Wheal Drea is an old tin mine that was incorporated into the Wheal Owles group in about 1859, having worked independently for some years during the earlier part of the 19th Century. The engine shaft at Wheal Drea was being deepened during 1871 when it was discovered that it intersected three lodes at the 160 fathom level. Three years later, parts of the Wheal Owles sett were suspended and allowed to fill with water, but work continued in Wheal Drea. It seems probable that it was at Wheal Drea in 1881 that the Champion rock drill was introduced to the Wheal Owles mines, the compressor being powered by an old waterwheel on the Boscean side of the stream. In 1882, the Wheal Drea miners holed into Boscean workings - an indication (had it been realised) that the underground survey was erroneous. In 1884, the Wheal Drea section was abandoned.

Wheal Owles (which Wheal Drea became a part of) is a former mine sat on the cliff path just south of its more famous neighbour Botallack. This particular mine is a rarity in that four engine houses and parts of several others can still be seen today. Some sections of this mine were already at work by 1725, although they were all separate ventures at this point. In 1810 the first engine was erected.
It was not until the 1860s when several of the smaller ventures were added into one sett that Wheal Owles began to produce large quantities of ore. During this period there were eleven engines, twenty nine miles of tunnels with at least another mile being added each year. Over the next two decades even more small mines were added, and in 1870 Cargodna was renamed West Wheal Owles.
The next two decades saw the fortunes of the mine take a real downturn. In 1874 a drop in ore prices led to Wheal Owles, Wheal Boys and Wheal Grouse shutting down and only three engines were left running. Tin prices continued to plummet and more inland sectioned closed, with efforts focused on the West Wheal Owles area. Only the 36” engine on West Wheal Owles was left working in 1884.

In 1893, men was sent to the 65 fathom level of Cargodna shaft to break into what was thought to be richer ground towards Wheal Drea. However, the plans were incorrect and the men broke into the 148 fathoms level of Wheal Drea, releasing all of the backed up water and flooding the workings. The pressure was so great it supposedly blew a crater down near the Kenidjack almshouse. Nineteen men and one boy drowned. Their names are inscribed on a stone by the West Wheal Owles pumping engine house. They were killed because the mine plans were inaccurate and showed 19 fathoms of ground between the blasting position and the abandoned and flooded levels of Wheal Drea. The plans indicated two distinct lodes, Cargodna and Drea, with solid ground between them but in fact the two lodes had run together to become one but the coming together of the lodes had not been picked up by the surveyor because he had not made allowance over many years for the variation in magnetic north. The underground mine workings were never drained again.

The smaller workings that make up Wheal Owles include: Wheal Edward, Wheal Drea, Wheal Grouse, Cargodna, Wheal Boys, Wheal Gendall, Wheal Chase and Lower Boscean.

Lodes included: Wheal Owles, Hanger, Gargotha, Cargodna, Wheal Boys Guide, Wheal Boys Gallen, Wheal Grouse Gallen, Wheal Grouse, Wheal Drea, Wheal Edward Cliff, Corpus Christi, Parkenoweth and Buzza.

Wheal Drea itself is well known for excellent siderite specimens.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

ⓘ Copper

ⓘ Tin

Mineral List

16 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Baryte

Formula: BaSO₄

References:

Golley, Peter, Williams, Richard (1995) Cornish Mineral Reference Manual. Endsleigh Book Co., Truro. 71pp.

ⓘ Calcite

Formula: CaCO₃

References: