Top 6 tin mines in Cornwall

At its peak, the Cornish mining industry employed over 30,000 people which was about a quarter of Cornwall’s population. Therefore, it’s little wonder that it transformed both the landscape and lives of those who undertook its gruelling work.    

Although copper and tin mines in Cornwall hark back to the Bronze Age (around 2100 BC), the heyday for both took place during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries and this legacy remains deeply embedded within Cornwall’s identity. A handful of defunct mines have since become popular visitor attractions.

In the meantime, below, you’ll find our pick of historic Cornwall tin mines, which we believe are well worth a visit. Once you’re done reading, click on the button below to book one of our wonderful Cornwall holiday cottages and start counting down the days until your Cornwall getaway.

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1. Wheal Coates
2. Levant Mine and Beam Engine
3. The Crown Mines
4. Geevor Tin Mine
5. East Pool Mine
6. King Edward Mine Museum

1. Wheal Coates, St Agnes

These stark and lonely cliff-top ruins, comprising Towan Roath engine house and Tubby’s Head, overlook the vast Atlantic Ocean while offering a glance into Cornwall’s rich mining heritage and a snapshot into the history of the tin mines in North Cornwall. 

Wheal Coates functioned as a working mine from 1802–1889 and is now under the guardianship of the National Trust. As you can imagine, a miner’s life was often back breaking, meaning that many men were burnt out and jobless by the time they reached 40. At the mines, children commonly worked above ground until they were 12 and then they were sent deep underground with their fathers. Women too were heavily involved in the mining process. Employed as ‘Bal Maidens’, their above-ground role was to crush ore into small pieces and load it onto trolleys for the crushing machine.   

2. Levant Mine and Beam Engine, Trewellard

This National Trust site is located along the ‘Tin Coast’ in West Cornwall, which spans 7 miles between Pendeen and St Just and is part of the UNESCO Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. The Levant Mine's origin dates back to 1748 when it popped up on Martyn’s Map and in 1820, the Levant Mining Company was formed by a collaboration of 20 people, with a capital sum of £400. 

Copper and tin were long mined at this dramatic cliff-top site (where arsenic was also produced as a by-product). The mine spanned almost a mile out under the seabed and 600 metres below sea level, with steam power enabling the miners to push further and further out far beneath the waves. Levant’s engine house has the oldest Cornish steam winding engine in operation. Visits must be pre-booked online or over the phone and include a site tour. 

3. The Crown Mines, Botallack

As a Poldark filming location, this pair of 19th-century landmark, tin engine houses near St Just may well look familiar against the sweeping Atlantic Ocean backdrop. Just a skip and a jump along the Tin Coast from Levant Mine and Beam Engine, The Crown Mines comprises the chimney stacks, engine houses and arsenic labyrinth. Elsewhere, the old mine office count house now serves as a café offering refreshments and ocean views of the South West Coast Path. 

With records dating back to the 1500s, the mine as we know it opened in the 1720s. During its time, it produced thousands of tonnes of tin and copper (plus 1,500 tonnes of arsenic) and the high volume of waste pumped into the ocean, dyed the seawater red. Mining at Botallack halted in 1895 when the price for tin and copper dropped, and after many mines had already closed down.

Tin mining in Cornwall was of course a hazardous occupation and in 1863, nine men and a boy lost their lives on the site, when the chain pulling their carriage back up to the surface snapped and sent the carriage plummeting back down into the shaft and onto a timber beam at the bottom. 

4. Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen

Dating back to 1791, this mine near Penzance closed in 1990 but is now an award-winning family attraction and registered charity. You may well encounter past miners here, more than happy to talk about Cornwall tin mines and their own time working on the site and visitors can don a hard hat and venture down into the 200-year-old Wheal Mexico Mine. Little ones can pan for gems (yes, they can keep any treasures), learn about the mine’s past in the Hard Rock Museum and feel the change in atmosphere within ‘The Dry’ change rooms.

As the largest, preserved mining site in the country, Geevor Tin Mine has several buildings to explore with lots of different types of machinery. The Count House Café is a family-run business offering stunning sea views and there is a gift shop on site. It’s recommended that visitors pre-book guided tours.

5. East Pool Mine, Redruth 

Located in the Redruth mining area, near the village of Pool, this historical tin mine in Cornwall was first known as ‘Pool Old Bal’ way back in the early 1700s and was mined for copper until 1784. In 1834, it was reinvented as a tin mine and took its current name, East Pool Mine. The land was leased from the Basset family who built their nearby home using profits accrued from both this and other local mines. 

The last engine ground to a halt in 1954 and the site has now retained protection of the National Trust. The mine is open for visitors who are required to pre-book, and tickets come with a 1-hour guided site tour detailing the mine’s long history. If you plan to visit nearby Michell’s Engine House, note that although there’s no charge, you’ll need to book an additional, separate ticket. 

6. King Edward Mine Museum, Camborne

Originally known as Old Tye, King Edward Mine is part of the South Condurrow Mine which reopened in 1844, along with Great Condurrow (to the north). Flooding was an issue here but the discovery of the Great Flat Lode in the 1870s turned the mine’s fortune around for the better.

The mine near Camborne closed in 1896 and the Camborne School of Mines was set up the following year. The college taught practical and academic mining classes in the region and in 1897, to better-aid education, the college redeveloped part of the old South Condurrow Mine and a few years later, renamed it ‘King Edward Mine’. The college relocated in 1974 and a few years later, the King Edward Mine Preservation Group was set up to safeguard the mine’s heritage. It is now a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, has charity status, and is owned by the Cornwall Council. 

The current museum opened in 2005, offering a fantastic educational experience. The history of Cornwall tin mines is explained with displays, guided tours and hands-on practical demonstrations across the site’s 22 acres. 

Map of tin mines in Cornwall

Please find all of the above tin mines with the help of our handy map.

Stay with us in Cornwall 

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