page_title: South Crofty
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: South Crofty / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Robinson&#39;s 80&quot; engine, South Crofty Mine
context_page_description: South Crofty is a metalliferous tin and copper mine located in the village of Pool, Cornwall, United Kingdom. An ancient mine, it has seen production for over 400 years, and extends almost two and a half miles across and 3,000 feet down and has mined over 40 lodes. Evidence of mining activity in South Crofty has been dated back to 1592, with full-scale mining beginning in the mid-17th century. The mine went into serious decline after 1985 and eventually closed in 1998. An effort to reopen the mine under new management is still underway as of October 2017.
context_section_description: By 1908, the Robinsons Shaft had been sunk to the 205-fathom (1,230 ft; 375 m)  level and work had begun on a second new shaft at New Cooks Kitchen. Increasing use was made of rock drills and, by 1910, the mine operated profitably hoisting 60,000 tons of ore annually. By 1914, the works were down to 310 fathoms (1,860 ft; 570 m).
  For the next 70 years South Crofty continued to modernise and expand. As nearby mines closed, they were acquired by South Crofty to supplement its ore reserves at depth. The major purchase was of Dolcoath mine in 1936. Ore production, which had not exceeded 75,000 tons a year since 1906, was increased to 92,000 tons in 1959 following improvements in both mine and mill. Production exceeded 100,000 tons in 1968 for the first time.
  Black tin production was steady at between 500 and 800 tons a year from 1907 to 1956, excluding a break in production during the tin price slump of the early 1920s. Wolframite and arsenic was also produced at the mine, the former accounting for around 50 tons to 150 tons between 1907 and 1956, and the latter between 500 tons and 1000 tons between 1907 and 1919, declining to 100 tons by 1956.
  In 1967, South Crofty Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Siamese Tin Syndicate Ltd and Siamese Tin's subsidiary, St Piran Ltd. This change of ownership was the start, in 1969, of a £1 million programme to increase ore hoisting capacity and to make substantial improvements to the mill. By 1975 the mill was processing more than 200,000 tonnes of ore (including some from Pendarves mine) to yield around 1,500 tonnes of tin concentrate.
  In mid-1982, the company was acquired from St Piran by Charter Consolidated, which subsequently disposed of 40% of its holdings to Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ). These holdings were vested in a new holding company, Wheal Crofty Holdings Ltd, with the same balance of ownership. Then in 1984 RTZ acquired Charter's 60% interest and South Crofty became part of Carnon Consolidated Ltd.
  In October 1985, the price of tin dropped dramatically on the world markets following the collapse of the International Tin Agreement. Carnon rationalised the operations, involving closure of the Pendarves mine which had supplied ore to the South Crofty mill. With a diminishing ore supply, this mill was progressively shut and by 1988 all South Crofty ore was trucked for processing at Wheal Jane.
  As well as a reduction in manpower, the mines were rationalised and a programme of modernisation, started by RTZ before the price crash, was stepped up. This was made possible by the co-operation and financial support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the form of loans for the capital improvement. The majority of this capital was put into the South Crofty mine. In addition, RTZ also provided a loan to fund the operating losses.
  Carnon became privately owned in June 1988 when the business and assets of the group were purchased from RTZ through a management buy-out. A trust was established for the benefit of the employees who received twenty percent of the equity. Carnon Holdings Limited, was incorporated at this time.
  In February 1991 the DTI stopped support of capital projects. The company substantially reduced labour costs which coupled with a small rise in the tin price allowed the mine to continue operating at a small loss. The losses were funded through the sale of surplus land and redundant assets. The mine produced about 1,900 tons of black tin in 1993 which was shipped to a smelter in Malaysia. In 1994 South Crofty was purchased by Crew Natural Resources of Canada; at this time the mines' identified and inferred reserves were expected to allow it to continue working for at least ten years. The New Roskear shaft took over from the Robinson Shaft as the secondary access shaft of access.
  However, after several more years of depressed tin prices, South Crofty Ltd announced in August 1997 that closure was imminent, and after further attempts at the time to keep the mine open, closure was completed by March 1998.
caption: Robinson's 80" engine, South Crofty Mine
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