Kibble

A large, open-topped iron or steel bucket, hung on chains or a rope, used to raise ore, waste rock, water and — before cages became standard — miners up and down a shaft.

Historical usage

Kibbles were the standard means of shaft haulage in Cornish and other British hard-rock mines from at least the 18th century, worked with a horse whim or, later, a steam winding engine, and remained the normal tool for shaft-sinking work long after cages and skips had taken over routine production haulage.

How it worked

A kibble hangs freely on its chain, with no fixed guides, so it can spin or swing as it is raised or lowered. A typical kibble carried around 2–3 hundredweight (roughly 100–150 kg) of ore or rock on top of its own dead weight of around 50 kg.

Why it was used

A kibble was cheap and simple, needing no fixed guides or elaborate shaft furnishing, which made it the obvious choice while a shaft was still being sunk, or for a mine too small to justify a purpose-built winding system.

Risks & limitations

Riding in a kibble to reach or leave the workings was dangerous — there was no cage to prevent a fall, and the load could swing or catch against the shaft sides as it moved. Once a mine matured from sinking into full production, the kibble's lack of guides made it too slow and risky for a shaft's regular working, and it was generally superseded by guided skips for rock and dedicated cages for men.

Regional variation

"Kibble" is the standard British (and especially Cornish) term for this open shaft bucket; broadly equivalent vessels appear under other names in other coalfields and mining countries, generally filling the same shaft-sinking role.

Sources

1. (secondary) "Kibble", or iron bucket — Science Museum Group Collection
2. (secondary) Definition of sinking kibble — Mindat.org Glossary

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026