Written descriptions
A tour of North Wales performed during the summer of
1798 Rev Bingley
... from hence I visited Trysclwyn mountain; on part of which called Parys
Mountain ( Probably from Robert Parys who was a chamberlain of North Wales in
the reign of Henry IV) is the most considerable body of copper ore perhaps ever
know.
The external aspect of the hill,which rises into enormous rocks of coarse white
quartz,is extremely rude. The ore is lodged in a bason,or hollow,and has on one
side a small lake , on whose waters,distasteful as those of Avernus,no bird is
know to alight. The whole of this tracts has ,by the mineral operations,assumed
a most savage appearance.
Suffocating fumes issue from the burning heaps of copper,and extend their
baneful influence for miles around. In the adjacent parts vegetation is nearly
destroyed: even the mosses and lichens of the rocks have perished: and nothing
seems capable of resisting the fumes but the purple melic grass,which flourishes
in abundance.
I have little doubt but that this mine was worked in a very distant period.
Vestiges of the ancient operations appear in several parts,carried out by
trenching and heating the rocks intensely then suddenly pouring on water ,so as
to cause then to crack or scale,thus awkwardly supplying the use of gunpowder.
Pieces of charcoal have also been found which proved that wood was made use for
that purpose. As the Britons imported all the works in brass , it is certain
that the Romans were the under takers of these mines, and it is very probable
that they sent their ore to Caer-hen to be smelted,the place were the famous
cake of copper was discovered. They might likewise have had a smelting hearth in
this island,for a round cake of copper was discovered at Llanfaethle a few miles
from this place. It's weight was fifty pound and it had on it a mark resembling
an L.
In the year 1762,one Alexander Frazier came to Anglesey in search of mines. He
visited Parys Mountain: called on Sir Nicholas Bayley and gave him so flattering
an account of the prospects,as induced him to make a trail and sink shafts. Ore
was discovered;but before any quantity could be gotten,the mines were over
powered with water.
In about two years after,Messrs Roe and co of Macclesfield applied to Sir
Nicholas for a lease of Penryhn du mine in Caernarvonshire;with which they
were,much against their wills,compelled to take a lease of part of this
mountain,and to carry on a level and a fair trail. The trail was accordingly
made:ore was discovered;but the expense over balanced the profits. They
continued working at a great loss:and at length determined to give the affair
up.
They gave their agent orders for that purpose;but he,as a final attempt, divided
his men into ten several companies, of three or four in a partnership, and let
them sink shafts in various places, about eight hundred yards eastwards of the
place called the Golden Venture, on a presumption that a spring which issued
from near the spot, must come from a body of mineral. His conjecture was right;
for in less than two days they met with at the depth of seven feet from the
surface, the solid mineral, which proved to be that vast body which has since
been worked to such advantage. The day that this discovery was made was March
2nd 1768;which has ever since been observed as a festival by the miners.
Soon after this discovery, another adventure was begun by the Reverend Edward
Hughes, owner of part of the mountain, in right of his wife Mary Lewis of Llys
Dulas: so that the whole treasure is the property of Sir Nicholas Bayley and
himself.
The body of copper ore is of unknown extent. The thickness has been ascertained,
in some places, by driving of a level under it, several years ago, and it was
found to be in some places twenty four yards.
The ore is mostly of the kind called by Cronstedt, pyrites cupri flavo
virdes-cens; and contains vast quantities of sulphur. It varies in degrees of
goodness;some of it is rich,but the greater part poor in quality.
There are other species of copper ore found here. Of late a vein of the Pyrites
cupri griseus of Cronstedt,about seven yards wide,has been discovered near the
west end of the mountain:some is of an iron grey,some quite black;the first
contains sixteen pound of copper per cwt,the last forty. An ore has been lately
found,in form of loose earth,of a dark purplish colour;and the best of it has
produced better than eight in twenty. Some years ago,above thirty pounds of
native copper was found in driving a level through a turberry;some was in form
of mass,some in very thin leaves.
The ore is quarried out of the bed in vast masses;is broken into small
pieces;and the most pure part is sold raw,at the rate of about 3l. to 6l. per
ton,or sent to the smelting-house of the respective companies to be melted into
metal. Mr Hughes has great furnaces of his own at Ravenhead , near Liverpool and
at Swansea,in South Wales. An idea of the wealth of these mines may be formed,by
considering that the Macclesfield company have had at once fourteen thousand
tons of ore upon bank,and Mr Hughes,thirty thousand.
The more impure ore is also broken to the size of about hen's egg; but in order
to clear it from the quantity of sulphur with which it abounds,as well as other
adventitious matter , it must under go the operation of burning. For that
purpose it is placed between two parallel walls of vast length:some kilns are
twenty,other forty and fifty yards in length;some ten others twenty feet
wide,and above four feet in height. The space between is not only filled,but the
ore is pilled many feet higher,in a convex form,from end to end: the whole is
then covered with flat stones,closely luted with clay;and above is placed a
general integument of clay,and small rubbish of the work,in order to prevent any
fumes from evaporating.
Of late some of the kilns have been constructed with brick arches over the
ore,which is found to be the best method of burning. Within these few
years,attempts have been made to preserve the sulphur from escaping;and that is
done by flues,made of bricks,who's tops are in the form of a Gothic arch,many
scores of feet in length:one end of these opens into beds of copper which are to
be burnt. Those beds are set on fire by a small quantity of coal, for all the
rest is effected by its own phlogiston.
The volatile part is confined and directed to the flues;in its course the
sulphurous particle strike against their roofs and fall to the bottom in the
form of the finest brimstone;which is collected,and carried to adjacent
houses,where it is melted into what is called the shop stone brimstone.
The beds of copper thus piled for burning are of vast extent.Some contain four
hundred tons of ore others two thousand. The first require four months to be
completely burnt,the last near ten. Thus burnt,it is carried to proper places to
be dressed,or washed and made merchantable. By this process the ore is reduced
to a forth part in quantity,but considerable improvement in quality:and by this
means the water is strongly or richly impregnated with copper,which is dissolved
by the sulphuric acid;and is collected or precipitated again by iron in the
above described pits. The iron is all dissolved.
But a far richer produce of copper is obtained from the water lodged in the
bottom of the bed of ore,which is highly saturated with the precious metal. This
is drawn up,either by means either by means of whimsies or windmills, to the
surface,and then distributed into a number of rectangular pits thirty six feet
long,some pits more and some less,twelve to fifteen feet broad and twenty inches
deep.
To speak in the language of the adept,Venus must make an assignation with
Mars,or this solution will have no effect. In plain English a quantity of iron
must be immersed in the water. the kind of iron is of no moment;old
pots,hoops,anchors or any refuse will suffice. But of late,for the convenience
of management,the adventures procure new plates,four feet long,one and a half
broad and three quarters of an inch thick. These they immerse into the pits;the
particles of copper instantly are precipitated by the iron and the iron is
gradually dissolved into the yellow ochre;great parts of it float off by the
water and sinks to the bottom.
The plates or the old iron (as it happens) are frequently taken out,and the
copper scraped off;and this is repeated till the whole of the iron is consumed.
the copper thus procure differs little from native copper and is prized
accordingly and sold for prices of 25l to 45l a ton.
This mode of precipitation is nor new;it has been practised long in the Wicklow
mines in Ireland,and above a century in those of Hern-grudnt in Hungery where
the precipitate is called Ziment copper. The water of the Hungerian mines are
much stronger impregnated with copper than those of Parys mountain. The first
effects it's operation in twelve or about twenty days,the last requires two
months. horse shoes,iron made in shapes of hearts and other forms are put in the
foreign waters and when apparently transmuted,are given as presents to curious
strangers.
The ore is not got in the common manner of mining,but is cut out of a bed in the
same manner as stone is out of a quarry. A hollow is now formed in the solid ore
open to the day,and extends about an hundred yards in length about forty yards
in breadth and twenty four yards in depth. the ends are at present
undermined,but supported by vast pillars and magnificent arches,all metallic;and
these caverns meander far underground. these will soon disappear and thousands
of tons of ore be gotten from both the columns and roofs. the sides of this vast
hollow are mostly perpendicular and access to the bottom is only to be had by
small steps cut in the ore;and the curious visitor must trust to them and a
rope,till he reaches some ladders,which will conduct him the rest of the
descent. on the edges of the chasm are wooden platforms,which project far out,on
them are windlasses,by which the workmen are lowered to transact their business
on the face of the precipice. there suspended,they work in mid air,pick a small
space for a footing,cut out the ore in vast masses and tumble it to the bottom
with great noise. in such situations they form caverns and there appear safely
lodged,till the rope is lowered to convey then up again. much of the ore is
blasted with gunpowder,eight tons of which I am informed, is annually used for
the purpose.
Nature has been profuse in bestowing her mineral favours on this spot;for above
the copper ore,and not more that three quarters of a yard beneath the common
soil,is a bed of yellowish greasy clay,from one to four yards thick,containing
lead ore and yielding from six hundred to a thousand pounds weight of lead from
one ton;and one ton of the metal yields not less than fifty seven ounces of
silver. Mixed with the earth,are frequently certain parts of the colour of
cinnabar: Whether these are symptomatic of the sulphurous arsenical silver ores
or of quicksilver, I will not pretend to decide. Something interferes with the
successful smelting of this earth in the great:insomuch that it has not yet been
of that profit to the adventures,which might reasonably be expected from the
crucible assays of it;and they have at this time about eight thousand tons on
bank undisposed of. This place has been worked for lead ore in very distance
times. In the bottom of the pool was found ancient bits of smelted lead,of about
four inches in length,two in breadth and half an inch thick.
These works have added greatly to the population of the island;for about fifteen
hundred persons are employed,who,with their families,are suppose to make eight
thousand persons,getting their bread from these mines. The little village of
Amlwch,the port of the place,is increasing fast,and the market grows
considerably. at the season of greatest work, Mr Hughe's men alone receive,for
many weeks,two hundred pounds in one week and a hundred and fifty in another
merely for subsistence. The port is no more than a great chasm,between two
rocks,running far into land,and dry at low water;into which sloops run and
secure to receive their lading.
A tour of North Wales performed during the summer of 1798 Rev Bingley
Observations on the current state of Parys mountain communicated by Mr Price the
agent
Appendix XVII
The Parys mountain copper vein is very extensive ,and contains ore in bellies of
various magnitudes. ;such bellies or bunches are commonly called Stock Works.
The excavations in the mine are in extent agreeable to the quantities of ore
they contain. But it must be observed , that these vacancies were not entirely
filled with copper ore, but partially with mineral stone or matrix of the vein
,mixed with ore and dead ground which was requisite to be cut to give room to
pursue the ramifications of the vein.
This vein has been worked on a very large scale upwards of seven hundred yards,
beside considerable workings to the east and west of this length of ground. This
length includes the Parys and Mona mines, which are both in the same grand vein.
From the boundary of the two mines in the west end of the Parys mine , is an
open cast excavation two hundred yards long, one hundred and fifty yards broad
and twenty to forty yards deep, which gives a content of nine hundred thousand
cubic yards of removed natural ground. This part of the mine contained grand
bodies of ore of various qualities; beside the above mentioned open cast; there
are several large subterraneous excavations in this part of the mine and several
trails westward.
From the boundary of the two mines in the east end of the principle workings in
the Mona mine is a length of vein five hundred yards in which extent are three
large open cast excavations ,out of which full four hundred and sixty-eight
thousand cubic yards of natural ground have been taken.
Some of the subterraneous excavations in this part of the mine are very grand;
one of them is fifty yards long, thirty yards wide and forty yards high from the
bottom to the rugged crown of the arch, supported only by one pillar in that
cavity. In another part of the mine is an excavation forty yards in length
,fifteen in width and forty yards high in one entire arch. The under ground
working are too numerous to particularise. The whole of them will amount to a
vacuity of two hundred thousand yards cubical measurement besides shafts,levels
etc. some idea may be formed of the vast bodies of ore this part of the mine
contained, by the quantity of ore raised by two bargains in three months in the
year 1787, in the first two thousand nine hundred thirty two tons of good copper
ore and only ninety two tonnes of waste in the other four hundred eighty-eighty
tones of copper ore and two hundred sixty seven tones of waste, beside the ore
raised by sundry other smaller bargains.
The ore of this mine is in general the yellow copper ore; it contains pyrites
,sulphur and from four to fifteen per cent copper. Some black copper ore has
been raised in Parys mountain ,that held from fifteen to twenty per cent copper,
some parts of the vein produced fine specimens of native copper adhering in a
foliated form to the side of the interstitial rock, this copper has undoubtedly
been held in solution and precipitated by the ferruginous quality of the rock to
which it stuck.
There is upwards of four hundred sixty yards of ground in length in the east
part of this mine, which has been only partially worked, and in that space there
are in all probability several bodies of ore undiscovered, but this can only be
ascertained by future trails.
The ore after being dressed , that is ,broken down to a proper size and the
waste extracted therefrom as much is compatible with this extensive concern is
carried to kilns and burnt.
The walls of the kilns are from four to five feet high, and sufficiently strong
to support the lateral pressure of the copper. The width of the kiln inside from
eighteen to twenty two feet and commonly filled with ore from three to four feet
above the level of the top of the walls. The length is undetermined, but
continued agreeably to the quantity of ore that is intended to be put therein,
the kilns will contain from four to thirteen hundred tones of ore. The ore on
the top of the kiln is curved and covered close ,excepting the flue that run
along the top of the kiln and convey the smoke to receivers erected for that
purpose; they are about six foot high and five foot wide ,arched with brick and
kept as dry as possible. The smoke becoming stagnant in the condensers ,the
sulphur subsides to the bottom and is taken from thence boiled and depurated for
sale. There are flues in the front wall of the kiln at which the ore is set on
fire and after it has sufficient taken fire it burns per se.
The ore of this mine abounds with sulphurous acid which, united to water
percolates through the fissures of the vein, combines with the copper and holds
it in solution. The water thus impregnated is conveyed into pits in which iron
has been put. The acid having a greater affinity for iron than copper combines
with the iron and leave copper at liberty to be precipitated in a metallic form.
This precipitated copper is a congeries of minute granules closely united and is
nearly pure metal. To expedite the process of precipitation, the surface of the
iron is repeatedly scraped and cleared to give the acid fresh surface to act
upon, by which some of the decomposed iron in mixed with the precipitate which
impairs it’s qualities.
The copper is taken from the pits in the form of mud and when dried is sent to
the furnace to be smelted. This precipitate holds from ten to twenty four per
cent. But if wrought iron is put in the mineral water and left undisturbed, that
is without cleaning it to give a fresh surface ,till it be wholly dissolved it
will precipitate nearly its weight in pure copper.
The pits in which the copper is precipitated from the mineral water ,are in
ranks, one row beneath another, accordingly and the declivity and the extent of
the ground admit; the water is let off from one set of pits into another, till
the water has let go all the copper it held in solution. The water that runs
from the lowest or last row of precipitation pits is conveyed into reservoirs
where the decomposed iron subsides. The ferruginous ochre is useful as paint.
The dimensions of the pits are commonly thirty six feet by twelve and about two
feet deep ,with a space six or seven feet between each of them.
The number of men employed in the underground workings of the Mona mine in the
year 1806 were 227 the consumption of gunpowder 17,036lb and candles 26,283 lbs.
In the year 1808,122 men employed,6300 lb of gunpowder and 9200 lb of candle
consumed.
Produce of different ores in the Mona mine
The best raw ore on an average holds 8 per cent. The inferior ore holds 4 per
cent.
The best burnt ores ,when the smaller are riddled out holds ten per cent. The
inferior burnt ore, when dressed, but rounds and small mixed ,holds four and a
half per cent.
Dimensions of the kilns
Length within 58 feet
Breath within 22 feet
Height of walls 4 ½ feet
Filled with copper above the walls 4 feet
A kiln of the above dimensions will contain 700 tons of copper ore.
Aikin Journal of a tour through North Wales. August
13th 1797
This has been a most interesting and entertaining day being spent in visiting
the vast copper works connected with Parys mountain. We breakfasted at Amlwch ,
a considerable town on the coast about two miles from the mine , and almost
entirely peopled by the miners and their families.
We had no difficulty in distinguishing this celebrated mountain, for it is
perfectly barren from the summit to the plain below, not a single shrub and
hardly a blade of grass, being able to live in this sulphurous atmosphere.
The nearer we approached the scene of business, the more penetrating was the
fume of Sulphur: but we had very soon too many objects of attention to regard
this inconvenience. The mountain is about a mile in length and is the property
of Lord Uxbridge and Reverend Mr Hughes. The fortunate discovery of the copper
took place a little more than thirty years ago, thus converting a piece of
ground originally of very little value into one of the most profitable estates
in the kingdom.
The substance of the mountain being ore, the work is carried on in a very
different manner from the custom of other mines. Here are comparatively few
shafts or levels, the greater part being quarried out for as to leave a vast
excavation open to the day. There are two of these quarries or mines which are
worked by two different companies. The first goes by the mane of Mona Mine and
is the sole property of Lord Uxbridge. The other called parys Mine is shared
between the Earl and Mr Hughes.
The view down this steep and extensive hollow is singularly striking. The sides
are chiefly of a deep yellow or dusty slate Colour, streaked however ,here and
there, by fine veins of blue or green, shooting across the cavern, mingles with
seams of greyish yellow. The bottom of the pit is no means regular , but
exhibits large and deep burrows in various parts, where the richer vein has been
followed in preference to the rest. Every corner of this excavation resounds
with the noise of pickaxes, hammers: the edges are lined with workmen drawing up
the ore from below: and a short intervals is heard ,from different quarters the
load explosion of the gunpowder by which the rock is blasted ,reverberated in
pealing echoes from every side.
The external covering of the mountain is an alumious slate ,the matrix black
grey cherts the ore Copper chiefly:-
I)The yellow sulpurated : of which the richest contains, according to the miners
computation Sulphur and copper 25% each the rest waste rock. The worst ore
yields the same amount of sulphur but of metal no more than 1 ¼ %. This inferior
kind however is chiefly worked for the sulphur.
II) Black ore,containing copper mixed with galena,calamine and a little silver.
III) Malachite or green and blue carbonate of copper.
IV) Native copper but in very small quantity.
V) Sulphate of copper, crystallised and in solution.
VI) Sulphate of lead, in considerable quantity, containig a pretty large
proportion of silver.
VII) Native sulpher.
Process the ore is got from the mine by blasting: after which it is broken into
smaller piece byb the hammer, this being done chiefly by women and children and
piled into a kiln to which is attached by flues a long Sulphur chamber. It is
now covered closed: a little fire is applied in different places and the whole
mass becomes gradually kindled: the Sulphur sublimes to the top of the kiln,
whence the flues convey it to the chamber appointed for it’s reception. This
smouldering heat is kept up for six months , during which the Sulphur chamber is
cleared four times, at the expiration of which period the ore is sufficiently
roasted. The poorest of this, that is ,such as contains 1 ¼ to 2% metal ,is
conveyed to the smelting houses at Amlwch port, the rest is sent to the
company’s furnaces at Swansea and Stanley near Liverpool.
The greater part of the kilns are very long, about 6 feet and the Sulphur
chamber are of the same length and height , connected by three flues and on the
same level with the kilns. Some new ones however have been built at Amlwch port
by which much Sulphur is preserved that would have been dissipated in the old
kilns. The new ones are made like lime kiln, with a contrivance to take out at
the bottom the roasted ore and thus keep up a perpetual fire. From the neck of
the kiln branches off a single flue, which conveys the Sulphur into a receiving
chamber built on the rock so as to be on a level with the neck of the kiln ie
above the ore.
The two smelting house of which one belongs to each company contain thirty one
reverbatory furnaces, the chimneys of which are 41 feet high, they are charged
every 5 hours with 12 cwt of ore which yields ½ cwt of rough copper, containing
50% of pure metal. The price of rough copper is about £2-10 per cwt. The coals
are procured from Swansea and Liverpool a great part of which is Wigan slack.
From experiment it appears that though a tonne of coals will reduce more ore
than the same quantity of slack, yet, owing to the price difference the latter
is on the whole preferable: the price of the two at Liverpool being coals 8/6
per tonnes and slack 5/-.
The sulphate of copper however is the richest ore that the mine yields,
containing about 50% of the pure metal. This is found in solution at the bottom
of the mine, whence it is pumped up into cistern like tanners pits , about 2
feet deep, of these pits there are many ranges each range communicating with a
hollow pool of considerable extent. Into the cisterns are put cast iron plates
and other damaged vessels procured from Coalbrookdale. When the sulphuric acid
enter into combination with the iron, letting fall the copper in the form of a
red sediment very lightly oxidised. The cisterns are cleared once in a quarter
of a year, when the sulphate of iron in solution is let off into the hallow pool
and the copper is taken to the kiln, well dried and is then ready for
exportation. The sulphate of iron remaining in the pool partially decomposes by
spontaneous evaporation and lets fall a yellow ochre which is dried and sent to
Liverpool and London.
The sulphur produced in the roasting after being melted and refined is cast into
rolls and large cones, and sent to London. The cone is used chiefly for the
manufacture of gunpowdr and sulphuric acid.
Green vitriol and alum are also made in small quantities by a separate company
but to the works strangers are not admitted.
The number of men employed by the two companies is 1200 miners and about 90
smelter: the miners are paid by the piece and earn in general from a shilling to
twenty pence per day. The depth of the mine in the lowest part is 50 fathoms and
the ore continues as plentiful as ever, and of a quality rather superior to that
which lay nearer the surface.
With regard to the annual quantity of ore raised, little certain can be
mentioned. The Parys mine has furnished from 5000 to 10000 tones per quarter
exclusive of what is procured from the sulphate of copper in solution. The two
mines employ nearly equal number of workmen and probably afford about the same
quantity of ore.
Adjoining to the smelting houses is a rolling mill, upon the same construction
as malt mills for grinding the materials of fire bricks. These consist of
fragments of old fire brick with clunch (a kind of magnesia clay found in coal
pits.) procured from near Bangor Ferry.
The port of Amlwch is chiefly artificial being cut out of rock with much labour
and expense and is capable of containing 30 vessels of 200 tons berthed . It is
greatly exposed and dangerous of access during high northerly winds, which drive
a heavy sea up the neck of the harbour. The two companies employ 15 brigs from
100 to 150 tons berthed besides slops and other craft all of which lie dry at
low water.
The various articles, the produce of the mines which are exported are the
following:-
I)Coarse regulus of copper, from the smelting houses.
II) The richer copper ores roasted.
III) The dried precipitate of copper from the vitirol pits.
IV) Refined sulphur
V) Ochre
VI) Alum
VII) Green vitriol.
The town of Amwlch which about 30 years ago had no more than half a dozen houses
in the whole parish, now supports a population of four or five thousand
inhabitants.
Rev Skinner A ten day tour in Anglesea 1802
The Reverend Skinner was a Somerset Parson who was touring wales in 1802. ...
having taken a slight repast at Amlwch we proceeded to the Parys mountain which
of late years has enriched not only many individuals but the nation at large...
the approach to it is dreary in the extreme for the sulphurous steams issuing
from the copper kilns have destroyed every germ of vegetation in the
neighbourhood. When we had gained the higher ground the uninteresting and gloomy
prospect we had hitherto observed was at once converted into the most lively and
active scene.
Hundreds of men,women and children,appeared busily occupied in the different
branches of this vast concern and the bustle of metropolis prevailed amidst the
dreary recesses of the Druids.
We were first conducted to some wooden stages erected on the edge of an immense
excavation of an oval form about two hundred yards long,half as much in width
and eighty in depth which has been hollowed out in course of twenty years. On
looking down from hence to the chase beneath, we saw the rock rich with ore of a
light gold colour which the miners were busily engaged in
boring,blasting,breaking with sledge hammers , wheeling the fragments to
appointed places beneath the stages filling the baskets which were hauled up by
windlass.
There might be from twelve to fourteen stages erected for this purpose in
different parts of the mine. As soon as the commodity is landed it is delivered
to a number of woman and children to be broken into smaller pieces, the good ore
is then separated from that of an inferior sort and carried to the kilns to be
baked the sulphur forms in what is called flour brimstone... collected,melted in
large cauldron and formed into round moulds for sale. We understood that the
better type of ore was sent to Neath and other places , and the inferior to the
smelting houses in Amlwch.
MICHAEL FARADAY - TOUR IN WALES - 1819 THURSDAY JULY
29th
We were disturbed this morning about 7 o'clock by a sad noise in the inn and
were induced to get up about half an hour earlier than we otherwise should have
done to ascertain its cause. On entering our breakfast room we found an elderly
gentleman , shaving himself by the side of the cups and saucers. He however
shifted to the window seat on seeing our intention of taking a meal and in a few
minutes we found out from his information that the Dublin Packet bound for
Liverpool and which sailed yesterday had been so much retarded by contrary winds
as to put into Amlwch and set some of her impatient passengers on shore. Five or
six of them had taken the inn by storm and occasioned the noise which disturbed
us. They had sent to Gwyndy, a town 10 miles off for Post Chaises, intending
when they arrived to proceed to Bangor Ferry.
We were sorry to find the wind easterly for it had been our intention to leave
Amlwch in one of the trading vessels and go over to Liverpool, but now that plan
was abandoned and we made up our minds to walk as before. We had scarcely
finished breakfast when Captain Leaman called for us to go to the Mountain and
mines. We were ready in a moment and having settled accounts, shouldered our
bundles we bade adieu to Amlwch.
The Mountain is about 2 miles from the town. Our path was along a very dusty,
dirty road for when bad it is mended with slag and cinder and as there are
always 12 or 14 carts moving backwards and forwards on it these materials are
soon ground into black and disagreeable powder. There are no trams used on these
roads or in the mines in consequence of the corrosive effects which the waters
from the workings would have upon them and which would destroy them in a short
time.
Captain Leaman took the utmost pains to explain everything to us and made the
time pass so agreeably that we were at the mountain before we knew it. The first
thing we came to was a small steam engine employed to drain one of the workings
of the mine. It was good and preserved in very neat order within the house, the
outdoor parts were of timber. The water here raised from the mine is suffered to
run away not being rich enough in copper like some of the others to pay for the
separation of the metal. The miners found themselves at first very much
embarrassed in working this engine in consequence of the peculiar nature of the
waters in this neighbourhood. For being a solution of sulphate of copper they
acted on the cylinder and other iron parts of the engine rapidly corroding them
and rendering the whole useless. Now they very carefully collect the waters from
the higher part of the mountain where they are more free from sulphate of
copper, and they neutralise what portion of that salt may be in them with the
acid also that they contain by lime and they also preserve the condensed water
and cooling it in reservoirs use it over and over again.
Close to the engine were several shafts and at one of them, a Whimsy, at which a
horse was drawing and raising ore, the ore being placed in large wooden buckets
hooped strongly with Iron in the usual manner. The men are all paid piece work
receiving so much per ton for the ore they raised either more or less according
to its quality. Captain Leaman, who is a Cornish miner, astonished the natives
by showing them that dirt would stick in he bottom of the bucket. The smaller
parts of the ore had adhered to the bottom and gradually accumulated so much as
to make the bucket about half a hundred weight heavier than it needed. Though
they raised and lowered this over and over again and consequently work a good
deal without being paid for it, they were quite astonished at the thoughts of
cleaning it out now and then though for their own ease and stared prodigiously
at seeing large lumps fall off on the sides being struck with a hammer.
Whilst Captain Leaman arranged his morning affairs and procured us clothes for
the mine, we rambled about among the workmen. The ore is raised from the mine by
the whimsy in large heavy masses and is then thrown over a stage onto the ground
below where it comes into charge of the cobbers, principally women and boys. We
came up to a large group of these, about 8 or 9 women were sitting on the ground
in the midst of heaps of ore of the large and small, their mouths were covered
with a cloth to keep the dust of the ore from entering with the breath. The
fingers and thumb of the left hand were cased in strong iron tubes forming a
sort of glove. A large hammer was handled in the right hand and a block of ore
placed before them served as an anvil. Thus furnished they were employed in
breaking lumps of ore into small pieces and selecting the good from the bad. The
good gradually accumulated into a heap before them being the produce of their
labour and the earthy and stony parts are carted away. The boys assisted them by
fetching lumps and by selecting the broken portions. Altogether they formed an
amusing but not an enticing group. These, and indeed all who work at the mines,
are paid piece-work according to the quantity and quality of what they produce
an assay master being employed to ascertain the latter and overseer the former.
As soon as the boys saw that strangers were there they began to select bits of
ore and offer them to us cap in hand, and by the time we returned to the office
there was a large parcel of them about us each with his specimens. We had them
all into the office and took their whole stock and there being 12 of them we
gave a shilling to one six and a shilling to another and left them to divide
equally. Away they went crowding about the shilling holders and squabbling which
set they should belong to and the monied boy uttered high tones in consequence
of the important office he filled. We selected a few pieces from the ore they
had brought in memory of the place. The specimens were and the ore sometimes is
pure copper, at others mixed sulphuret of copper lead and iron and now and then
specimens of blende or sulphuret of zinc are found. The sulphurets are
frequently mixed with white quartz.
We now dressed. I stripped off everything but my stockings and boots and took
possession of a miners trousers, shirt and coat all of thick flannel. Then
putting on a thick woollen cap, hanging a candle to my breast button and taking
another lighted and garnished with clay in my hand I was now ready to descend.
Magrath was similarly equipped and we laughed heartily at each other as a sort
of prologue to our adventure. We followed Captain Leaman to a small shaft and a
little distance from the office and in such true miners style that I verily
believe the men themselves did not know us for other than miners. The place we
prepared to descend was a small aperture in the earth about 4 ft. by 3 ft. wide
and a ladder appeared at its mouth which descended into the darkness below.
Captain Leaman chose this shaft because it was the most comfortable. There were
two others but the pump rods worked up and down in one and in the other we could
only ascend and descend in the buckets like lumps of ore. Having taken a lesson
how to hold our candles we got on to the ladder. It was not long but on reaching
its termination we had to swing around it by a little stage on to a second and
from that on to a third and so on until I lost count of their number. We soon
left daylight and were not long before we were well used to the place and could
trust so securely to our hands as scarcely to notice a false step though a fall
would have led us down 200 or 300 ft. without any ceremony or hesitation. At
last we began to enter the vein and had to shuffle on in a more irregular
manner. A rope ladder occurred here and there in places where the chasm was too
crooked to admit a straight one of wood and they felt very curious dangling in
the middle of the air and darkness.
I ought here dear Margaret endeavour to give you an idea of a metallic vein and
then you will comprehend our progress better. Imagine then a large lump of clay
with a sheet of Iron thrust obliquely through it and the clay will represent the
earth (in our case the Parys Mountain) and the sheet the vein only you must
modify this idea according to the following circumstances. The vein is not of
uniform thickness throughout but differs very much indeed in different parts,
sometimes it is not more than half an inch thick and other times it becomes 20
to 30 feet wide. The edges on the veins or sheet of ore are not so regular as
the edges of the metal plate I have mentioned. The upper edge is of course at
the earth surface only covered perhaps a foot or two by soil and the lower edge
frequently descends to unworkable depths laterally. The vein spreads out through
the country, but when traced to its termination is irregular and ragged. Veins
have been traced above - feet and sometimes they extend for miles across the
country. The Veins are very rarely perpendicular in the earth. The one we were
in extended on the surface east and west and in descending in the earth it
approached towards the north which is technically expressed by saying it dips
from South to North. In working the vein the only object is to remove the ore
from its place with safety and to this end every contrivance is adapted. Shafts
are dry wells dug down to the workings by which man and materials and ore pass.
Galleries and workings are excavations made in the mass of the rock below to
give access to the ore. The waters deposited by the surrounding earth are
removed by pumps and thus precautions and contrivances are adopted as occasion
requires.
Well our progress in the vein was at first through very confined passages but on
a sudden we entered a place like a large chamber so large that our light would
not reach across it. Here the vein had swelled out into a bunch in the way I
just now mentioned and had afforded a very rich mass of ore. Here again it
became very narrow and we had in one corner to lay down on our backs and wriggle
in through rough slanting opening not more than 12 or 14 inches wide. The whole
mountain being above us and threatening to crush us to pieces. You will
understand my Dear Girl we were now in those parts of the veins which had been
cleared of ore by the workmen. All, however, above and below to the right and
the left was not void for if the ore had simply been removed and the place left
to itself working would soon have been stopped. You will remember we were now in
the centre of the mountain and its whole weight resting over us and this weight
would long ago have crushed the two sides of the empty veins together if
precautions had not been taken to keep the place open and support the mountain.
This is done thus. When the miners have excavated the vein so as to leave a free
space above them of perhaps 20 feet in height timber as the trunks of trees are
let down to them which they place across the cavity a little distance above
their heads so as to form a rough, strong floor and then on this is placed all
the gangue and useless rubbish loosened with the ore, until the place is half
full of such parts of the vein been left open as are useful for the conveyance
and the workings. In this way a number of what may be called apartments or
galleries are formed in the empty part of the vein at the end of which men
frequently go on working in a horizontal direction on the edge of the vein,
whilst others far below them are extending it in depth.
Proceeding along one of these galleries we came at last to a chasm at the bottom
of which we could just see men with lights. Whilst admiring the curious scene
the large bucket came rushing past us from above and descended down into the
depths. This indeed was the shaft at which we had seen horses and men raising
ore above ground for the cobbers. It was intersected in this place by the
gallery along which we were proceeding and stopped our progress. The shaft here
was not perpendicular but followed the inclination of the vein and the bucket
slid up and down against one side which was covered with smooth planks. In a few
minutes we saw a bucket come up and to us strangers it had a very curious
appearance. The rope moving on for a long time without visible means, the empty
bucket banging, slipping and tumbling down and the full one suddenly emerging
from the darkness beneath into the candlelight and immediately disappearing
above are so peculiar in their effect as to irresistibly create some degree of
surprise.
We crossed this place on a plank and a rope loosely put over it and advancing
onwards soon after descended again creeping and sliding, tumbling and slipping
as before Captain Leaman giving us the utmost attention in explaining
everything. Now at times we began to hear explosions which reverberated
throughout the mine in grand style and we soon came up to two men who were
preparing a blast. A hole is cut first by chisels in the rock in the direction
thought most proper and from 12 to 24 inches deep according to circumstances.
This being cleaned out by proper tools a portion of gunpowder is placed in the
bottom of it and then a long thin iron rod called a needle being put down into
the gunpowder, pounded stone is introduced and rammed hard with an iron tool on
to the gunpowder. More stone is introduced until the hole is full and then the
needle being withdrawn, a straw filled with powder or sometimes quills so filled
are put down the hole and make a communication with the charge below. A bit of
touch paper is then attached to the external gunpowder and being lighted the men
retire a few yards off round some projection or corner whilst the explosion
happens. When it has taken place the ore or stone thrown off is removed and the
process again repeated. It is astonishing how careless the men become of the
peculiar dangers to which they are liable from the frequency with which they
meet them.. They go on hammering without the least care at the hole charged with
powder and now then explode it by the attrition they cause before they are out
of the way and then men get killed. They put their candles anyhow and anywhere
and their powder is treated in the same manner. Magrath, to rest himself whilst
the Captain gave directions, sat down on a tub and stuck his candle against its
side. We found out afterwards it was what they kept the powder in and it
certainly would not have been wonderful if we had all made a grand blast
together.
Here the men were at work on the rock cutting a level to another part of the
vein and they are paid so much per foot or yard, but returning a little way and
then moving on again we soon came to some who were working out ore. They blast
it just as in the former case and it is then carried to the edge of the shaft I
before spoke of and drawn up by the buckets. These men also work piece work but
differently to the others. Captain Leaman comes and views the place and then he
submits terms to the men thus I will let you have that place a month at so much
per ton of ore raised' varying the price per ton according to the supposed
facility of obtaining and working the ore. After the bargain is made the men
take all risks of the place being good or bad, sometimes when it appears very
unpromising and they have obtained a high price for working it out in
consequence of the greater expenditure of powder and labour supposed to he
necessary it will expand into a bunch of ore. Then the men earn much money
during their month or period of time for they raise an immense quantity of ore
rapidly and without much trouble and now and then save a hundred pounds very
quickly. On other occasions things are against them and when their time is
expired they have raised so little ore as not to have earned sufficient to pay
off their powder bill. Generally, however, things are so managed so as to leave
them well though not extravagantly paid. None of these men work more than 8
hours a day in the mine. The rest of their time is spent above ground at home,
there being sets of workmen who replace each other.
We had now reached the well of the mine situated at its lowest point nearby.
Here all the waters that run from the earth into the excavation are collected
together to be pumped up. There was a large quantity in a sort of tank boarded
over and containing much copper in solution. The waters it appears had risen a
little and they were very particular about them just now because close at hand
they were deepening the mine and working at a level below that of the well. We
were here in the busy part and the black heads and faces that popped into sight
every now and then with a candle before them looked very droll. Some miners were
stuck up in a corner over our heads making a roof and they seemed to cling to
the rock like bats so that I wondered how they got and remained there but in a
few moments I found we had to go up there too and indeed we managed very well.
Difficulties and dangers are in almost every case magnified by distance and
diminished by approximation, and I do not think that one place in the world can
be better suited to illustrate this than a mine.
Following the example of our Captain and peeping into a small chasm through
which a man might by contrivance pass, we found it to be the entrance into a
large cavity from 30 to 40 feet wide every way. This had been a fine bunch of
ore and there were 6 or 7 men with their candles working in it. We did not go
down but putting our lights aside laid our heads to the aperture and viewed this
admirable Cimmerian scene for some time with great pleasure, the continual
explosion on all sides increasing the effect. This was the lowest part of those
workings and was about 370 feet below the surface of the earth.
After a little further progress we came to the pump shaft, an aperture cut down
from the surface to this spot. It was 360 ft. deep and we could see no daylight
up it. Below it was a small well connected with the large one before mentioned
and into this were inserted pumps. The first was a lifting pump and raised the
water a few feet. Then a forcing pump took it and made it ascend up pipes far
away out of sight. The pumps were worked by the steam engine we had seen above
being connected with it by beams of wood descending in the shaft and continually
rattling up and down in it. In the small part of the shaft left vacant by the
pistons pipes and beams were fixed ladders which ascending from stage to stage
conducting to the top and up. There we had to go bathed in the shower of water
which was shaken off from all parts of the pump works. After long climbing we
came to a part of the shaft where the first forcing pump delivered its water
into a little cistern and then another pump of the same construction threw it up
to the surface. Still proceeding we at last got a glimpse of daylight above and
were soon able to see the pump rods by it. Now the danger of the ascent appeared
far greater than before for the more extensive light showing in the well above
and something of the depth below made us conscious of our real situation whereas
before we only thought of the small spot illuminated by our candles. The
agitation of the pump rods was more visible too and appeared greater from being
seen over a larger space and their rattling and thumping was quite in accordance
with appearances. But in spite of all things we gained the surface in high glee
and came up into the world above at the engine after a residence of about two
hours in the queer place below.
We were again amused with each others appearance which though comical before was
now much heightened by the dirt and water of the mine. At the office we found
Mr. Irewick waiting for us and soap and hot water ready for use. We stripped,
washed and dressed and were soon in complete order again.
All the miners work in flannel clothes and from our own feelings we had reason
to commend the custom. We did not feel at all incommoded by heat during our stay
below though when we came up and began to change we found ourselves in the very
highest state of perspiration. The advantage of flannel arises from the little
influence moisture has over it and its non-adhesion to the skin even though damp
or moist.
Mr. Irewick now took charge of us and showed us the work above ground. We went
first to the kilns and in our way passed other mine workings belonging to the
Mona Company. At the kilns the following process is carried into effect. The ore
is raised from the mine and broken by the women as described, is placed in heaps
about 35 feet long, 10 wide and 10 high. Larger pieces of ore are used for the
outside which is something like rough brickwork but the ore is wheeled in anyhow
into the interior. Four or five large holes are made in the mass below like ash
pits and when the heap contains enough ore flues are built across and along the
top, the large pieces of ore which are connected with another flue running two
or three feet from the kiln on the ground and this being done the whole heap is
covered with earth and clay so as to prevent the entrance and exit air or vapour
except by the holes before-mentioned and the flues. A brick chamber is built a
few feet from the kiln and connected with its flue at one end, the other having
a small aperture. Some lighted coals are now thrown into the holes left at the
bottom of the kilns and in the course of a day they heat and inflame the ore
immediately about them and afterwards no further additional fuel is necessary
but the combustion goes on with the ore itself one part roasting the other. This
lasts five or six weeks and all the sulphur separated and sulphurous acid
generated pass through the flues into the chamber and are there condensed. In
this way very little vapour escapes and the process instead of being a general
nuisance as at Swansea is a very magnificent and agreeable example of
sublimation.
When the kiln goes out of itself and is cooled it is pulled down and the ore
taken away in carts to the refineries near the port. Those parts which happen
here and there to be only half burned being carefully selected and put into
other kilns. The chamber is not disturbed for the first, second, even third kiln
but after the sulphur of many kilns has been sublimed into it is opened the
brimstone taken out, washed from the acid which adheres to it and is fused and
then it goes to market.
From hence we went to the precipitating pits. I have already said that the water
which gathers in some of the workings is a very strong solution of sulphate of
copper from its action on the sulphuret. This water is pumped up by a steam
engine into large reservoirs and it is let down by sluices from there into small
tanks placed side by side each about I2 feet long, 8 wide and 18 inches deep.
Into these tanks is thrown old iron of all sorts, hoops, nails, saucepans, etc.,
and they frequently procure what they call iron from the iron works, but it is
generally a mixture of slag and iron containing about half its weight of the
latter. In this state the iron and water remain in contact for some time being
turned now and then to expose fresh surfaces to their mutual action and then the
water is drawn off and fresh let in. The waters are not thrown away after having
been once over the iron but that which has been acted on in the highest tank is
let down into a second where there is more iron and then again into a third,
fourth and fifth in all of which there is iron until it is so poor as not to be
worth working any longer. The result of this arrangement is the production of
copper in these tanks occasioned by the play of affinities which takes place
between the substances. The water contains sulphate of copper or blue vitriol to
which iron is added and iron having a stronger attraction for oxygen and
sulphuric acid than copper has, it takes both these substances from the blue
vitriol uniting to them and forming a soluble salt and consequently the copper
is thrown out and remains as a sediment in the tank. This sediment is never pure
copper but always a mixture with the rust or oxide of iron a part of which comes
from the dirty state of the iron when thrown in, and another part from the
spontaneous decomposition of the salt of iron which is produced, for you must
understand My Dear Girl that the combination first made by the Iron and
Sulphuric acid is what is commonly called green vitriol or copperas. Now when
the salt is dissolved and exposed to air it absorbs a portion of the oxygen of
the air and the Iron becomes more oxidised. In this state as it is not so
soluble in the acid as before and therefore a part is deposited as a red powder
mixed with the copper rendering it impure, consequently the sediment is always
copper mixed with oxide of iron and it is richer in copper from the first tank
or the strong water and poorer when obtained from the last tank. It is found
from experience that if the sediment yield less than 5 per cent of copper the
expense of the iron is more than the worth of the copper obtained so that waters
reduced until they yield the mixture of only 5 per cent copper are thrown away.
In the first tanks the sediments are so rich in copper as to yield 80 or 90 per
cent. These tanks are emptied of their sediments once a quarter. When the
substance is dry it is taken down to the refineries and soon rendered fit for
market. From 40 to 50 tons of copper are produced annually in this way.
When the water first runs from the tank it is of a fine red colour from the
per-sulphate of iron it contains. The pools which receive it and the rivers it
forms in passing to the harbour, look as if filled with blood. In the harbour it
soon becomes diluted by the sea but the rocks to a great distance are stained by
it.
We then walked on to the Parys mine. This is an immense excavation open to today
on the other side of the same mountain. An extraordinary accumulation of ore was
found in this place which, when worked, proved of immense value and brought in
enormous incomes to the proprietor. It appears that 3 or 4 veins of copper here
converge together and caused a single disposition of ore which has made the
place so deservedly famous. At present the ore is not so abundant and the mine
is worked by underground shafts and galleries like the others though still a
little is done above.
In our way from hence to the assay we passed several groups of children who were
engaged in searching the rubbish of ancient workings. Formerly the ore was not
so perfectly produced as at present and much was thrown away with the slag. Now
these heaps of refuse are eagerly sought for the better parts selected and sent
to the refineries to be reduced.
At the Assay office we found the Assay master and his assistant busy in
ascertaining the relative value of different specimens of ore slag metal etc.,
and according to his report are workmen paid and the calculation made, I saw
nothing very particular there.
Now having viewed everything and spent 4 hours very pleasantly among the works
we returned to the mine office pocketed our minerals, shouldered our bundles,
bade adieu to our very kind friends Messrs. Irewick and Leaman and again set off
on our journeyings. We endeavoured to find a nearer way from the Mine to Bangor
Ferry than we had taken from the ferry to Amlwch and succeeded to a certain
extent but the sea was rising over the sands in the bay of the coast and two or
three times turned us a little aside. Our walk was much finer than yesterday and
contained more coast scenery in it. We frequently had bays on our left. with the
waves rolling into them and shipping in the distance and the day was neither so
hot nor so misty.
The rock on the Parys mountains is slate. A few miles from its eastward end we
came on to sandstone and breccia of white quartz pebbles and then on to a
limestone full of organic remains eneryne and alcyine and shells.
Amlwch and the Celebrated Mona and Parys
Copper Mines
Printed by Enoch Jones, Wrexham Street, Beaumaris: 1848
Amlwch is the most extensive Parish in the County of Anglesey, North Wales. The
town stands in a valley, bounded on the South East by St, Eilian’s mountain, on
the South by the celebrated Copper Mines, on the North West by the Ddinas (or
Citadel), on the North by the Irish Channel.
We cannot pass by the Ddinas without making the observation that it was at this
place the Romans first invaded Anglesey, this being the strong Fort of the
Druids where they defended the Nuns, from which the origin of the vicinity's
name took place - Llanlleiana, viz. the resort of abode of Nuns. Several human
skeletons of considerable size have been found in the immediate neighbourhood,
which confirms that it must have been at one time a scene of a long continued
and desperate warfare. The firm of Messrs Parry & Jones discovered a skeleton 7
feet 6 inches in the locality.
"Here their place of abode,
Here, their site of battle,
But now the place of graves
Of our warlike ancestors."
Numerous traces of their defence are yet visible; as well as a part of the
Nunnery Wall. The last battle of the Druids was fought here.
"How their last resource - this mountain tower,
Where weeping freedom -from the contest fled,
And Cambria saw her dearest heroes dead.'
But to return to Amlwch, this town derived its name from Aml (often) Llwch, a
collection of water, or also of lakes, which is synonymous with ‘Llyn’ except
that the latter is a familiar word and has a more general sense, being applied
to large expanses of water, or to ponds, or pools, or rivers; for instance,
Llwch Tawe, Llwch Tawdde, and Amlwch are lakes in Wales; Tal y Llychan and Llan
Liwch places so called as being near lakes. Amlwch in former times was
encompassed with pools of water, from which, evidently it derived its present
name. The climate of this district; is remarkably healthy, and the inhabitants
long lived, which may be inferred from the fact that out of a population of
3,373 (the last census of 1841) there were 19 persons above 90 years of age, 27
above 80 and- 35 above 70 years old. It is not our intention to enter into a
description of the features of the town and neighbourhood, which derives it's
importance from the celebrated mines; these we shall now attempt to describe.
THE MONA AND PARYS MINES
These celebrated mines, which were discovered in the year 1768 and are still
worked with profit and spirit, highly merit a visit from the pedestrian, the
mineralogist, and the admirer of nature.
'The quantity of Copper’ says Mr Hawkins 'which these mines poured into the
market for twelve years in succession, from 1773 to 1785,made such an impression
as to lower the price of that metal throughout Europe and to threaten the ruin
of all the poorer mines in the kingdom’.
About the year 1785, the annual produce of the Mona and Parys Mines amounted to
3,000 tons of cooper, and in that year the aggregate produce of all the mines of
Cornwall was not more than4,434 tons. Ten years afterwards, these mines fell off
more than a third, and in 1817 they did not yield more than 350 tons. Shortly
afterwards, by the able management of Mr Treweek the present agent of Mona Mine
(the Mr. Vivian’s agent) the produce was raised to more than 600 tons, and in
1826 was as much as 758 tons. It has since declined.
The scene differs in appearance and grandeur from any other copper mine in the
world, for, on the first discovery of these mines, the ore was not found as in
other mines, to be in veins, or lodes, but in large conglomerate masses, which
admitted of being raised like the workings of an open quarry, and are thus
exposed to the present day. They thus exhibit a most romantic wildness of
character, which appears to the visitor as if nature had played her gambols,
and, in lieu of other amusement, had tossed the rocks and hills about in sport.
"...................... and laugh to scorn,
All the proud boast of art in various colours;
Uprear’d, barren and bleak, as if in contempt
Of vegetable laws."
The excavations in these mines are immense, as may be inferred from the fact of
there having been, at one time, a stock of 44,000 tons of ore lying on the
surface, and, at the most flourishing period, it is computed that 80,000 tons of
ore were extracted from these celebrated mines, which, at that time commanded
the market of the world. The open excavations, worthy of notice are the Hill
side and the Open Cast, the former fell in with a tremendous crash about fifty
years ago, in consequence, the pillars that supported the surface work having
been blasted for the valuable portion of ore they contained. Many years of
assiduous labour have, however, partially cleared the fallen rubbish away, which
has exposed to open day the most extensive field for mineralogical research
known. The unconnected and broken appearance of the rocks, and diversity of
colours in strata, layer, and veins, coupled with the busy working of the
miners, blasting the adamantine rock, some ascending from the caves, others
descending with lighted torches several scores of fathoms to shafts below,
‘Their rugged path,
And prospects, oft so dreary and forlorn,
Moves many a sigh at the disheartening depth.'
impress on the mind admiration of that Power which created with a word, and by
whose will Creation with it's wonders exist. Not even Adam, when he scanned -the
works of the Deity, and chanted the praise of his Creator, tuned his soul with a
sight more sublime. With him we would raise our feeble notes -
'These are Thy glorious works,
Parent of good.'
The other excavation is the Open Cast, where the most lucrative ore was
obtained. The descent to the stupendous geological amphitheatre is easy, and
will repay the curious. The spectator will find himself surrounded with layers
of ochre and calcareous earths, subterraneous cavities, different lodes, veins,
strata, headings, hangings, adits, large broken tumblers, loose racks, some of
which have borrowed their colours from vitriolic salts, and others that have
been crystallised by the properties of the noted mineral waters.
At the bottom of the Open Cast are several shafts, the deepest of which - the
engine shaft - is 120 yards. There are other deeper shafts in the Mona Mine,
viz. the Pearl Shaft which is upward of 200 yards in depth, with an engine of 20
inch cylinder. Among the surface curiosities of these mines are the roasters, or
kilns, where the process of calcining, for the purpose of extracting the sulphur
from the ore, is carried on. When these kilns are full, timber is applied and
ignited, and in 48 hours the ore takes fire, and smouldering slowly disengages
sulphur, which is carried- by means of flues to a chamber connected with the
kilns, this process lasts from six to ten months, according to the quantity of
ore operated upon. The subterraneous architecture in the workings of these mines
is sublime and extensive, and, of late, several Druidical Works have been
discovered, which have added an additional interest to the antiquities of them.
In these workings, large stones were discovered, evidently used as hammers, with
several pieces of timber and charcoal ready to be ignited, which were, in
ancient times, successfully used in mining operations before the invention of
gunpowder - fire calcined stones and they easily became scattered with the
rustic tools then in operation. A plate of copper, weighing 50 lbs was found
exterior to the opening of the modern mines, which fully attests that the
minerals in the vicinity of Amlwch had attracted the notice of a generation
remote from our own.
Gunpowder makes it's way much further; the manner in which it is used in
blasting at these mines is the best and most effectual ever discovered. The
simple instruments used are the auger, hammer, pricker, mallet, stamper, and
scraper. The auger is two feet long, steeled at the end, shaped like a quiver or
wedge; the manner of using this instrument is thus - the miner grasps it with
the left hand, turning it continually round, while the other arm forces it with
blows from a hammer about 6 lbs weight; they occasionally pour some water into
the hole; when this is done, to the depth of 14 to 18 inches, they dry it with a
rag, and put into the hole a brown paper bag containing about 5 oz of powder.
When the powder is thus fixed, the pricker is passed down to the bag, and the
hole filled with small stones, clay, etc. rammed down as tight as possible ;
this being done, the pricker is displaced, a stiff straw filled with powder is
then passed down, which is primed with a match which the miner ignites with an
old rope match. Before the using of these paper bags, great mischief occurred in
the going off of the blast by a spark caused by the striking either against the
instruments or the rock itself. When the ore is thus blasted it is conveyed in
barrows to the mouth of the shaft, there put into large wooden tressels, called
kippies, and drawn to the surface by a whimsey of two horse power, from the
various depths of 100 to 200 yards. In the Mona Mine there are 16, in the Parys
Mine 6 to 8 of these are in continual work.
After the ore has been brought to the surface, it is wheeled to a commodious
sect to be broken; for this operation the miners use the phrase ‘rapscaling'
this being done, it is conveyed to tents, each containing 10 to 20 'copper
ladies' whose occupation it is to break the ore into lumps of about one inch in
size, at the same time collecting as much waste as possible from the ore. The
appearance of these women called 'copper ladies' is very singular; they sit in a
row before a square block of iron, on which they break the copper ore; the
fingers of the hand which grasps the ore are covered with iron, while the other
gaily handles a hammer of about 4 lbs in weight, and thus they merrily toil. The
copper thus broken is carried to the kilns for calcining as before mentioned.
The copper waste which is thrown aside by these 'ladies' is washed by numerous
groups of boys, whose lynx-eyed quickness in selecting the copper from the waste
is truly astonishing. The celebrated mineral waters of these mines are found to
hold a solution (in solution) a great portion of sulphate of copper.
No. 1 or Blue Vitriol. This is caused in the following manner - in a
decomposition of the ore by the action of the air, and the water changing the
sulphur into sulphuric acid, which enters into a new combination with the
copper, which is recovered at these mines by the following process
Extensive dams are erected to contain the water as it is poured up by the
several -steam engines on the mines. Immediately under these dams are ranges of
square pits, filled with old iron and the chippings, which are imported to these
mines from all parts of the kingdom. The water is then made to flow from these
dams to the pits, where several old miners are employed in agitating the
remnants of old iron etc, thus a slow and continued action takes place by which
the iron is gradually dissolved, which takes place owing to the acid having a
stronger attraction for iron than for copper, quits the latter and combines with
the former, leaving in the first pits a red oxide of copper, yielding a standard
of 4 to 5 cwts. The water is run off, after being reduced to a standard of 7 or
8 grains, into large and shallow pools, when it is strongly impregnated with
sulphate of iron. In 10 to 12 months a precipitation of iron takes place in
these pools, which, being collected and dried, is sold as yellow ochre, large
quantities of which is manufactured into Venetian Red at the St. Eilian Paint
Works, near the spot. The precipitation of copper is on a very expensive scale;
once in two or three months the mineral water is diverted for a time, when 'the
remnants of the unoxidised iron are taken out, and the precipitation removed to
be kiln dried ready for the smelting operation. The mineralogical workings of
those mines were formerly guided by three lodes running East and West, called
Garreg-y-Ddol , Hillside and Cerrig-y-Bleiddiau. In the two former, the
indication is a hard, flinty rock, for which the miners are paid from £10 to £18
per fathom for driving through six square feet; the latter lode abounds in blue
slate or matrix. The geological problem existing here as to the relation between
the contents of the vein and the nature of the neighbouring rock, the
occurrences of certain cross veins, etc. with the combined registration of
several other phenomena observed in these mines, are too difficult to be solved
particularly in the Parys Mine, where the precise connection of mineralogical
phenomena existing in other copper mines here is desideratum, which the last and
most recent discovery made fully attests. Where there are no actual indication
of lodes, or proper strata, the investigation and discovery of copper depends
upon a particular sagacity or an acquired habit of judging from certain signs
that metallic bodies are contained in some part of the earth not very far off -
a small quantity of oozing mineral water was observed flowing from the rock
(termed in mining phrase ‘weeping water’), this was followed, and was the only
guide that remained of the adventureous miner with the perseverance of several
months, and of driving fathom after fathom quite to the North of all the other
lodes, at last they were greeted by the opening of a stupendous body of copper,
which fully proves that the principle of which the success of their operations
did not depend on, or was guided by any geological symptoms, but proceeded
entirely from following the oozing water. Notwithstanding this disadvantage,
discoveries on a most extensive scale have been made, and it will, we think, be
long ere the invaluable practical skill and experience of our mine agents, can
be replaced by the torch of science in understanding the nature of this
irregular heterogeneous body of minerals. The local circumstances of these mines
are so various, and the irregularity and complexity of mineral deposits so great
at present, that a corresponding diversity must exist in the means adopted for
exploring them. Although the general principle and general features of Mona and
Parys Mines are the same, yet the lodes are more distinct and are not exactly
suitable in the direction of their mining operations. When we view the
geological causes and effects, which the present aspects of these mines present,
it is evident that some great convulsive movement or volcanic excitement must
have existed here, which, on a minute inspection in the neighbourhood of
Garreg-y-Ddol, will bear -to the mind a conviction that a critical combination
of phenomena must have opened an access to the interior energies of some latent
heat.
The due performance of the immense amount of labour requisite in these mines,
lies in letting the whole by a system of contracts, which effectually unites for
a while the interests of the miner with his employer; which, being renewed every
two months continually, allows of that adjustment which the fluctuating
circumstances of the mine may require. On the quarter’s ending, the usual period
of making new arrangements, all previous bargains have expired, both parties are
free to regulate their contracts. Previously to this setting day, every part of
the mine is visited and carefully inspected by the underground agent, who
consult together and determine their plans of operation for the ensuing two
months. On the day appointed for the setting (as it is termed) the men who
usually work at the mine, together with others who may wish for employment,
assemble in the mine yard, where, on a converted platform, the head agent
appears; every piece of work that is to be performed in the mine is then called
out in succession, and accurately defined; then the miners make out a.
proposition for working it on certain terms. The price thus offered is usually
more (in the first place) than would be fair, or that the miners themselves
expect to get; consequently, the moment a price is named, another offer will be
made somewhat lower, and so on, until fair terms have been proposed, when the
competition will cease, and the work or bargain is taken; a small pebble is
thrown from the platform to the last and lowest bidder, whose name is registered
opposite to it's description in the setting book. There are some cases when the
competition is so great among the bargain takers, that they seldom even get good
wages; but in most cases, a privilege is given to old bargainers. The agents
find it requisite to adopt a plan for binding the men to their work, so that it
should not be capriciously given up previously to the expiration of the two
months.
We are now particularly speaking of ‘tut work’ which is to drive levels, sink
shafts, etc., they are paid so much a fathom, according to the work, and this is
more necessary, owing to 'the fluctuation of hardness incident to the veins, or
the rock which they may be working on; sometimes the miner finds himself unable
to realize the amount of wages, or anything like what is anticipated. The
charge, sometimes, indeed is so great that it is not worth while going on with
the work; but to meet the contingency, the underground agents only let one
fathom at a time, and advancement is made in the price in such cases; should the
change become favourable to the miners, the advantage is taken vice versa. The
tribute work is quite different from the tut work. These two species of
employment, by an excellent division of labour in these mines, are kept entirely
separate, and performed by different individuals, who in time acquire great
skill and judgement in their particular operations. In ‘tribute work' the
quality of the ore raised is a consideration equally important with it's
quantity; the miner receives an actual percentage on the value or standard the
ore will produce, which is regularly analysed or essayed by competent chemists
on the spot. In the meantime, the quality and quantity is judged with great
precision every fortnight, by dressing the surface work agents, so that a
subsistence may be paid on account, until a settlement is effected at the
quarter's ending. When the standard of the produce is made known, then a balance
for or against the miner is declared; this necessary discipline is kept over the
large number of men that are employed in our mines.
There are extensive alkali and bleaching works carried on with great spirit in
the Parys Mines, and at the Port, by the proprietor, Mr. Hills, who consumes the
sulphur which has lain dormant for years in stupendous waste heaps. The process
of calcining copper is likewise carried on in these works to some extent.
In conjunction with the Mona Mines, smelting of the ore is carried on, on a very
extensive scale in the smelting works in the town; 20 furnaces are in full
operation built of the Beecher's system called cupol or supolpr, reverberatory
furnaces. These furnaces are so contrived that the ore is melted not through
coming into immediate contact with the fuel, but by the reverberations of the
flame upon it. Each furnace is charged with 14 cwt of ore which smelts for four
hours, and yields, on a general average about 40 per cent of pure copper. These
furnaces are divided into : 6 roasters, 6 ore furnaces, 3 calciners, 3
precipitates and 2 refiners. The processes are conducted in the following order:
1. The ores are calcined.
2. The calcined ore is melted.
3. The metallic mixture from process 2 is calcined.
4. The calcined course metal from process 3 is melted.
5. The purer metal from process 4 is calcined.
6. The metal calcined from process 5 is melted.
7. The copper from process 6 is roasted.
8. Course or blistered copper is refined.
The charge of calcining in process 1 is from 3 to 3½ tons of ore, and the
calcining lasts 12 hours. In the 2nd process the melted matter is let out at a
hole opened in the side of the furnace into adjoining sand pits, where it
becomes granulated, that is cools in the form of coarse pigs. This granulated
metal is subjected to calcinations and fusions alternately, as above, until it
comes to the 7th process of roasting. The ore has now been advanced so far
towards refining as to contain from 80 to 90 per cent of pure metal. In this
state, the bars or pigs are put into the refining furnace and gradually melted.
The surface of the metal is covered with charcoal, and a pole, commonly
birchwood, is then held in the liquid metal which causes considerable
ebullition, owing to the evolution of the gaseous matter and this operation of
poleing is continued until the refiner ascertains, by various trials, that the
copper is in the proper state of purity and malleability. The process of
refining is a delicate operation and requires great care, attention and
judgement on the part of the refiner. The copper sold from these works commands
in the market fully £5 per ton above the market price, on account of its extreme
purity and malleability.
As the produce of our mines requires fluxes for melting, ores from all parts of
the world are extensively bought to assist the fusion of our native production.
A faint idea as to the extent of these works may be estimated when we say that
upwards of 30,000tons of coal are consumed annually.
For the accommodation of shipping, the Mona and Parys Mine Co. has excavated a
harbour in the solid roc, which can receive vessels of 800 tons burthen with the
flood. During high northerly winds, which drive a heavy sea up the harbour, to
evade every danger on such occasion, a break-water has been constructed which
contributes greatly to the safety of the shipping.
In the town there is a Literary and Scientific Society under the patronage of
the Marquis of Anglesey, which is well supported. It possesses a good library
and philosophical apparatus and lectures are delivered occasionally.
The principal hotels are the Dinorben Hotel, Market Place and the Castle Hotel,
Peters Street, which may be mentioned as two excellently conducted commercial
and posting establishments. The Jenny Lind coach leaves the Dinorben Hotel daily
(Sundays excepted) during the summer months in time to meet the departure and
arrival of the packets at the Menai Bridge.
We now close these hasty remarks and, for the present, take leave of the Mona
and Parys Mines, with the full impression that it would prove a needless
repetition to continue the attempt to realise the beauties of them to the
imagination which, for their geological phenomena, picturesque boldness and
grandeur of prospects, exceed all other copper mines in the kingdom.
MONA MINE AGENTS
Head Agent - JAMES TREWEEK, Esq., who has the general control, and conducts the
financial matters of the Mona Mine and Smelting Works.
Pit-Work & Engineering - Captain T. Tiddy.
Surface & Underground Operations - Mr. J. H. Treweek.
Ore-dressing and other Departments - Captain Job.
Assay Chemist - Mr. W. G. Treweek.
Assistant - Mr. Thomas.
Principal Accountant - Mr. E. Evans.
PARYS MINE
Head Agent - C. B. Dyer, Esq., who has general control and conducts the
financial affairs of this mine.
Surface & Other Departments & Underground Operations - Mr. C. E. Dyer.
Assay Chemists - Mr. H. Roberts & Mr. John Dyer.
SMELTING WORKS
Principal Refiner & Agent - Mr Edward Reese.
Agent for other Departments - Mr William Hughes.
Accountant - Mr. John Jones, who is likewise Collector of Harbour Dues.
SHAFTS IN MONA MINE
(Worked with whimsies of two horse power)
Depth (in yards)
Pearl Shaft 200
Whimsey Shaft 180
Marquis Shaft 180
Treweek Shaft 180
Evans Shaft 120
Tiddy Shaft 80
Golden Venture 80
Beer Shaft 90
Lemin Shaft
Garreg-y-Ddol 90
Black Rack Shaft 90
Glan Felin Shaft 80
(Two latter at the bottom of Hill Side)
Saunders Shaft 140
Henry's Shaft 100
Garnedd Shaft 100
Vice Royal Shaft 100
With 7 or 8 averaging about the same depths in the Parys Mine.