Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2: The images on this page were taken soon after the mine closed. The site was a special place to be, the atmosphere and memories were everywhere. At every turn it felt like the place would come alive again at any moment.
More images around the Victory Shaft area also some of the buildings and remaining equipment.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.1 – Wagons & Eimco “Muckers” on the rails in front of the Victory Shaft gates.These were used to shovel up blasted rock then load it into a wagon. The machine was driven by a powerful compressed air motor. To watch an experienced miner operating one of these was just poetry in motion.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.2 – Another image taken slightly further back.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.3 – The front business end of the Eimco rocker shovel.
To load an Eimco mucker into the cage, the front bucket also the operating handles had to be removed. The loading process was quite tricky. As when the weight of the first two wheels entered the cage the hoisting rope would stretch causing the cage drop a few inches. This got progessively worse as you got deeper as there was a longer length of rope to stretch.
Because the cage had dropped the cage man would give a 4 and 1 bell signal to the winder driver to raise the cage very slowly. Then where he required it a single bell signal would be given to stop. This process happened in reverse when unloading, except that the cage would rise. This also applied to the loading and unloading of the loco’s.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.4 – A side view of the Eimco rocker shovel. These were the workhorses of the mine, the bucket would scoop up the broken ore and tip it into the wagon behind. There is also a battery powered loco on the right. The batteries were lead acid and were re-charged at charging bays on the working levels. This loco is a Bev (British Electric Vehicles) with it’s distinguishing coupling rod on the wheels.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.5 – Outside of the Miners Dry.
The two chimneys were of a coal fired boiler large also smaller oil fired boiler. I believe that the small oil fired boiler came from a dry cleaning establishment at Redruth. The coal fired boiler was under fired by an automatic auger and traditionally burnt coal from Cadley Hill Colliery. Supplied to the mine by J.H.Bennetts coal merchants of Penzance. Just as a matter of interest, inside of the smaller door centre of picture. This was the “Cement House” where back during the 1960’s the Foracky (Irish) miners lived and slept on site.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.6 – A nice cloud effect over the boiler house for the Miners Dry.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.7 – It was sad to see so much equipment just left to rust. Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.8 – More textures and pattern, using black and white film really adds to the “feel” of the image.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.9 – Trolleys and wagons.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.10 – Eimco Mucker minus the operating handles. (Would have been removed to get it into the cage).
When the mine was being asset stripped, only the crap gear came to surface. It is rumored that the good wagons, muckers and loco’s got lost trapped on 15 and 13 levels. There was also a “rescue” bid in the offing. The water level at this time was below 19 level. So had the bid been successful, no doubt these items may have been retrieved.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.11 – Door into the “loco” bay of the electricians workshop. Note the turntable. Here batteries could be lifted off to gain access to the traction motor for maintenance. Also the batteries were high rate discharge tested, and new individual cells fitted to the battery if required. The track leading to the right led into a battery charging bay.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.12 – Outside of the top fitting shop, a solitary “Stokes” vertical spindle “YR” sand pump.
These were the work horse for the old mill at Geevor. These pumps had a rubber covered impeller, casing, spindle, top and bottom plate. They were extremely reliable, also we could predict with a good degree of accuracy when they needed a rebuild by the tonnage processed in the mill.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.13 – Victory Shaft 9 man cage. Just discernible in the picture, just below the sloping canopy and amp; in line with the guides are two safety “snail” serrated cams. The purpose of which was to dig into & grip the shaft runners the “pull” of the hoisting was lost. Never used in anger!Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.14 – Rear of the Victory compressor house. This item has nothing to do with the mine. It is a crane from the Penzance harbour. (Possibly “rescued” by Clive Carter)Cornish Mine Images 2.15 – Adjacent to the winder & compressor houses. Two water tanks, but technically very interesting. The tank with “egg ends” & of riveted construction was originally an air receiver at the mine, but was condemned for use as a pressure vessel. Typical of Geevor it was moved & converted to a water storage tank, this design goes back to Trevithick’s day.Cornish Mine Images 2.16 – A settling cone from the new mill. I think that it was part of the batch sulphide flotation circuit. Material pumped to the cone settled & the suppernatent water (over-flow) spilled over the top & caught in the launder.
The remaining images on this page are of a Biglow Jaw Crusher. This used to be mounted at the rear of the mill buildings where the overhead conveyor terminated.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 2.17 – The Biglow Jaw Crusher.
This was originally sited below the course rock bin as the primary jaw crusher. This crusher had plain white metaled bearings. But when moved to the location in this picture was modified to shell bearings by Clifford Trezise. There was a “Geevor” modification in the form of a safety toggle. This would collapse in the event of, for example a sledge hammer head getting between the crushing jaws.
Cornish Mine Images 2.18 – The steps leading upto the Jaw Crusher.Cornish Mine Images 2.19 – A more detailed image of the Biglow jaw crusher. The two large nuts were for adjusting the “gap” between the toe of the jaws.Cornish Mine Images 2.20 – This is a final image of the crusher, this was removed soon after the mine closed. I was glad to have such a lovely day to get good pictures of this piece of equipment.
Biglow jaw crusher with the remains of a GTU, Gravity Take Up Unit. This kept the conveyor belt that ran from the crusher tensioned. Just as a matter of interest, the conveyor belt got sold for cash by the scrap man. In his haste to remove the belt and pocket the cash he cut the belt. But one of his men was starting to cut up the structure of the GTU and very nearly got squashed by the falling weight when the tension of the conveyor belt was removed.
