twiglet said:
I think I have been to the entrance of wheal speed adit...an impressive red carpet of ochre and a large stream emerging but an awkward slippery climb to enter?Maybe we could do a trip there sometime in the future.On a different track, what is the news of the project to restart mining at South Crofty ?
Sounds like the right adit. I don't mind going there again.
Regarding South Crofty, the owners, Baseresult, are currently locked in a legal battle with the South West Regional Development Agency over a compulsory purchase order issued by the latter in late 2006. They have accused Baseresult of dragging their heels and not coming up with a proper plan of action for the site ( former proposals by Baseresult were to fill the old workings with power station fly ash, open the site as a heritage centre, presently it's to resume tin mining) Baseresult have been distributing leaflets around the area, advertising the fact that they've had injections of cash to the tune of £5 million private (emphasis on "private") funds over the past 5 years and have bought "hundreds of thousands of pounds" of second-hand equipment from Wheal Jane (still in situ). The compulsory purchase order reflects the SWRDAs frustration at a lack of progress at the mine; they want the land for a leisure complex because the existing one at Carn Brea is gradually subsiding into old shafts.
My own view about the resumption of mining at South Crofty is one of scepticism. £5 million sounds like a fair amount of money but, considering that the company want to recommence sinking an incline, would actually be peanuts. Current estimates at reopening a mine such as S Crofty and bringing it into production average about £25 million at present, and that's without sinking a horrendously expensive new access to the workings.
So there you have it - stalemate, punctuated by the occasional publicity event.