Redmoor Mine

Overview

Redmoor Mine, adjacent to Kit Hill near Stoke Climsland, was one of a linked group of tin, tungsten and copper mines -- alongside Holmbush, Kelly Bray and Wheal Florence -- worked from the 18th century until 1892, reopened twice more in the 20th century, and prospected again as a modern tin-tungsten resource.

History

Tin has been worked in this part of east Cornwall since antiquity, progressing from surface streaming to underground mining as shallower ground was exhausted. Redmoor itself, on the eastern flank of the Kit Hill granite, was opened in the 18th century and continued, on and off, until 1892, when it closed along with much of Cornwall's tin industry in the face of collapsing prices against cheap imported ore. It reopened for two further short periods, 1907-1914 and 1934, and was last worked in 1943. Across the linked Redmoor, Holmbush, Kelly Bray and Wheal Florence workings, historic production totalled around 574 tonnes of tin, 268 tonnes of tungsten trioxide, 852 tonnes of copper, 153 tonnes of lead and 9,179 ounces of silver -- copper and arsenic sulphide zones were often found beneath the shallower tin ground, and demand for tungsten rose sharply during both World Wars. Between 1978 and 1986, Southwest Consolidated Minerals drilled over 30 diamond boreholes and carried out fuller technical studies, outlining an initial low-grade tin-tungsten resource before halting work in 1986 when the tin price collapsed. The site has since been re-explored as a modern tin-tungsten-copper project.

Geology

Redmoor sits immediately adjacent to the Kit Hill granite intrusion. Tungsten, tin and sulphide mineralisation here is spatially related to the granite, with mineralising fluids mobilised along fractures and faults in the surrounding host rock -- a mineralisation style shared with the wider Cornubian orefield.

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.

• Redmoor was opened in the 18th century and worked until 1892, when it closed as tin prices collapsed against cheap imported ore. ^1,2
• The mine reopened for two further periods, 1907-1914 and 1934, and was last worked in 1943. ²
• Across the linked Redmoor, Holmbush, Kelly Bray and Wheal Florence workings, historic production totalled around 574 tonnes of tin, 268 tonnes of tungsten trioxide, 852 tonnes of copper, 153 tonnes of lead and 9,179 ounces of silver. ²
• Between 1978 and 1986 Southwest Consolidated Minerals drilled over 30 diamond boreholes and defined an initial low-grade tin-tungsten resource, before ceasing work in 1986 when the tin price collapsed. ¹
• Redmoor is adjacent to the Kit Hill granite intrusion, with tungsten-tin-copper mineralisation spatially related to the granite and mobilised along fractures and faults in the host rock. ¹
• The BGS/Mining Remediation Authority mine-plans catalogue records 66 plans naming Redmoor and its constituent setts (Redmoor Consolidated Mines, South Phoenix, Callington United, Holmbush, Kelly Bray and others), reflecting a long and complex working history; none carries a public scan. ³

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) Redmoor Project: Discovering a world-class underground tin-tungsten resource — Coring Magazine
2. (secondary) The Redmoor Project — Cornwall Resources
3. (primary) Sections of Redmoor Consolidated Mines — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue

Record created: 29 August 2026 · Last researched: 29 August 2026