Wheal George, Dartmoor, Devon UK
N 50° 39.169 W 004° 02.381
30U E 426503 N 5611733
The granite remains of miner's buildings, gullies, spoil heaps etc. at Wheal George, close to the Rattlebrook.
Waymark Code: WM6PAT
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/30/2009
Views: 3
Wheal George covers a large area next to the Rattlebrook. All that remains nowadays is a few tumbledown buildings and many overgrown gullies and spoil heaps.
Dartmoor's valleys used to contain vast amounts of elluvial and alluvial Cassiterite (Tin ore) which was washed there when Dartmoor, which was vastly more mountainous than it is now, eroded millions of years ago.
The black heavy Cassiterite settled in valley bottoms beneath the much lighter Granite sands and pebbles.
Since the Bronze age man has exploited these alluvial deposits. In the Medieval period exploitation of these deposits exploded and Tinner's ventured into the remotest areas of the moor to "stream" the deposits and gain the valuable ore for smelting at various Blowing Houses around the moor.
Due to the distance of some of these alluvial mines from the Tinner's own homes temporary accommodation was built from the local Granite stone to allow the Tinner's to live where they worked for short periods.
Tinner's huts are scattered all over the moor in valley bottoms.
Mine Type: Abandoned Mine
Mineral Collecting: No
Material Mined: Non-Precious Metal
Operation: Opencast Mine
Surface Features: Yes
KNOWN DANGERS:
None
Any associated website: [Web Link]
Any Other information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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