Hafan Mine

Overview

A lead, zinc and copper mine above Nant-y-Moch, worked on and off from around 1620 to 1890, latterly served by the steam-powered Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway alongside its closely linked neighbour Henfwlch.

History

Hafan Mine -- also recorded as Caninog or Bwlch Caninog -- worked two lodes on the eastern flank of an anticline from around 1620, when Sir Hugh Myddleton exploited them under that name; William Waller's Mine Adventurers took the mine on in 1702, raising several hundred tons of lead ore, and around 1800 Job Sheldon & Co reputedly made a good profit working the same lode as the neighbouring Henfwlch mine from the eastern part of the sett. The two mines' fortunes became closely tied together: in 1850 the Mining Company of Wales began a deep adit driven under and well beyond both Hafan and Henfwlch, continued from 1853 by the Hafan and Henfwlch Company under chairman James Stride and manager Michael Barbery, who also sank Davies' Shaft below the shallow adit to meet a rise from the deep one, and built a pumping wheel and leat to sink still further below it. With no improvement in either mine's fortunes the company folded in 1854; both mines worked on under a Captain Hughes from 1856, and a further company took possession in 1864, employing four men driving the deep adit and repairing Sheldon's old shaft. By 1867 600 tons of lead ore had been sold, mainly from Henfwlch, but working after this was only sporadic, with a final recorded sale of just 17 tons in 1889-90. The site was later served by the short-lived, steam-worked Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway, which carried both passengers and ore along the valley linking Bwlch Glas, Hafan, Henfwlch and Eaglebrook; an adit driven soon after 1900, cut deeper than the Victorian workings and visible today at the roadside, still contains an underground headframe and ore cages in a section accessible only to cavers.

Geology

Two lead, copper and zinc lodes on the eastern flank of an anticline above the Nant-y-Moch valley.

Workings

Worked via two parallel lodes along the Hafan fault, latterly through a deep adit begun in 1850 under both Hafan and Henfwlch, with a pumping wheel and leat added in 1853 to sink still further below it; a further adit cut soon after 1900 still holds an underground headframe and ore cages.

Closure

Worked only sporadically after 1867; last recorded sale of ore, 17 tons, in 1889-90.

What remains

Concrete walls and foundations at the roadside mark the post-1900 deep adit, relatively modern in character compared with the district's other workings; an underground headframe and ore cages survive in a section accessible only to cavers.

Concrete walls and foundations of the post-1900 processing mill and adit entrance, plus the route of the former Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway.

Related mines

• Rhyd Fach Mine — A neighbouring working in the Nant-y-Moch cluster.

Recorded claims

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

• Hafan was worked from around 1620 by Sir Hugh Myddleton under the name Caninog or Bwlch Caninog, and from 1702 by William Waller's Mine Adventurers, who raised several hundred tons of lead ore. ¹
• From 1850 a deep adit was driven under and well beyond both Hafan and the neighbouring Henfwlch mine, continued from 1853 by the Hafan and Henfwlch Company; by 1867, 600 tons of lead ore had been sold, mainly from Henfwlch, before working became only sporadic, ending with a final sale of 17 tons in 1889-90. ¹
• The site was served by the short-lived, steam-worked Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway, which carried passengers and ore along the valley linking Bwlch Glas, Hafan, Henfwlch and Eaglebrook; a deeper adit cut soon after 1900 still contains an underground headframe and ore cages, accessible today only to cavers. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Hafan (Buddlepit Mine Database) — Buddlepit Mine Database
2. (secondary) Geological excursion guide, Plynlimon area (Bwlch-glas and Hafan mines) — grahamhall.org geology field-excursion notes

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