Carn Camborne Mine

Overview

An old copper mine on Carn Camborne at Beacon, on the site of the Bassets' Heart's Ease Mine, already old in 1727 and among the larger copper mines of the area by the 1750s. It later raised some tin, and was absorbed into Dolcoath in 1897; its castellated chimney was blown up in 1972.

History

Carn Camborne Mine worked copper, and later some tin, at Beacon on the southern edge of Camborne. In 1727 the Bassets' Heart's Ease Mine, on the site that became Carn Camborne, was already an old copper mine, and by the 1750s the group of small mines that merged to form Carn Camborne was among the larger copper producers of the area, while the other small mines nearby employed few and left little record. The copper boom of the 1820s and 1830s brought fresh exploration of old and newly divided setts around Beacon, and the old mine on Carn Camborne stayed productive, raising copper with some interruptions and some tin later in its life. A directory entry describes it half a mile from Camborne station, held on a 21-year lease from J. F. Basset and Sir Richard Vyvyan, in killas and granite with four known lodes. Its engine shaft was 125 fathoms deep, with levels down to 95 fathoms, and a western shaft 40 fathoms; a 26-inch steam engine worked and drained it for copper and tin, and the cost-book company had 5,584 shares, with J. Harding of Salisbury as secretary, John Rowe of Calstock as manager and William Penberthy as captain. Abandonment plans for its tin and copper ores are dated 1867. Like the other mines of the district it suffered in the early 1870s and closed for six years in 1874; it reopened in 1880 and worked for a few years before being absorbed with Camborne Vean and Wheal Harriet into Dolcoath in 1897. Nothing of the mine survives but its boundary wall, and its square castellated chimney, long a landmark, was dynamited in 1972.

Geology

Killas and granite country with four known lodes, worked for copper and later for tin.

Geological setting: Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

An engine or main shaft 125 fathoms deep with levels at adit and 13, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 85 and 95 fathoms, and a western shaft 40 fathoms deep with levels to 40 fathoms, worked and drained by a 26-inch steam engine.

Closure

Closed for six years in 1874 amid the slump of the early 1870s, reopened in 1880 and worked for a few years before Dolcoath absorbed it, with Camborne Vean and Wheal Harriet, in 1897. Abandonment plans for its tin and copper ores are dated 1867.

What remains

The site is built over; only the mine's boundary wall survives, pierced for later bungalows, and the surrounding cottages, villas and the Bella Vista villa on the site of Heart's Ease Mine remain largely unaltered.

The boundary wall only; the square castellated chimney was dynamited in 1972.

Related mines

• Dolcoath Mine — Carn Camborne was absorbed by Dolcoath, with Camborne Vean and Wheal Harriet, in 1897.

People

• J. F. Basset · landowner — Granted the mine's 21-year lease with Sir Richard Vyvyan.
• J. Harding · official — Company secretary, of Salisbury.
• William Penberthy · manager — Mine captain, of Camborne.
• John Rowe · manager — Manager, of Calstock.
• Sir Richard Vyvyan · landowner — Granted the mine's 21-year lease with J. F. Basset.

Recorded claims

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

• In 1727 the Bassets' Heart's Ease Mine, on the site of what became Carn Camborne, was already an old copper-producing mine; by the 1750s the mine was among the larger copper mines in the area. ¹
• Carn Camborne suffered in the early 1870s and closed for six years in 1874; reopened in 1880, it worked for a few years before being absorbed with Camborne Vean and Wheal Harriet by Dolcoath in 1897. ¹
• The mine was held on a 21-year lease granted by the late J. F. Basset and Sir Richard Vyvyan; it had four known lodes, an engine shaft 125 fathoms deep and a western shaft 40 fathoms, a 26-inch steam engine, and a cost-book company of 5,584 shares with J. Harding as secretary, John Rowe as manager and William Penberthy as captain. ¹
• Abandonment plans of Carn Camborne, for tin and copper ores, on three sheets, are dated 1867. ²
• Nothing survives of Carn Camborne mine other than its boundary wall, pierced for later bungalows; its square castellated chimney was dynamited in 1972. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Carn Camborne Mine — Cornwall Calling
2. (primary) Carn Camborne (Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plan OMR45A, via BGS catalogue item 21865728) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 18 September 2026