Wheal Andrew

Overview

A Gwennap copper mine, also recorded as Friendship Mines, absorbed into the wider United Mines group before closing around 1870 as part of Clifford Amalgamated Mines.

History

Wheal Andrew, also recorded in some sources as Friendship Mines, was eventually incorporated into the expanded United Mines group, alongside Wheal Clifford, Wheal Squire, Wheal Britannia and Wheal Moor -- itself founded around 1780 from the amalgamation of Ale and Cakes Mine, Wheal Cupboard and Poldory. In the early 1820s the mining engineer John Taylor acquired the lease of the largely abandoned United Mines workings and rebuilt them into profitability, striking what was at the time the richest copper lode in the world; the mines were well in profit by 1822. At its 19th-century peak the United Mines group's underground workings extended some 80 miles, driven by 22 operating engines; between 1815 and 1861 the group as a whole raised 347,500 tons of 7.5%-grade copper ore, alongside 250 tons of black tin, 158 tons of arsenic, 1,290 tons of pyrite and 271 tons of zinc ore. United Mines merged with the neighbouring Consolidated Mines in 1857 to form Clifford Amalgamated Mines, which continued operating, increasingly unprofitably, until closure around 1870 as metals discovered elsewhere in the world depressed global prices.

Workings

One of the mines absorbed into the wider United Mines group, whose combined 19th-century workings extended some 80 miles underground and were served by 22 operating engines.

Closure

Closed around 1870 as part of Clifford Amalgamated Mines, following declining global metal prices.

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.

• Wheal Andrew, also recorded in some sources as Friendship Mines, was eventually incorporated into the expanded United Mines group, alongside Wheal Clifford, Wheal Squire, Wheal Britannia and Wheal Moor. ¹
• In the early 1820s John Taylor rebuilt the largely abandoned United Mines workings into profitability; between 1815 and 1861 the group raised 347,500 tons of 7.5%-grade copper ore alongside black tin, arsenic, pyrite and zinc ore, before merging into Clifford Amalgamated Mines in 1857 and closing around 1870. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) United Mines, Gwennap Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
2. (secondary) United Mines — Grace's Guide to British Industrial History

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026