Cornish Mining

The landscape and identity of Cornwall as we know it today have been shaped by centuries of mining.

As far back as the Bronze Age, around 4000 years ago, people began to work the land in search of tin, copper and other metals.

The greatest era of mining in Cornwall was the early 19th century, when Cornwall became the world’s leading supplier of copper. By around 1860 overseas suppliers had taken over, and tin became Cornwall’s most important metal export. Over the years, the ever-changing fortunes of the mining industry brought great prosperity for some, but great poverty for many others.