Poldice Mine

There are many routes into the site. In this visiting guide, we will start at the Todpool Gate on the lane leading to Church Hill because this is where we found suitable parking. Follow the lane east until you reach the junction with Church Hill and take a right.

You will then approach the Todpool Gate with a sign welcoming you to the Poldice Valley, which is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pass through the gate and continue along the path until you reach the entrance to the Police Mine site. To your left are the remains of a single-storey building possibly used for storage. Most of the building remains you see today were originally constructed during the 1870s when the mine switched to arsenic production; however, there were later additions and modifications.

Opposite are the remains of the ore separation plant. The building in front was the calciner, where ore was heated to remove impurities and increase the quality of copper produced.

Behind the calciner are the remains of buddle pits. Crushed ore is added to these pits with water. A set of brushes rotated the mixture separating heavier material such as tin, which sank to the bottom. Lighter waste material was removed from the top and the mixture was transferred into the next buddle to repeat the process until all desired material was separated.

Next to the buddles is another room with a large trough possibly indicating where the mixture for the buddles was prepared. Notice the chutes to the right. They lead up to the crushing room, so it would make sense for the crushed ore to arrive down at this room where it was mixed with water before being transferred to the buddles.

Head up to the crushing room, where you will see the remains that supported the crushing machinery before the crushed ore was sent down the chutes.

More buddles are located behind the crushing room.

Head back to the calciner and follow what looks like an aqueduct; however, this is actually a long flue that leads to the chimney at the top of the site. Tin and copper ore were burned in the calciner to remove impurities. The smoke would have contained arsenic and sulphide fumes that is highly toxic. The mine operators realised you could pass these fumes through a long flue to produce arsenic, which was another source of income.

Follow the flue through the site until you reach a series of zig-zag chambers known as the labyrinth. This structure trapped fumes from the calciner where arsenic crystals could form on the inside of the walls. It was then collected, bagged, and sold for further purification. This explains why this section of the site is fenced off so stick to the designated paths.

Follow the flue uphill where it passes over an arch.

Head south towards the chimney stack where the flue terminated.

As you approach the stack base, you will see the additional remains of the flue that drew the toxic fumes from the works and up the stack. This part of the guide highlights how long the flue was, and this length would have been required to increase the distance between the calciner and where the fumes were dispersed to minimise the impact on the health of the workers.

Head back down the path and turn right towards the valley. You will come across the concrete remains of an overhead ropeway that transported tubs of ore from the Parc-an-Chy Mine nearby.

Continue northeast where you will find the remains of the California Stamps. This machinery used large pounds to crush ore. These stamps were originally used in America during the gold rush and the technology was introduced in Cornwall. This process of crushing ore would have originally been done by hand by ‘bal maidens’, who were young and unmarried female labourers employed in Cornish mines. Talk about a tough job!

Continue northeast down the path through the valley where the extent of mining activity is visible. Take note of the large spoil heaps, where waste material that was extracted underground was dumped. These landscapes are now popular with BMX and mountain bikers.

Continue to the floor of the valley and head back east where you will pass more spoil heaps lighter in colour. Many are fenced off because they may contain arsenic; therefore, we recommend you stick to the paths and avoid crossing any fences.

As you return to the ore processing plant, you will pass a granite monolith parish marker with the number 42 inscribed. It marks the boundary between Chacewater and Gwennap parishes dating from the early 19^th century and is a Grade II Listed Building.

The path will lead you back to the Todpool Gate; however, the Poldice Valley has much more to offer that we could not fit into this guide. You may wish to extend your visit and explore further afield to discover additional remains of this once-bustling industrial landscape.