Gaverigan Tin Streaming

Overview

An alluvial tin-streaming works near Indian Queens, in the parish of St Enoder, mid Cornwall -- one of two such operations, alongside Goss Moor, that supplemented farming in this upland parish.

History

Gaverigan worked alluvial tin deposited alongside the River Fal, where four tin lodes were discovered and worked in the course of streaming -- washing loose ground to recover cassiterite concentrated there by erosion, rather than following a lode underground. St Enoder parish's own history records tin streaming at Gaverigan and on the adjoining Goss Moor as a real supplement to the parish's farming economy through the 19th century; Gaverigan later also had its own brickworks, one of several in the immediate area alongside Burthy, Chytane and Wheal Remfry. The site produced a distinctive variety of cassiterite known as 'sparable tin', named -- per mineralogist R.H. Solly's 1891 description in the Mineralogical Magazine -- for its resemblance to a cobbler's sparable nail, and specimens of wood tin, another cassiterite variety, were collected nearby by the noted mineral collector Sir Arthur Russell.

Geology

Alluvial (placer) tin: cassiterite eroded from local lodes and concentrated in the gravels beside the upper River Fal, including the pointed 'sparable' crystals and wood tin for which the site is known. Four tin lodes were found beneath the stream ground.

Geological setting: Placer Deposits (well documented example)

Workings

Streaming of the alluvial ground beside the River Fal, washing the gravels to recover cassiterite; four tin lodes found in the course of streaming were then worked as Gavrigan Mine.

Closure

The closure date is not known. Mindat records the site as an inactive alluvial deposit, which says the streaming has stopped but not when.

What remains

Recorded by Mindat as an inactive alluvial deposit; no current workings.

Recorded claims

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

• In the course of tin streaming at Gaverigan, four tin lodes were discovered and worked adjacent to the River Fal. ¹
• R.H. Solly recorded 'sparable tin' -- a cassiterite variety named for its resemblance to a cobbler's sparable nail -- from Gaverigan in an 1891 Mineralogical Magazine description; wood tin specimens were also collected nearby by mineral collector Sir Arthur Russell. ¹
• Tin streaming at Gaverigan and on the adjoining Goss Moor supplemented farming in St Enoder parish through the 19th century; Gaverigan later also had its own brickworks. ²
• Mindat cites W. J. Henwood's 1873 Observations on the Detrital Tin-ore of Cornwall for the cassiterite recorded at Gaverigan, carrying the record of the works back to at least 1873. ¹
• The four tin lodes found in the course of streaming were worked by the Gavrigan Mine, at grid reference SW 935 592. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Gaverigan Tin Stream Works — Mindat
2. (secondary) History of St Enoder — St Enoder Parish Council

Record created: 29 August 2026 · Last researched: 18 September 2026