MineArchivePendeen Consols
| Location | Pendeen, St Just, Cornwall — 50.1650, -5.6716 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodities | Tin, Copper |
| Type | Metal |
| Worked | 1856–1870 |
Overview
A tin and copper mine at Pendeen, in the St Just district of west Cornwall, worked mainly between 1858 and 1870 before being absorbed into the wider Geevor sett; its site is now occupied by Pendeen Lighthouse.
History
Pendeen Consols was recorded working as early as 1856 (Kelly's Directory) and produced tin and copper mainly between 1858 and 1870, worked from a 40-fathom shaft with a steam engine erected to pump and wind. It lay within the same mineralised ground later worked more intensively by its larger neighbours: by the 1970s Geevor's combined sett, covering around three square miles, included Pendeen Consols alongside Boscaswell Downs and Levant. The mine's minerals included cassiterite and chalcopyrite ore alongside secondary copper minerals such as malachite and brochantite, typical of the oxidised near-surface zone of a Cornish tin-copper lode. The mine's own plan survives: a plan and longitudinal section of Pendeen Consols, with sections along the lode, passed from Pendeen Community Heritage at Geevor to the British Geological Survey's mine-plan collection, where it can be viewed online.
Geology
Cassiterite and chalcopyrite in the lodes of the St Just district, with secondary copper minerals such as malachite and brochantite.
Workings
Worked from a 40-fathom shaft with a steam engine erected on it.
Closure
Unknown.
What remains
Very little of Pendeen Consols survives above ground: Pendeen Lighthouse and its car park were built directly over the mine site, though former mine dumps remain visible on the cliffs close to the lighthouse.
Related mines
- Geevor Tin Mine — Pendeen Consols was absorbed into the Geevor sett, and its surviving mine plan came to the BGS from Pendeen Community Heritage at Geevor Tin Mine.
Nearby mines
- East Boscaswell Mine — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) SE
- Parkenoweth Mine — 0.8 miles (1.2 km) SE
- Geevor Tin Mine — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) S
- Levant Mine — 1.1 miles (1.7 km) SW
- Higher Levant Mine — 1.3 miles (2.0 km) S
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Pendeen Consols was recorded working by 1856 and produced tin and copper mainly between 1858 and 1870, from a 40-fathom shaft with a steam engine. 1
- By the 1970s Pendeen Consols formed part of Geevor's roughly three-square-mile combined sett, alongside Boscaswell Downs and Levant mines. 1
- Pendeen Lighthouse and its car park were built directly over the Pendeen Consols mine site; former mine dumps survive on the cliffs nearby. 1
- Pendeen Consols' production of copper and tin is independently confirmed in Cornwall Calling's own table of St Just-area mines. 2
- A plan and longitudinal section of Pendeen Consols Mine, given to the British Geological Survey by Pendeen Community Heritage at Geevor Tin Mine, is catalogued as mine plan MP24262, with longitudinal sections of the Pendeen Consols lode as MP24260 and MP24274. 3
Photographs & further reading
The British Geological Survey's scanned plan and longitudinal section of Pendeen Consols Mine, viewable online.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Pendeen Consols Mine — Into Cornwall
- (secondary) Mines in St Just Area of Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
- (primary) PLAN OF PENDEEN CONSOLS MINE (Mine plan MP24262, BGS mine plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 29 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026