Huel (an old spelling of Wheal) an Gever was working in 1716, and within 50 years there were other mines working this section of the coast including Wheal Geavor, Wheal Mexico and Stennack Mine.

Wheal Stennack had its own steam pumping engine by 1815, the mine having changed its name to East Levant by 1837, shortly before its closure. 1849 saw an attempted flotation of the Great St Just Tin and Copper Mining Company. Unsuccessful, this putative mine included Wheal Mexico, Stennack and Geever and Wheal Game.

Mining commenced again in 1851 under the name North Levant, and by 1860 undersea exploration was being carried out from Goldsworthy's Shaft on the cliffs at the bottom of the site. In April 1867 miners in the inland section accidentally broke into the flooded workings of Wheal Maitland, an incident which cost the lives of five miners, the youngest being just 13. Although the mine expanded over the next decades, to include Wheal Bal and Wheal Carne to the east, operations closed again in 1891. This period marked a time when mining in the St. Just region was at a standstill. Wheal Geevor worked intermittently from 1892 to 1904 although some of this appears to have been under the name of North Levant.

In 1905 the West Australian Gold Fields Company Limited acquired the mine, which worked as North Levant and Geevor, Ltd. In 1911 the mine was renamed Geevor Tin Mines, Ltd, which now included North Levant, Geevor, Wheal Carne and Wheal Bal; operations were centred on Wethered Shaft. The prominent headgear can be seen at the entrance to the site.This decade saw the introduction of electric power into the St Just mining district, from the power station at Hayle to Geevor, Levant, North Boscaswell, Botallack, Wheal Bellan and Wheal Kelynack. In 1919 a new shaft, Victory, was commenced adjacent to the mill.

At the end of the 1950’s Geevor was running out of reserves to mine with closure a distinct possibility. The next decade proved to be a pivotal period in the life of the mine. It was during this time that a programme of expansion and development was put together that led to the discovery of major new ore reserves. The discovery of the Grenfell Lode in the early part of the decade close to Victory Shaft gave the mine time for the programme to develop. Boscaswell Downs Mine to the north was re-opened via Treweeks Shaft and eventually the rich Simms Lode was discovered that was to feed the mill for the next 20 years.

To the south of the mine a major engineering feat was completed when the hole in the seabed in Levant Mine was sealed and the mine dewatered eventually enabling Geevor to mine the extensions of the Levant Lodes under the Atlantic seabed.

In order to adequately exploit the deep ore reserves at Levant and to make available the deeper seaward extension of certain Geevor lodes, the management decided to sink a new shaft, Victory Sub Vertical Shaft. In 1975 Victory Shaft was deepened with orepasses modified and new ore handling facilities installed. The new shaft was sunk from 15 level in a seaward direction with the first phase to 19 level completed in 1977. Development on the levels 16,17,18 and 19 then commenced. A major expansion of the Mill was completed in 1980.

Further south of Levant lie the mines around Botallack and in 1980 an old shaft, Allen's Shaft, was being prepared for reopening in order to explore the seaward extensions of the Wheal Edward and Wheal Owles lode systems. However, this work was eventually suspended due to the financial situation of the company.

In the autumn of 1985, almost overnight, the price of tin fell to around a third of its previous value. The mine was put onto a care and maintenance basis in 1986, with no government aid forthcoming, and most of the workforce was made redundant.

With a change in ownership and a modest rise in the tin price, limited production resumed in 1988. However, with another fall in the tin price, production was again halted in 1990.With no evidence of a recovery in the price of the metal, the pumps were switched off in 1991 and the mine was allowed to flood.

The mine owners permitted the surface plant, that represented so much to those that felt deeply about the old mine, to be sold or cut up for scrap. Valuable machines were destroyed, buildings were neglected to the point of ruin and the entire area assumed an air of doom and depression.

However at this stage Cornwall County Council stepped in and made the wise decision to purchase the site. Organisations including Cornwall County Council, Penwith District Council, the Trevithick Society and The National Trust were moved by the many individuals who felt that Geevor should not be allowed to merely disappear. Many people locally believed that the mine could be developed into a 'Mining Heritage Centre', which would eventually create jobs in a very depressed area.

The work of adapting the old mine offices and creating the museum was done by a group of volunteers, mostly ex-Geevor employees, who worked throughout the winter of 1992/3 with no heating or mains power with a dogged determination to 'Make it Happen'.

Geevor Tin Mine Heritage Centre opened in August 1993 and is now the largest preserved mining site in the country.

Since 1993 much has happened at Geevor and it is now Cornwall's Premier Mining Centre where the entire story of the mining and processing of tin can be told.