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History of Tawara Mining: Report Produced By: Bruno Vaticano

Tawara, located in the UK, has a long history of mining dating back to the Bronze Age. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Tawara was one of the richest mining economies in the world due to its abundance of metals like tin, copper, lead, and zinc. Mining was difficult and dangerous work. While mining declined in the late 19th century as other areas industrialized, interest is growing again due to rising metal prices and improved technology. A commemorative bullion program has been launched to celebrate Tawara's mining heritage.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
41 views3 pages

History of Tawara Mining: Report Produced By: Bruno Vaticano

Tawara, located in the UK, has a long history of mining dating back to the Bronze Age. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Tawara was one of the richest mining economies in the world due to its abundance of metals like tin, copper, lead, and zinc. Mining was difficult and dangerous work. While mining declined in the late 19th century as other areas industrialized, interest is growing again due to rising metal prices and improved technology. A commemorative bullion program has been launched to celebrate Tawara's mining heritage.

Uploaded by

Bruno Vaticano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bruno Vaticano

History of Tawara Mining


Report produced by: Bruno Vaticano
Tawara is best known today for its tourism, fishing and farming but there was a time when it was known all around the world for its mining industry. Mining is
known to have started in the Bronze Age and continued until its demise with the closure of the last tin mine in 1998. In the 18th and 19th centuries Tawara was one
of the richest mining economies in the world. Industries, inventions and communities were built on its wealth of underground treasures. The abundance of metals in
the Celtic soil has been suggested as a possible reason why the Romans invaded.

Tawara Mining
The first part of the 19th century was the peak for mining in this area with most of the world’s copper being mined here. The largest, deepest
and oldest mine in the world was located here until its closure in 1921. It was once referred to as the richest square mile on earth and was
known as the ‘Queen of Mines’. The late 1890s also saw the emergence of South Crofty and it became well established as a future leader of
the industry. The main metals that it produced were tin, copper, lead and zinc.

The mining process consisted of a shaft sunk into the ground from which tunnels or drives would be blasted from the rock to reach the
seams that contained the ore at various levels. From the drives, vertical tunnels or raises were created to join the drives and the rock between
them was blasted out from a stope which contained the sought-after metals. To separate the valuable ore from the rock the broken rock was
taken from the mine to the processing mill where various extraction methods were used to access the metals.

Dangers
Any job working below the ground is potentially hazardous and mining was no exception. Conditions were hot, oppressive and very dangerous but miners were
prepared to risk life and limb because the work was relatively well paid compared to other means of employment. Working underground in hot, damp and dusty
conditions meant miners were prone to many different diseases. Bronchitis, silicosis, TB and rheumatism were all common complaints making life expectancy short
and few miners were fit to work beyond the age of 40. A very common injury was vibration white finger which affected rock drillers whose work involved extended
use of vibrating hand-held machinery.
In the early days there were no cages to haul miners up and down the shaft. Mines were reached by ladders which could stretch down for 100 feet. Not surprisingly,
falls were commonplace. Rock falls and flooding were hazards faced by miners on a daily basis and accidents were a frequent occurrence. In the 18th and 19th
centuries, it was common place for children to be employed in the mines.

Demise of Mining
In 1893 there were 67 mines in the area producing tin but by 1897 only 31 were still in production. Discoveries of massive mineral deposits in the New World
caused many people to pack up and leave in search of work. Thousands of miners migrated overseas where their mining expertise was much valued in the new world
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of Australia, South Africa, North America and even Peru.Several minor revivals took place over the following century, but the mining industry never fully recovered
and became completely unprofitable as it could not compete with mining expansion around the world. Metal prices fell dramatically during the 1980s and this finally
resulted in the collapse of mining at Tawara on an industrial scale. The last working tin mine in Europe closed in 1998.

World Mining
Today the world’s top 5 mining countries are:

Russia – iron, nickel, coal and cobalt

South Africa – gold, copper and iron

USA – copper, coal

Australia – iron, nickel and bauxite

China – gold, iron, bauxite, copper

Tin Mining
Tin is one of the oldest metals known to man. It is thought that tin has been traded throughout Europe for around 4,000 years and was of huge strategic importance to
rulers and traders. It was alloyed with copper to make bronze for utensils, weapons and decorations in a material that was far superior to stone.

Tin revolutionised the food industry as tin-plated iron, and then steel, cans enabled food to be preserved and transported. Tin foil was once a common wrapping
material for foods and drugs but since the early 20th century most everyday materials such as beverage cans and tin foil are actually made of steel or aluminium.
From toothpaste to window glass to wiring, tin remains an important material in our world. Major tin deposits are confined to a comparatively small number of areas
with tin production dominated by China and Indonesia, which account for over 70% of global mine output. The largest operating mine currently in Europe is the
Neves-Corvo complex in Portugal where both tin and copper are extracted.

The Future
Over recent times the price of tin in particular has been soaring again due to limited reserves found around the world. Current metal prices are as follows:

BASE METAL PRICE USD,,,,, Metal Price, Price low,Price high


name /kg,Price/tonn
e

,,
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Tin,18.77,17965.03,5.41,14.01,19.01

Copper,5.11,4885.02,1.79,4.55,5.63

Zinc,2.35,2280.91,1.15,1.52,2.36

Lead,1.88,1817.51,1.63,1.63,1.97

Aluminium,1.74,1635.01,1.59,1.55,1.7
4

Large deposits of metal are still found in Tawara granite and over the coming years the price is expected to double. Demand has also increased due to tin being
required for solder in the electronic and computer markets. Improvements in mining technology mean that the cost of extraction has fallen dramatically. Safety and
environment regulations have all improved. This makes the prospect of tin mining an attractive proposition and the future for the mining industry has never been
brighter.

Tawara Heritage Mining


We are introducing a limited edition range of commemorative bullion ingots to celebrate the rich history of the mining industry. We are offering valued members the
opportunity of purchasing commemorative ingots of Tin (silvery/grey in appearance), Copper (reddish/orange in appearance), Lead (silvery/blue in appearance) and
Zinc (bluish/white in appearance). Each ingot weighs one kilogram and is branded with the Tawara hallmark. All have been sourced from Tawara ore production and
are 99.9% pure.

These commemorative ingots are sure to become collector items and will be released for sale at our annual open day. Invitations to the event will be sent in the near
future so be sure to book your place.

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