Wheal Buller

Overview

Wheal Buller, formed from the combined workings of Trewirgie Downs and Wheal Beauchamp, briefly became the envy of Cornish mining in the 1850s — paying the highest dividend of any mine in the county in 1856 — before its rich ground gave out and a costly 20th-century attempt to revive it failed completely.

History

Wheal Buller was formed out of the neighbouring workings of Trewirgie Downs and Wheal Beauchamp, giving underground access to around a mile of some of the richest copper lodes in Cornwall. The mine began work in 1819, producing just 11 tons of ore in its first year, and built up to a peak output of 6,230 tons by 1825. Production fell away sharply after that, and the mine closed around 1836. Wheal Buller reopened in 1848 with new workings driven to the north and west, and by 1853 its monthly profits had reached £5,170; a steam-powered winding engine was installed in 1851, followed by two more the following year, one of them bought from Harvey's of Hayle. By 1856 Wheal Buller was paying the highest dividend of any mine in Cornwall. Failure to locate further rich reserves eventually forced the sale of the mine's equipment, and it ceased operation in 1875. Between 1819 and 1875 the mine produced around 141,707 tons of copper ore and, from 1859, 1,373 tons of black tin. A later attempt to revive the mine, deepening Hocking's Shaft by a further thousand feet between 1928 and 1930, proved unsuccessful, and Wheal Buller was abandoned for good. The site was surveyed by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit in 1997-98 ahead of a shaft-capping scheme carried out by Kerrier District Council.

Geology

The mine worked copper and tin lodes of the Camborne-Redruth mining district, part of the granite-related hydrothermal mineralisation of central Cornwall.

Geological setting: Hydrothermal Deposits (well documented example), Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

Underground workings extended around a mile along the combined lodes of Trewirgie Downs and Wheal Beauchamp; Hocking's Shaft, the mine's principal shaft, was deepened by a further thousand feet during the failed 1928-1930 reworking.

Closure

The mine closed in 1875 after failing to locate further rich reserves; a later attempt to revive it via a deepened Hocking's Shaft, between 1928 and 1930, also proved unsuccessful.

What remains

The site's shafts were capped by Kerrier District Council following an archaeological survey in 1997-98.

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.

• Between 1819 and 1875 the mine produced around 141,707 tons of copper ore and, from 1859, 1,373 tons of black tin. ¹
• By 1856 Wheal Buller was paying the highest dividend of any mine in Cornwall, with monthly profits reaching £5,170 by 1853. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Wheal Buller Mine Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
2. (primary) WHEAL BULLER mine plans — British Geological Survey / The Coal Authority
3. (secondary) Wheal Buller, Wheal Buller and Beauchamp, Redruth, Cornwall — Mindat

Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 August 2026