Situated near Gernick farm, this small mine operated on two NE-trending lodes, in conjunction with South Gernick Mine, also known as Wheal Top, located immediately to the south. The mines first became active around 1830. In 1851, they resumed operations under the name West Wheal Grenville.

There are some discrepancies regarding the nomenclature and locations of these mines. Hamilton Jenkin identifies Wheal Top as an alternative name for South Gernick Mine, while Dines associates Wheal Top with New Wheal Frances and places it 350 yards WSW of Bodrivial farm. However, according to the 1906 edition of the Ordnance Survey Map, an isolated engine house is situated at this location. Nonetheless, the map does not indicate Wheal Top shaft or another unnamed shaft, as described by Dines.

There is disagreement between Dines’s description of the New Wheal Frances workings and the Gernick Mine workings. The corrigenda to the 1988 reprint of Dines’s work address this issue and adopt Hamilton Jenkin’s attribution of Wheal Top.