North Roskear Mine

Overview

A Camborne copper and tin mine at Tolvaddon that raised 170,000 tons of copper ore and by 1856 had paid £105,000 in dividends to a company of only 140 shares.

History

North Roskear lay a mile north of Camborne, in the manor of Roskear and Rosewarne, held at royalties of one fifteenth and one twentieth from Mrs Pendarves, Mr Enys and John Francis Basset. Its ores went out through Portreath and Hayle. In killas a mile from the granite, it was worked and drained by a 70-inch steam engine and was working copper and tin in 1856. Its costbook company of just 140 shares paid £4,270 in dividends in 1851 and £1,470 in 1852, and £105,000 in all from the start of the undertaking; Thomas Darke of Penzance was purser and Joseph Vivian manager.

North Roskear was one of the great copper producers north of Carn Brea, raising 170,000 tons of copper ore, more than the neighbouring Wheal Seton and West Wheal Seton. Its shafts included Blewett's, Paul's, Footway and Daylight.

Geology

Copper and tin lodes in killas, with granite about a mile away; several cross-courses.

Workings

Blewett's, Paul's, Footway and Daylight shafts; a 70-inch pumping engine in 1856.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• South Crofty — A deposited plan groups North Roskear with Wheal Crofty and its neighbours.
• West Wheal Seton — Neighbouring copper mines north of Camborne, listed together among the district's great producers.
• Wheal Seton — Neighbouring copper mines north of Camborne, listed together among the district's great producers.

Recorded claims

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

• By 1856 North Roskear had paid £105,000 in dividends from the start of the undertaking, on a company of 140 shares. ¹
• In 1856 the mine was worked and drained by a 70-inch steam engine and worked for copper and tin. ¹
• The mine was held at royalties of 1/15th and 1/20th from Mrs Pendarves, Mr Enys and John Francis Basset. ¹
• North Roskear produced 170,000 tons of copper ore. ²
• North Roskear (Tolvaddon) worked tin and copper from Blewett's, Paul's, Footway and Daylight shafts. ²
• A deposited plan groups Roskear North with Parc-an-Bowan, Wheal Crofty, Wheal Knight and Wheal Vernon, for tin and copper ores. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) Camborne, Cornwall Mines — Cornwall Calling
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Roskear North, Parc-an-Bowan, Wheal Crofty, Wheal Knight, Wheal Vernon (tin and copper ores) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 19 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026