Wheal Clifford

Overview

A Gwennap copper mine near Fernsplatt that produced over 50,000 tons of copper ore in its own right between 1835 and 1861, notable for striking the United Mines group's punishing 'Hot Lode', before merging into Clifford Amalgamated Mines and eventually giving its name to that combined operation.

History

Wheal Clifford, situated near Fernsplatt about a kilometre north-east of United Downs, produced 50,167 tons of 6.5%-grade copper ore and 365 tons of black tin during its independent working life between 1835 and 1861. Like its neighbours in the wider United Mines group -- itself founded around 1780 from the amalgamation of Ale and Cakes Mine, Wheal Cupboard and Poldory, and rebuilt into profitability in the 1820s by the engineer John Taylor -- Wheal Clifford struck the group's notorious Hot Lode, where water at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit poured continually over the men working it; conditions were so extreme that miners could barely manage an hour's work in a day, driving costs up sharply and cutting productivity. In 1861 a large combination was effected, bringing together the Consolidated Mines, United Mines, Wheal Clifford itself, Ting Tang, Wheal Squire and other workings into a single company that took the name Clifford Amalgamated Mines -- Wheal Clifford's own name surviving as the identity of the combined operation. Over the following eight years this combined company raised 105,000 tons of copper ore, selling for over £473,000, alongside further income from black tin, blende, iron pyrites and arsenic; between 1861 and 1872 the wider combination produced 94,728 tons of copper ore, 7 tons of arsenic, 5,550 tons of pyrite and 1,011 tons of zinc ore in total. The venture became increasingly unprofitable as global metal prices fell, and closed around 1870.

Workings

Struck the United Mines group's Hot Lode, where water at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit poured continually over working miners, severely limiting how long men could work at any one time.

Closure

Merged into Clifford Amalgamated Mines in 1861, which itself closed around 1870 as global metal prices fell.

What remains

Engine house remains survive on the site, on high ground near Fernsplatt.

Engine house remains.

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 Clifford produced 50,167 tons of 6.5%-grade copper ore and 365 tons of black tin during its independent working life between 1835 and 1861. ¹
• Wheal Clifford struck the United Mines group's Hot Lode, where water at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit poured continually over the miners working it, so severely limiting working time that men could barely manage an hour's work in a day. ²
• In 1861 Wheal Clifford was combined with the Consolidated Mines, United Mines, Ting Tang, Wheal Squire and others into Clifford Amalgamated Mines -- taking Wheal Clifford's own name -- which raised 105,000 tons of copper ore worth over £473,000 in its first eight years, before closing around 1870 as global metal prices fell. ¹

Photographs & further reading

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

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Wheal Clifford Mine, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
2. (secondary) United Mines, Gwennap Cornwall — Cornwall Calling

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