MineArchivePennance Consols
| Also known as | Wheal Amelia, East Wheal Buller |
|---|---|
| Location | Southern slope of Carn Marth, between Lanner and Redruth, Cornwall — 50.2203, -5.2046 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Copper |
| Type | Metal |
| Worked | 17th century–1874 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
Overview
A small copper mine on the southern slope of Carn Marth between Lanner and Redruth, formerly Wheal Amelia, whose 1866 engine house on Baronet's shaft is all that remains; it closed by 1874 after the copper price fell.
History
Pennance Consols lies between Lanner and Redruth at the foot of Carn Marth. The ground was worked by tinners as early as the seventeenth century, and the mine was known as Wheal Amelia until 1850, when it took the name Pennance Consols; it employed only four people at the start. By 1839 it was producing copper. It had three shafts, Baronet's Engine, Amelia and William's, and in 1866 an engine house was built on Baronet's Engine shaft for a 50-inch pumping engine, with a boiler house for a ten-ton Cornish boiler on its north-west side.
The mine produced little beside its neighbours: between 1866 and 1872 it raised only 590 tons of copper ore at 6 per cent. The fall in the copper price in 1866 left it struggling, and an attempt to turn to tin failed; it closed by 1874, when the engine and the rest of the machinery were sold. In 1880-81 the sett was briefly reworked as East Wheal Buller. Baronet's engine house is the only building left; it was consolidated and made safe around 1997.
Geology
Copper lodes; an attempt to work tin failed.
Workings
Three shafts, Baronet's Engine, Amelia and William's, with a 50-inch pumping engine on Baronet's from 1866.
Closure
Closed by 1874 after the copper price slump of 1866; machinery sold in 1874; briefly reworked as East Wheal Buller in 1880-81.
What remains
Baronet's engine house stands, consolidated around 1997.
Baronet's engine house of 1866 with its stack.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Wheal Buller — Reworked as East Wheal Buller in 1880-81, part of the Wheal Buller sett.
Nearby mines
- Tresavean Mine — 0.7 miles (1.2 km) S
- United Mines — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) SE
- Wheal Grambler — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) N
- Ting Tang Mine — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) NE
- Pednandrea Mine — 1.2 miles (2.0 km) NW
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- Its origins date back as far as 1836, employing only four people at its start. (uncertain) 2
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Formerly known as Wheal Amelia; the area was worked by tinners as early as the 17th century. 1,2
- Baronet's engine house was built in 1866 for a 50-inch pumping engine, sold in 1874. 1,2
- Between 1866 and 1872 the mine raised only 590 tons of 6% copper ore. 2
- Produced copper from 1839 until its closure in 1874, after the fall in the copper price in 1866. 1,2
- Reworked in 1880-81 as East (Wheal) Buller. 1,2
- Its origins date back as far as 1836, employing only four people at its start. (uncertain) 2
Sources
- (secondary) Pennance Consols — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Pennance Consols — Explore Cornwall
Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026