Parys Mountain Mines (Paris Mine; Parys Mine; Mona Mine; Morfa Du Mine), Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey (Gwynedd; Anglesey), Wales, UK

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The type locality for anglesite, specimens were found ca. 1790-1800 when the mine worked the gossan. Specimens are generally rare and examples can now most commonly be be seen in old museum collections. Large crystals of barite are were also recorded during this period, but do not appear to have been saved. Many of the other specimens listed are generally microscopic in nature, unprepossessing, or are disseminated within the ore.

Whilst there is some evidence that parts of Parys mountain had been subjected to Bronze age fire setting techniques and that the Romans had mined areas here for lead and copper, the mines were first recorded worked in Elizabethan times (c1580). A map in the Public records office (PRO SP45/36 MPF11) shows the havens of Amlwch and Dulas and gives distances to the copper works locating them on the eastern side of Parys mountain.

The main phase of working began in 1761, with Parys Mountain rapidly becoming Europe's premier copper mine. The Great Lode, which contained an average of 3.5% copper, was discovered in 1768. Together with underground workings and its newly-started opencast, Mona mine also utilised the precipitation process. In 1772/3, large amounts of scrap iron were being transported from London to be used in Mona Mine's precipitation pits.

By 1770 the vein had been extended onto Parys farm land causing increasing bitter boundary disputes. As a consequence, the deposit was then worked jointly by two mines, Mona Mine in the east and Parys Mine in the west. However, arguments over boundaries continued for many years and in 1835 a court ruling gave 2000 square yards of Mona mine's land to Parys mine.

Whilst masses of copper to 30lbs were noted by Lentin in 1800, the subsequent exhaustion of easily won supplies led to a dramatic drop in production in both mines in the first decade of the 19th century. Although there was a resurgence in the 1820s when new lodes were discovered, by around 1830, many of the Mona mine's precipitation pits were abandoned.

In 1832/4 the Parys mine's North Discovery lode was found, which lasted until around 1840, after which most mining had finished, with many mine workers moving to the Drws y Coed mine in Snowdonia.

There was a further resurgence of mining ca. 1860, the Parys Mines Company making an estimated £400,000 profit between 1858-70, after which mining continued in decline until ca. 1890 when most mining had ceased.

In 1877 part of the lease at the western end of the deposit was sold to the Morfu Du mining company, who then worked the Morfa Du Mine (small, shallow, ill-defined workings - SH 432900) from 1881-1904 and raised raised 5783 tons of ore.

In 1899 the Mona and Parys mines were merged to form Mona and Parys mines Ltd. Activity was concentrated at the precipitation and ochre works.

It is estimated that between 1768-1904, a total of 3.5 million tons of ore were raised, producing 130,000 tons of copper and around 20km of under ground workings were driven. Although large opencasts remain on the hill, there is remarkably little to be seen in the way of minerals.

Modern exploration commenced in 1955, initially by Anglesey Mining Exploration Ltd and then by the Anglesey Copper Mines (UK) Ltd, who, until 1962, drilled 11 boreholes. From 1966-70 the Canadian Industrial Gas and Oil Company Ltd ( CIGOL) drilled a further 52 bore holes without finding promising reserves.

In 1973, a high grade polymetalic ore deposit was discovered by Cominco Ltd. Estimated reserves were 4.8 million tonnes of ore containing 1.5% copper, 3% lead, 6% Zinc, and small amounts of gold and silver.

In 1988, a new shaft - Morris shaft, was sunk by The Anglesey Mining Company. Reserves are now stated to be 7.8 million tonnes. In 2008, AMC began negotiations with Western Metals of Australia to purchase and develop the site, but the subsequent fall in world metal prices has left the future of mining here unresolved.

Of historic interest, Parys Mountain provided the copper sheathing for the hulls of warships of the British Navy, it's fleet being completely coppered between 1778-82. The technique, developed in Britain, improved performance (and protected the hull from the ravages of the Teredo worm) and gave the British Navy important advantages over the French and Spanish fleets during the wars of the time.

The site has also featured as a location for a number of films including the cult UK Sci-Fi series, "Dr. Who"

NB: contemporaneous mining tokens (pictures shown within site photos) name the mining company as the Paris Mine.

Mineral List

Anatase Anglesite (TL) Anhydrite Ankerite Baryte Bismuth Bismuthinite Bornite Bournonite Chalcanthite Chalcocite Chalcopyrite Copiapite

Copper Covellite Cuprite Dolomite Felsőbányaite Galena Galenobismutite 'Glockerite' Goethite Gold Gypsum Halotrichite Hematite

Ilmenite Jarosite Jordanite Kobellite 'Limonite' Magnetite Malachite Marcasite Melanterite Minium Pickeringite Pyrite Pyromorphite

Pyrrhotite Quartz Rozenite Rutile Siderite Silver 'Snottite' Sphalerite Spionkopite Sulphur Tennantite Tenorite Tetrahedrite

52 entries listed. 49 valid minerals. 1 type locality (valid mineral).

References

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