘not less than than 50 shafts’ according to historical reports.

By 1720, Polgooth was already a well-established mine.

In 1727, it acquired one of the early Newcomen pumping engines to assist with dewatering as the mine deepened. This engine, featuring a 50-inch cylinder, was among the first in Cornwall and operated until it was replaced in 1784 by a more modern 58-inch Boulton & Watt engine. Subsequently, an 80-inch pumping engine by William Sims was installed in the early 1820s.

The mine experienced fluctuations in production and closures due to fluctuating ore prices, shutting down between 1807 and 1822 but reopening in 1823 under the management of John Taylor.

By 1837, it was the third-largest tin producer in Cornwall. However, a decline in tin prices in the early 1840s led to further struggles and closure. Production remained sporadic over the ensuing decades, with intermittent periods of activity interspersed with periods of inactivity. Underground work ceased entirely at the turn of the twentieth century, although some surface work continued from the ore dumps until 1929.

Spargo’s account from the mid-1860s describes Great Polgooth as a very old mine that had yielded significant amounts of tin over the years, with around 100 workers employed in dressing halvans.

Production records indicate 3,000 tons of black tin between 1853 and 1894, along with 595 tons of 9.75% copper ore between 1815 and 1834. While skutterudite has been mentioned as occurring here, it is identified by Dines and Collins as the arsenic-deficient variety, smaltite.