Corranterr Lead Mine

Overview

The most westerly of the Strontian lead mines in Ardnamurchan, opened by Sir Alexander Murray in 1725 and worked by the York Buildings Company through the 18th century, remembered today for the large iron water wheel installed in the 1860s to crush its ore, whose ruined wheelhouse still stands beside the old coffin route from Polloch.

History

Galena was first discovered in the hills around Strontian by Sir Alexander Murray, who opened a mine to exploit it in 1725. The wider Strontian lead-mining district, of which Corranterr was the most westerly working, was subsequently developed through the 18th century by the York Buildings Company, a major Scottish land and mining concern of the period; the original workings are thought to have closed by the end of the 18th century, though the district was worked periodically thereafter. Mining here used both opencast and deep shaft methods. A large iron water wheel, used to pulverise the mined rock and extract the lead, was installed at Corranterr in the 1860s, housed in a purpose-built stone wheelhouse; the first edition Ordnance Survey six-inch map of Argyllshire, surveyed in 1872, shows two lengths of tramway leading from the mine's levels, several buildings and two sluices in use at that date. In the mid-20th century the wider Strontian district was worked again by John Barratt of the Strontian Mining Company, though with limited success, and the mines were briefly reopened once more in the 1980s. Strontian itself gave its name to the mineral strontianite, discovered in the same lead-mining district, and in turn to the element strontium.

Workings

Worked by both opencast and deep shaft methods; ore was pulverised from the 1860s by a large iron water wheel housed in a purpose-built wheelhouse, with tramways recorded leading from the workings by 1872.

Closure

Thought to have closed by the end of the 18th century under its original operators; worked periodically thereafter, including by the Strontian Mining Company in the mid-20th century and again briefly in the 1980s.

What remains

The stone wheelhouse survives with its iron water wheel at the base, alongside a larger building with two fireplaces and a nearby enclosure, possibly once used to keep animals; the original mine entrance is now blocked and no longer visible, and the surviving buildings are fenced off for visitor safety.

A ruined wheelhouse containing an iron water wheel, a further building with two fireplaces, and an animal enclosure, all now fenced for safety.

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.

• Galena was first discovered in the hills around Strontian by Sir Alexander Murray, who opened a mine to exploit it in 1725. ¹
• The wider Strontian lead-mining district, of which Corranterr was the most westerly working, was developed through the 18th century by the York Buildings Company, and is thought to have closed by the century's end. ¹
• A large iron water wheel was installed at Corranterr in the 1860s to pulverise ore, housed in a purpose-built wheelhouse; the 1872 Ordnance Survey six-inch map shows tramways, several buildings and two sluices in use at the site. ^1,2
• The wider Strontian district was worked again in the mid-20th century by John Barratt of the Strontian Mining Company, with limited success, and briefly reopened once more in the 1980s. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Corrantee Lead Mines from Ardnastaing — Wild Lochaber
2. (primary) Strontian, Corrantee Mine — Canmore (National Record of the Historic Environment)

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026