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- Feb 25, 2015
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Some History
Ystrad Einion lead-silver, zinc and copper mine is one of the most northerly metal mines in Ceredigion, situated in the heart of Cwm Einion. Mining had been carried out here in a small way since the 18th century, but the main period of activity came in the final decades of the 19th century, when Lancastrian entrepreneur Adam Mason leased the land from the Pryses of Gogerddan and sank over £3000 in state-of-the-art equipment.
Ystrad Einion was a relatively small mine; a report of 1891 notes just 11 miners working at the site, 9 men labouring underground and 2 lads, aged between 13 and 18 above ground. It also proved spectacular unprofitable, with minimal, if any, returns. In 1891 the mine produced 5 tons of silver bearing lead (value £37), 10 tons of zinc ore (value £15) and 5 tons of copper ore (value £7). The mine was closed in 1903, when much of the machinery was sold or scrapped.
The Visit
I visited here with a couple of friends. I took us quite a while to locate the entrances to the mines. We found 3 altogether, all 3 were gated but only 1 was locked. The first 2 higher mines are quite small and without specialised equipment & balls of steel there isn't far to explore once inside. The lowest mine entrance contains a 16ft diameter water wheel from approx 1871 and has multiple tunnels going in all directions for a few hundred yards. There are exposed shafts, wooden boarded walkways, old tracks still in place, a 10ft ridge to scale using rope that has been pre-fixed to the wall, some places involved crawling or climbing, but it was all good fun....PS I had to borrow some pink wellies!
Warning!
There are some extremely dangerous places inside all 3 mine entrances. Good lighting, a helmet, rope and a group of people is recommended. Just beyond the water wheel there is an exposed shaft filled with water. Had it not have been for good lighting one of us could have easily stepped into the shaft. There is an old iron kibble located at the top of the 10ft ridge. If you make it this far DO NOT take the tunnel that is straight ahead, if you do, proceed with extreme caution. There are 3 ways to go, but in the tunnel that is straight ahead is another shaft that is hidden by 4-6 inches of water and was covered with only wooden boards. We didn't know this until we returned and had fully explored every inch we could access.
All in, was a good day out. Hopefully next time I can concentrate on taking some better pics, this time I was in awe of the whole place and photos were secondary to exploring.
An album of about 60 pics is on Imgur http://imgur.com/a/qr39c
Ystrad Einion lead-silver, zinc and copper mine is one of the most northerly metal mines in Ceredigion, situated in the heart of Cwm Einion. Mining had been carried out here in a small way since the 18th century, but the main period of activity came in the final decades of the 19th century, when Lancastrian entrepreneur Adam Mason leased the land from the Pryses of Gogerddan and sank over £3000 in state-of-the-art equipment.
Ystrad Einion was a relatively small mine; a report of 1891 notes just 11 miners working at the site, 9 men labouring underground and 2 lads, aged between 13 and 18 above ground. It also proved spectacular unprofitable, with minimal, if any, returns. In 1891 the mine produced 5 tons of silver bearing lead (value £37), 10 tons of zinc ore (value £15) and 5 tons of copper ore (value £7). The mine was closed in 1903, when much of the machinery was sold or scrapped.
The Visit
I visited here with a couple of friends. I took us quite a while to locate the entrances to the mines. We found 3 altogether, all 3 were gated but only 1 was locked. The first 2 higher mines are quite small and without specialised equipment & balls of steel there isn't far to explore once inside. The lowest mine entrance contains a 16ft diameter water wheel from approx 1871 and has multiple tunnels going in all directions for a few hundred yards. There are exposed shafts, wooden boarded walkways, old tracks still in place, a 10ft ridge to scale using rope that has been pre-fixed to the wall, some places involved crawling or climbing, but it was all good fun....PS I had to borrow some pink wellies!
Warning!
There are some extremely dangerous places inside all 3 mine entrances. Good lighting, a helmet, rope and a group of people is recommended. Just beyond the water wheel there is an exposed shaft filled with water. Had it not have been for good lighting one of us could have easily stepped into the shaft. There is an old iron kibble located at the top of the 10ft ridge. If you make it this far DO NOT take the tunnel that is straight ahead, if you do, proceed with extreme caution. There are 3 ways to go, but in the tunnel that is straight ahead is another shaft that is hidden by 4-6 inches of water and was covered with only wooden boards. We didn't know this until we returned and had fully explored every inch we could access.
All in, was a good day out. Hopefully next time I can concentrate on taking some better pics, this time I was in awe of the whole place and photos were secondary to exploring.
An album of about 60 pics is on Imgur http://imgur.com/a/qr39c
