The Birthplace of Modern Mining

Jon and I have spent the morning near the village of Carnkie, between Camborne and Redruth, checking out the paths to the ruins of the 19th century tin dressing plants. These ruins are seldom visited by tourists, and the paths are often overgrown, so we were planning our route for the delegates from Physical Separation '09, who will be visiting this area next Wednesday.

This area is often said to be the birthplace of modern deep mining, and in the middle to late 19th century was the centre of Cornwall's copper and tin industry, the county then being the world's biggest producer of these two metals.

When more economic deposits of tin were found in SE Asia, and copper in the Americas, many of the mines closed and Cornish miners took their expertise to all parts of the world.

A visit to the Camborne-Redruth area is a pilgrimage that everyone in the minerals industry should take. There will be more photos posted next Wednesday, weather permitting.