Morfa Du Mine

Overview

A copper working at the western end of the Parys Mountain deposit near Amlwch, sunk as a new shaft by Parys Mountain Mines Limited around 1874 and later worked in its own right by the Morfa Du mining company from 1881 to 1904.

History

Morfa Du lies at the western end of the great mineralised zone of Parys Mountain, near Amlwch on Anglesey, whose central and eastern ground had been worked on an enormous scale since a rich lode discovery in 1768 made it briefly the largest copper mine in the world. By 1874, Parys Mountain Mines Limited -- the company then working the wider Parys and Morfa Du ground -- had sunk a new shaft at Morfa Du, producing 8,470 tons of copper ore, 634 tons of sulphur and 255 tons of bluestone that year. In 1877 the lease at the western end of the deposit was sold specifically to the newly formed Morfa Du mining company, which went on to work Morfa Du in its own right from 1881 to 1904, raising a further 5,783 tons of ore. Large-scale copper mining across Parys Mountain as a whole was abandoned in the later 1890s as costs rose, though Morfa Du's own working continued a little beyond that general decline.

Workings

Worked via a shaft sunk around 1874, at the western end of the Parys Mountain deposit.

Closure

Worked by the Morfa Du mining company until 1904.

What remains

No current-condition detail specific to Morfa Du, as distinct from the wider Parys Mountain landscape, has yet been located.

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.

• Parys Mountain Mines Limited had sunk a new shaft at Morfa Du by 1874, producing 8,470 tons of copper ore, 634 tons of sulphur and 255 tons of bluestone that year. ¹
• The lease at the western end of the deposit was sold to the Morfa Du mining company in 1877, which worked it from 1881 to 1904, raising 5,783 tons of ore. ¹
• A rich lode discovery in 1768 made Parys Mountain briefly the largest copper mine in the world; large-scale copper mining across the mountain was abandoned in the later 1890s as costs rose. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Anglesey mining — Amlwch History
2. (secondary) Parys Mountain — Wikipedia

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026