Okel Tor Mine, Calstock, Cornwall, UK
N 50° 30.015 W 004° 11.595
30U E 415375 N 5594933
A mine in East Cornwall.
Waymark Code: WM7MFV
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/09/2009
Views: 2
The area around Okel Mine is very overgrown; it is now a Wildlife Reserve. not easy to take photos of the mining area.
The earliest record of the mine is in the 1840s when a shaft was sunk on lead-silver lodes typical of the Tamar Valley. However, copper was soon discovered in an east-west lode, which also passes under the river to Gawton Mine. By the 1860s a huge steam engine had been installed to cope with drainage
problems, whilst a smaller engine dealt with the winding and crushing of the ore.
Unfortunately by this time copper was already beginning to decrease in value, so in 1864,
the mine built arsenic calciners, developed its own quay and began to process arsenic ores
in a major way. In 1872, tin was found at the eastern end of the mine sett but this phase
was short lived and in 1874 the mine was abandoned.
Mine Type: Abandoned Mine
Mineral Collecting: No
Material Mined: Non-Precious Metal
Operation: Underground Mine
Surface Features: Yes
KNOWN DANGERS: Keep to the paths.
Any associated website: [Web Link]
Any Other information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Optional photograph welcomed.