Ystrad Einion Mine

Overview

A small lead, copper and zinc mine in Cwm Einion, remembered less for its output — which was modest and unprofitable — than for the underground waterwheel it left behind, one of only two surviving and accessible in the UK.

History

Ystrad Einion was worked in a small way from the 18th century, with recorded spells around 1745-60 and again from 1853. Adam Mason, a Lancastrian entrepreneur, took the lease in the 1870s and invested over £3,000 modernising the mine, sinking a winze to the 12-fathom level in 1871 and installing a 16-foot underground waterwheel to pump and haul. A new engine shaft reached 30 fathoms and a mile-and-a-half leat was built to supply the site's waterwheels, but full production did not begin until 1891, once reserves were confirmed — and those reserves proved disappointing. An 1891 report found just 11 workers on site, and by 1897 output remained modest. The mine closed in 1903 and much of its machinery was sold or scrapped.

Geology

Ystrad Einion works a north-east/south-west lode, an orientation unusual in mid-Wales and largely confined to the Dyfi estuary area.

Workings

Development below adit level centred on the 1871 winze and the later 30-fathom engine shaft, powered by the underground waterwheel and its supply leat.

What remains

A scheduled ancient monument with landscaped public access; two gated adits remain accessible, and the 16-foot underground waterwheel survives in place — one of only two such wheels left in any abandoned UK mine, the other being at Brewery Shaft in Cumbria.

Surviving remains include the crusher house, wheel pits, buddle circles and jigger building.

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.

• The mine's 16-foot underground waterwheel is one of only two surviving and accessible in any abandoned UK mine, the other being at Brewery Shaft, Cumbria. ¹
• The mine is officially catalogued as a National Coal Board mineral plan (KP16979) at grid reference SN78SW, confirming lead and copper as the recorded minerals. ²

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Ystrad Einion Mine
2. (primary) Ystrad Einion Mine (BGS Mine Plan #17049) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026