Lode

The Cornish and general mining term for a mineral vein, or — more precisely — a number of closely spaced parallel veins worked together as a single, wider ore body.

Historical usage

Lode is a Cornish-origin word (vein is Latin), reflecting Cornwall and west Devon's long mining tradition; a lode could be a single vein or several running close enough together that the ground between them also became worth working, producing a much broader ore body than any one vein alone.

How it worked

Where a lode consisted of several parallel veins, the intervening rock was mined out along with the veins themselves wherever it carried enough mineral value, effectively treating the whole zone as one wide ore body rather than working each vein separately.

Why it was used

Treating a lode as a single wide body, rather than chasing several separate narrow veins individually, let a mine work a much greater tonnage of ground in one connected operation.

Risks & limitations

A lode's width and richness varied along its length just as a single vein's did, and a "barren" stretch of lode could still mean driving through a great deal of low-value ground to reach richer ore beyond it.

Regional variation

Lode is the standard term in Cornwall and west Devon specifically; elsewhere in Britain the near-synonymous 'Vein' (see above) is more commonly used.

Mines associated with this term

Included only where MineArchive's own research gives a reasonable evidential basis — not every mine where this might plausibly apply.

• Botallack Mine — Cornwall (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Bradda Head Mines — Isle of Man (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Cefn Coch Gold Mine — Gwynedd (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Clogau Gold Mine — Gwynedd (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Consolidated Mines — Cornwall (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Cwmystwyth Mines — Ceredigion (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Dolaucothi Gold Mines — Carmarthenshire (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Parc Mine — Conwy (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Parys Mountain — Anglesey (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• South Terras Mine — Cornwall (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Van Mine — Powys (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Wheal Example (demo record) — Demo County (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Wheal Owles — Cornwall (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.
• Ystrad Einion Mine — Ceredigion (well documented example)
  The mine's own recorded history describes working a specific lode by name.

Sources

1. (secondary) Lode — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Section 17. Lodes And Veins — Chest of Books

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