Aberdaunant Mine

Overview

A lead and copper mine on the Van lode near Llanidloes, worked from the late 18th century to the late 1870s and eventually absorbed into the London-based Van United Lead Mining Company alongside the larger Van and Bryntail mines.

History

Aberdaunant lies at the south-western end of the Van lode, a rich mineral vein striking some 6 kilometres across the Clywedog valley from Aberdaunant itself, in the valley of the Nant Gwestyn, through Bryntail Mine and on to the much larger Van Mine. It was worked from 1800 to 1810 by Jones, Herbert and Britton, and later by a Mr Ridge, before Ridge sold the mine to the Van United Lead Mining Company, Limited of London in 1868 -- a company floated the following year under George Batters, which went on to hold Aberdaunant alongside Bryntail, Penclun and Van itself. The site had already seen earlier, undated trials in the prehistoric, Roman or medieval periods, but the surviving workings are almost entirely of the 19th century, and the mine had closed by the late 1870s.

Workings

Powered by a waterwheel fed by a leat -- rock-cut in places -- from the Nant Gwestyn, driving rock crushers, jiggers and buddles; visible workings include several adits, an engine shaft, an ore slide and a wheel pit.

Closure

Closed by the late 1870s along with the wider Van United Lead Mining Company's operations in the district.

What remains

Adits, an engine shaft, an ore slide, a wheel pit and a leat survive, along with the remains of an engine house and a mine office building; little visible trace remains of the crushers, jiggers and buddles the waterwheel once powered.

Adits, engine shaft, ore slide, wheel pit, leat, and engine house/mine office ruins.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Aberdaunant was worked 1800-1810 by Jones, Herbert and Britton, then by a Mr Ridge, who sold it to the newly floated Van United Lead Mining Company, Limited of London in 1868. ¹
• Aberdaunant sits at the south-western end of the Van lode, a single mineral vein striking some 6 kilometres across the Clywedog valley through Bryntail to the Van Mine. ²
• Aurichalcite has been recorded from Aberdaunant, among other secondary zinc/copper minerals typical of the Van lode's oxidised zone. ³

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) Victorian Llanidloes: the lead mines — Powys Digital History Project
2. (primary) Manledd, Trefeglwys, Llanidloes Without and Llanidloes communities (HLCA 1195) — Heneb (Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust)
3. (secondary) Aurichalcite from Aberdaunant Mine — Mindat

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026