National Trust site on the Tin Coast housing the world's only Cornish beam engine still in steam on its original site, with guided tours of the 1919 man engine disaster shaft.
Levant Mine, on the cliffs at Trewellard near St Just in west Cornwall, was established as a formal mining company in 1820 and closed in 1930 after 110 years of continuous operation. The mine is reputed to have been one of the most productive submarine mines in Cornwall, with workings driven up to 2.5 kilometres under the seabed and reaching a depth of approximately 600 metres. Over its operational life it produced approximately 30,000 tons of black tin and 130,000 tons of copper ore.
The mine's history is indelibly marked by the man engine disaster of 20 October 1919, when the failure of the engine's link rod caused 31 miners to die. The 24-inch whim engine, built by Harvey's of Hayle in 1840, is the world's only Cornish beam engine still operated by steam on its original mine site. The mine is a National Trust property and part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2006.
Visits are by pre-booked guided tour.
The first recorded reference to copper mining at Levant dates from April 1787, when William Veale of St Just noted in his diary that he was an adventurer in the mine. Copper ore of 93 tons was sold in 1790 to 1791. The Levant Mine first appeared on a map in 1748 as an amalgamation of three earlier mines: Zawn Brinney, Boscregan, and Wheal Unity. By 1836 the mine employed 320 men, 44 women, and 186 children.
The Levant Mining Company was formally founded in 1820 with capital of £400. Among the majority shareholders were John Batten II (c.1805–1875), known as 'The King of St Just', who served as mine purser, and Lewis Charles Daubuz of Truro (c.1754–1839), owner of the most important tin smelting house in Cornwall at the time. The company immediately struck a rich, dry lode of copper ore, making £4,630 profit in its first two months. Mining tin became the principal activity during the nineteenth century. New machinery was installed including a man engine to move miners up and down the shaft, a stamps engine for crushing ore, and a large new tin dressing floor.
The 24-inch (approximately 70 cm) whim (beam) engine, designed by Cornish engineer Francis Mitchell and built by Harvey's of Hayle, was installed in 1840 and remains in its original engine house still operated by steam. In 1857 a man engine was installed at Levant, providing a mechanical means to transport miners into and out of the shaft; prior to this, miners had climbed approximately 80 ladders to reach the lowest working levels, a journey that could take an hour and a half. The mine earned the nickname 'the queen of Cornwall's submarine mines'; tunnels were driven up to 2.5 kilometres from the cliffs under the sea, and the mine reached a depth of about 600 metres.
On 20 October 1919, during the Monday afternoon shift change, the link between the man engine's reciprocating rod and the beam broke, causing the entire rod to collapse down the shaft. Between 130 and 150 miners were on the man engine at the time. Thirty-one men were killed and many more were injured. The man engine was never repaired and work in Levant's deepest levels ceased. The mine was reopened following the disaster under the joint control of Oliver Wethered of Geevor and Francis Freathy Oats.
Despite the reopening, the mine never fully recovered from the disaster. The price of tin dropped dramatically during the post-war economic depression and Levant was losing money. The mine closed in 1930, after 110 years of continuous operation, having produced approximately 30,000 tons of black tin and 130,000 tons of copper ore averaging 9 per cent copper.
The whim engine was passed into the care of the National Trust. A group of volunteers known as the Greasy Gang undertook the restoration of the engine; a fundraising appeal was launched in September 1990. The engine was restored to working order and is now the world's only Cornish beam engine still operated by steam on its original mine site. A winder house was built in the 1960s by Geevor Mine as part of its expansion into Levant; it houses the electric winder that raised and lowered engineers in a man cage via the skip shaft. A tunnel leading to the man engine shaft has been reopened as a memorial to the 1919 disaster. In 2006 Levant was inscribed as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site. Levant Mine is operated by the National Trust as a guided-tour-only attraction, with pre-booking required.