Coniston Copper Mines, History and Surface Features.
Coniston, Cumbria.
The
mining of copper in the Coniston complex started towards the end of the 16th
century, and German miners carried out the earliest 'large scale' mining
activities. These early workings were almost always worked from the surface
starting at outcrops of the copper veins. All the work would have been carried
out by the use of hand tools. As the workings became deeper it became
increasingly difficult to take the ore out and to drain them. In the early 17th
century coffin levels were driven to provide access and drainage to the bottom
of the workings. These early levels would have been driven by hand, using metal
tools and wedges. Fire would also be employed to heat the rock, which would
then fracture after rapid cooling with water. Towards the mid 17th century the
German miners had taken some of their workings down to over 60m. Mining
continued until the start of the Civil War in 1642. After the war mining was
started again, but on a lesser scale than before with much of it reworking old
workings. Up to the war, the copper ore mined was transported via packhorse
along difiicult route to smelters on the outskirts of Keswick, some 20 miles
away. The smelters were destroyed in the conflict.
The next major period
of development started in the late 1750's with the formation of the
Macclesfield Copper Company by the industrialist Charles Roe. Work continued on
the veins that the German's had left behind and the workings were deepened to
over 110m. A water wheel was constructed for haulage and water pumping, and
along with the use of gunpowder this contributed greatly to the increased speed
of ore extraction and depth of workings.
Towards the end of the first
quarter of the 19th century John Taylor, a well known and successful mining
engineer came to Coniston. Together with his mines manager John Barratt, a new
period of activity followed with the driving of many new shafts, access and
drainage levels. At this time the mines around Coniston relied on water power
for pumping, winding and ore processing. A system of leats was built to collect
and divert water to the required areas. By the mid 19th century the Coniston
mines were reaching their peak period, and some of the deepest workings were
approaching 270m. Transportation of ore to smelters during these periods was
via cart and boating via Coniston Water to Ulverston Canal. Ore production at
this time was so great that at the end of the 1850's a railway line was
constructed from the Furness to Coniston.
During the 1860's the output
of copper ore started to decline which was a continuing trend. Some of the
workings were so deep that the cost of maintenance and pumping was becoming
uneconomical with the falling production rates. The last two decades of the
19th century saw the decline of the mines, despite efforts from the
introduction of new technology such as dynamite and compressed air drills.
Imports of cheap ore from abroad finally provided the last straws. Pumping was
stopped, however some of the higher veins above the water table continued to be
worked with the new methods until the very early 20th century. At this point
parts of the complex had reached a total surface to bottom depth of over 550m.
The early 1910's brought a French company to Coniston headed under
Henri de Varinay to reprocess the dumps by using electrolysis. However this was
short lived with the outbreak of the First World War. In the 1930's some
reworking was carried out and mining completely ceased in the early 1940's. The
1950's rekindled some interest in the mines when a Canadian company carried out
some prospecting, but ultimately this never reached any fruition.
The
primary minerals found at Coniston are arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, iron
pyrites, malachite, tennantite and tetrahedrite. In the early days of working,
the miners due to its easier smelting characteristics favoured malachite. At
the peak of the mines the main ore was chalcopyrite. Some veins were so rich in
this that the only treatment required was crushing to manageable size. The blue
formations that Coniston is so famous for are secondary copper mineralisations.
Acidic surface water working its way down through the ground and into untapped
ore bodies dissolves the minerals and causes crystallisation of the colourful
copper formations. The blue and sometimes green formations are called
supergenes and consist mainly of copper sulphates, with a little of copper
carbonates.
For
decades, the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society (CATMHS) has
explored, researched, conserved and preserved the great copper mines at
Coniston. Their work stretches back to the 1970s beginning with the initial
tentative explorations by the small group of friends that eventually formed the
society. Through decades of dedicated work the society has gradually been
revealing the mine’s secrets culminating in the recent re-opening of the
Kernal Level and the resulting discovery of huge workings.
Coniston
Copper Mines are very much a vertical world, where deep shafts, false floors,
precariously stacked deads and many other dangers abound. These mines present a
serious danger to the inexperienced and should not be entered without a
knowledgeable guide. For further information contact CATMHS via their website
www.catmhs.org.uk.
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