Frazer's Hush Mine

Overview

A Weardale lead and fluorspar mine named for a medieval hushing site on the Greencleugh Vein, redeveloped in the 1970s as a fluorspar producer under Swiss Aluminium Mining and later Minworth, before closing in 1999 with its workings connected underground to the neighbouring Groverake Mine.

History

Frazer's Hush takes its name from a hush — a form of hydraulic prospecting in which a dammed stream was released in a rush to strip soil and expose bedrock — on the site, thought to date from as far back as the medieval period, on the Greencleugh Vein, a western extension of the Red Vein. The modern mine was developed in the early 1970s after drilling revealed substantial fluorspar deposits on the vein below the level of the Great Limestone; work began under the Weardale Lead Company before being taken over in 1981 by Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd (SAMUK), which drove an incline from the surface, at 433 metres above sea level, down to the 338 level within the Great Limestone. Recorded ownership traces back further still: the Buddlepit mine database, drawing on Northern Mine Research Society records, notes J. Goodwin operating the site as early as 1941.

In 1982, Minworth Ltd took over the fluorspar interests and concentrated operations on Frazer's Hush and the nearby Cambokeels Mine, processing ore at a plant in Broadwood; Weardale Minerals Ltd held the site by 1990. Although commercially in decline by the late 1980s, the mine continued to yield fine fluorite specimens from cavities encountered between 1988 and 1999. Frazer's Hush finally closed in 1999, by which point its underground workings had been connected to those of the neighbouring Groverake Mine.

Geology

Fluorspar and lead ore on the Greencleugh Vein, a western extension of the Red Vein, within the Great Limestone of the North Pennine (Weardale) orefield.

Workings

A surface incline driven from 433 metres above sea level down to the 338 level within the Great Limestone, connecting underground in its later years with the neighbouring Groverake Mine.

Closure

Closed in 1999 after commercial decline through the 1980s-90s, though the mine still produced notable fluorite specimens from cavities found between 1988 and 1999.

What remains

Little survives at the surface beyond spoil heaps (largely from later ironstone quarrying on the site) and the remains of the incline at the west end of the opencut; the site remains open access.

Related mines

• Cambokeels Mine — Both were run by the same operators (Weardale Minerals, then the Minworth Group), which processed ore from both at a shared plant.
• Groverake Mine — Linked underground from 1983 by a battery-electric railway.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The mine takes its name from a hush — a hydraulic prospecting technique using a breached dam to strip soil and expose bedrock — on the Greencleugh Vein, a western extension of the Red Vein, thought to date from as far back as the medieval period. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• The mine takes its name from a hush — a hydraulic prospecting technique using a breached dam to strip soil and expose bedrock — on the Greencleugh Vein, a western extension of the Red Vein, thought to date from as far back as the medieval period. (uncertain) ¹
• The modern mine was developed in the early 1970s after drilling found fluorspar deposits below the Great Limestone; the Weardale Lead Company began work, taken over in 1981 by Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd, which drove an incline from 433m to the 338 level. ¹
• The Buddlepit Mine Database, drawing on Northern Mine Research Society records, records J. Goodwin operating the site in 1941, Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd from 1981, and Weardale Minerals Ltd by 1990. ¹
• Minworth Ltd took over the fluorspar interests in 1982, concentrating operations on Frazer's Hush and Cambokeels Mine, with ore processed at a plant at Broadwood. ²
• The mine closed in 1999, having produced notable fluorite specimens from cavities found between 1988 and 1999; by closure its underground workings had connected with those of the neighbouring Groverake Mine. ^2,1

Sources

1. (secondary) Frazers Hush Mine — Buddlepit Mine Database (NMRS)
2. (secondary) Fluorite Specimen Mining, Frosterley, Weardale, England — UK Mining Ventures

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026