The Geevor Tin Mine (www.geevor.com) is located in the village of Penndeen 7 miles west of Penzance and set above the Atlantic on a narrow coastal shelf, has enjoyed an illustrious and fulfilling career and is viewed as a welcome attraction to bring light of the already prevalent cultural heritage that the St Just District of Cornwall has seen throughout the ages. Access to the mine can be either achieved by car or bus from Penzance, St Ives or Lands End. Car journeys to the mine can be achieved by travelling on one of three routes:
1.From the A30 Penzance bypass take the main road to St Just (A3071). Follow the brown signs indicating Historic Mining Area continue along the A3071 and fork right on the B3318 to Pendeen. Turn left at the cross roads to drive through Pendeen and turn right at the Geever main entrance.
2.Turn off the A30 to St Just on the B3306. At St Just continue to Pendeen. Geevor is situated 3 miles from St Just along the north coast.
3.Follow the beautiful coast road (B3306) through Zennor and Morvah to Pendeen.
Parking is free and there are also provisions for coach parties with access to a coach park. For visitors wishing to go by bus to the mine, three options are available:
1.take the number 10 bus from Penzance and ask for Geevor Tin Mine
2.take the number 10 bus (also number 300 bus in the summer) from St Just and ask for Geevor In Mine
3.In the summer take the number 300 open top buses and ask for Geevor Tin Mine from St Ives.
For visitors travelling to the mine by bus, there is a 10% discount. For further information go to the Geever Tin Mine advertisement in the attractions page of the English Travel Guide.
Mining operations in the area began in the late 1600s. The Carn Meal Ball (possibly the Wheal Bal, whereby wheal literally means work yet in this context is used to mean mine) was mentioned to be operational in the 1690s, and would later form part of the Geevor mine. By the 1760s, three further mines were working along this stretch of the coast. These include Wheal Geaver, Wheal Mexico and the Stennack Mine, the latter having its own steam pumping engine installed by 1815 and changing its name to East Levant by 1837 before its closure shortly thereafter. 1849 saw the attempted floatation of the Great St Just tin and Copper Mining Company which include the Mexico, Stennack, Geever and Game mines. This proved unsuccessful and the mines closed.
In 1851 mining commenced under the name of North Levant and by 1860 undersea exploration was carried out from Goldsworthys Shaft on the cliffs at the bottom of the Geevor site. Yet in April of 1867, miners in the inland section accidentally broke into the flooded workings of Wheal Maitland resulting in the deaths of five miners, the youngest being 13. Although the mine saw an expansion over the decades to include Wheal bal and Wheal Carne, operations again ceased in 1891 marking a period when mining in St Just was at an almost standstill. Intermittent work continued in Wheal Geevor, under the name of North Levant from 1892 to 1904, yet serious operations did not occur until 1905 when West Australian Gold Fields Company Limited acquired the mine.
1911 saw the mine being renamed to Geevor Tin Mine Ltd which included North Levant, Geevor, Wheal Carne and Wheal Bal. Mining focused on the Wethered Shaft and electric power was introduced to the St Just Mining district from the power station at Hayle. In 1919 a new shaft, Victory, was commenced adjacent to the mill. By the end of the 1950s, the mine was considered to be more or less worked out and the decision was taken to expand the mine to the west with the acquisition of Levant Mine. It was also considered that ore reserves remained at depth in the surrounding mines and so the North Boscaswell was unwatered from Treweeks Shaft and connected by a crosscut. The mid 1960s saw the seabed breach at Levant being sealed and the mine pumped. Exploratory drilling to the south suggested that Batallack might be a worthwhile proposition in providing tin, and so resulted in the decline from the bottom of the Victory Shaft which also cut the lodes of the Spearn Consols set between Levant and Botallack. At Botallack, mine works commenced in 1975 to clear up Allens Shaft and re-equip it. Both the resulting operations would result in more access to the submarine extensions of lodes below the level which had previously been worked for Geevor.
Unfortunately work was halted by the reduction in the price of tin in the autumn of 1985 which placed the mine onto a care and maintenance basis in 1986 due to a lack of government aid. Although limited work continued through 1987, the price of tin still remained low resulting in the pumps being turned off in 1991. Throughout its career the mine has provided heritage to the Pendeen and St Just communities. During the 1980s around 400 people were employed on the sight and nowadays see the need for the techniques of Cornish mining and the stories of the miners to be preserved and explained for future generations. The mine also boasts local mythology with tales of the Knockers, pixie like people who produce knocking noises deep in the mine.
Despite the mine, the area around Geever is host to further areas of natural and historic beauty. The village of Pendeen has its own Carn, just behind the church, where granite was quarried. In both spring and autumn gorse and heather colours and brightens the moorland hills, ancient hedges divides the field and makes the landscape a patchwork that has inspired many an artist. Ancient monuments, harking back to the Neolithic period, dot Penwith’s hills. This includes the chambered burial place at Chun Quoit and the Tregeseal Stone Circle between Pendeen and St Just. An Iron Age hill fort called Chun castle can be found in nearby Tinners Way leading from Cape Cornwall to St Ives.
The location of the mine on the Atlantic coast has its own benefits. During the winter months, walks along the beaches and cliff paths can provide experiences of the gale force winds, the force of the waves on the cliff, the sight of seals enjoying the rough sea and migrating birds being blown off course and seeking shelter. There is also a variety of cliff castles, such as those found at Kenidjack and Bosigran that are also present to be viewed.
The landscape also undergoes seasonal changes which add to the character and beauty to the area. In spring, the arrival of daffodils in and vivid yellow splashes of gorse provide breathtaking views and a pleasant scent in the air. In summer, the golden sands in nearby Portherras and Sennen allow for pleasant coastal walks whist in autumn, swallows and martins cluster together as they prepare to leave for the south.
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