South Crofty Mine Mill 2: This is the second page of images taken in the Mill area during 1997. I was on my own for most of the time, it was very spooky in there.
South Crofty Mine Mill 2.1 – Firstly, the area below the Crushing Hall was dark and quiet.
The mill was closed during 1985 after the Tin price crashed from £10,000 per ton to £3,300 which amounted to half the production cost at the mine. Carnon Consolidated Ltd who were the owners at the time had to make major changes to survive.
South Crofty Mine Mill 2.2 – One of the many conveyor belts in the facility. Almost all the floors in the basement area were flooded.
One of the group’s mines Pendarves had to close. Also the South Crofty Mill closed, underground production at Wheal Jane was suspended. But the mill there was kept in operation to treat all the South Crofty ore. By 1988 all South Crofty output was being transported to Wheal Jane in heavy lorries. This arrangement remained in place until 1998 when the mine closed.
South Crofty Mine Mill 2.3 – It was a strange place, random pieces of machinery everywhere, pipes from the roof disappearing into the floor.South Crofty Mine Mill 2.4 – One of the rotating Ball Mills where the rock was treated by rotation to release the metal particles.South Crofty Mine Mill 2.5 – The front of the Ball Mill, on the right is the drive motor.South Crofty Mine Mill 2.6 – Another set of Ball Mills.South Crofty Mine Mill 2.7 – The front of the Ball Mill showing the drive mechanism. However in this case it appears to be four truck tyres.
The Ball Mill consisted of a large metal cylinder on rollers. The cylinder would have been filled with hundreds of metal balls of several inches diameter. The crushed ore material would be fed into the mill which was rotating. The action of the metal balls on the ore would subsequently release the metal particles.
Cornish Mine Images 2.8 – More rotating mills, the output from these would feed the Shaking Tables in the Recovery Plant.Cornish Mine Images 2.9 – This arrangement of pipes caught my eye. It just makes quite a good photograph.Cornish Mine Images 2.10 – This piece of machinery was the Classifier, it was a rotating screw which separated the larger and denser particles by dragging them against a flow of liquid.Cornish Mine Images 2.11 – A second image of the Classifier, By the time the ore reached this point it had been ground to a mushy material which held the Tin metal in suspension.
For more information about Mineral Processing Click Here.
Cornish Mine Images 2.12 – The control cabin in the Mill area.
The rest of the images on this page were taken in the Recovery Plant. The roof here was in a very dangerous state. I am so glad I have this photographic record.
Cornish Mine Images 2.13 – This is the interior of the main mill, derelict and neglected it still had a magic of its own, the atmosphere inside was quite spooky. To the right of the image was a raised area where the Shaking Tables were situated.Cornish Mine Images 2.14 – The roof in this section had really seen better days.Cornish Mine Images 2.15 – Alongside the raised level was this piece of equipment.Cornish Mine Images 2.16 – Looking back, the debris on the floor is an indication of how unstable the building actually was.Cornish Mine Images 2.17 – Another piece of unidentifiable machinery, sorry to be a bit vague.Cornish Mine Images 2.18 – Before the final demolition the Mill would have been stripped of anything of value and sold for scrap.
If there is anyone who can help with information on some of the images, please get in contact with me.
