Hingston Downs Mine is located 1.5 miles West of Gunnislake. It worked from 1850-1917 producing: 65,710 tons Copper, 254 tons Tin, 200 tons Arsenic and 152 tons of Wolfram. The main survival is the well preserved Pumping Engine House on Bayly’s Shaft.
![Hingston Downs Mine 1 Cornish Engine House](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns1.jpg)
The site has been renovated in recent years and is in a good state of preservation. It is unusual in having a flat parapet roof with some of the original timbers in place. Also some of the windows still retain their iron frames.
![Hingston Downs Mine 2 Cornish Engine House](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns2.jpg)
The most profitable period of Hingston Downs life was during the 1850’s when a very rich Copper lode was discovered only 100ft down. The mine closed in 1885, following this the extensive dumps were re-worked by neighbouring mines.
In 1904 the mine was amalgamated into several other local mines. A brief period of mining was commenced but the mine finally closed in 1908.
A last re-working of the dumps during World War 1 recovered quantities of Copper and Wolfram.
![Hingston Downs Mine 3 Cornish Engine House](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns3.jpg)
The rest of the images on this page were taken during 2016 when I visited Hingston Downs Mine again, this time with Tracy.
![Hingston Downs Mine 4 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns4.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 5 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns5.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 6 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns6.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 7 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns7.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 8 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns8.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 9 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns9.jpg)
![Hingston Downs Mine 10 Hingston Downs Mine](https://www.cornishmineimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/HingstonDowns10.jpg)
The shaft here is narrow and crooked. This along with unreliable secondhand machinery added to the failure of the second re-working of the mine.