
Penberthy Croft Mine, is a disused mine and
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI) in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
UK. It is located to the north of the civil parish of
St Hilary, east of the town of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
.
The mine was designated a SSSI in 1993, is listed as of national importance in the
Geological Conservation Review and is the world type locality for
connellite
Connellite is a rare mineral species, a hydrous copper chloro-sulfate, Cu19(OH)32(SO4)Cl4ยท3H2O, crystallizing in the hexagonal system. It occurs as tufts of very delicate acicular crystals of a fine blue color, and is associated with other copp ...
and
bayldonite.
It is noted as the most important site in Britain for secondary ore minerals of
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, and
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
and has had 40 mineral species recorded at the site.
History
A new 36-inch cylinder pumping engine was built in 1880, by Messrs George Eustice and Cooper which drained between nine and ten fathoms of water in the first four hours of work.
References
External links
mindat.org
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall
Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1993
Mines in Cornwall
Arsenic mines in Cornwall
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