Lucy

[SW 55495 38770] 0.5 mile N.W. of Phillack. 1-in. geol. 351, 358; 6-in. Corn. 62 S.W.; A.M. R 293 and 3772. Country: killas.

Before 1871 was known as Riviere Mine or Riviere Consols.

Four lodes were tried in this mine which is situated on the cliffs in the sand dune country north of Hayle: Carbona Lode on the north, coursing E. 20° N. and nearly vertical; Hitchen's Lode, coursing N. 40° E. at adit and E. 30° N. below and underlying 10° S.; Middle Lode, coursing E. 40° N. and underlying 10° S. and South Lode, coursing E. 40° N. and underlying 8° S. There are also said to be three other lodes, called Shewheal, Tin and Copper, within 40 fms. N. of Carbona Lode, but these have not been worked.

Drainage adit commences at the south-west end of Black Cliff, on the outcrop of Carbona Lode, and follows it 22 fms. E.N.E.; it there turns to S. 30° E. and continues 50 fms. as a crosscut, passing through Hitchen's Lode at 20 fms., Middle Lode at 25 fms. and South Lode at 50 fms. Adit Level on Hitchen's Lode extends 100 fms. N.E. from the crosscut, and at 50 fms. connects with the bottom of New Shaft, 13 fms. deep. Middle Lode is opened up at Adit Level for 5 fms. S.W. and 10 fms. N.E. of the crosscut and South Lode for 22 fms. N.E. At 65 yds. E. of adit entrance is Engine Shaft, vertical to the 20-fm. Level below adit (10 fms.), connected with adit crosscut by a drive 8 fms. W. and with Adit Level on Hitchen's Lode by another 3 fms. E. At the 10-fm. Level a crosscut 5 fms. N. from Engine Shaft meets Carbona Lode, there opened up for 3 fms. N.E., and another crosscut 10 fms. S.E. meets Hitchen's Lode, driven on for 3 fms. S.W. and 8 fms. N.E. At the 20-fm. Level a crosscut 5 fms. N. from Engine Shaft meets Carbona Lode which is driven on 5 fms. S.W. The longitudinal section (dated 1896) shows a few tiny stopes on Adit Level of Hitchen's Lode between New Shaft and the adit crosscut, and two on the 10-fm. Level. On Carbona Lode there is a stope 14 fms. long and 10 fms. deep below Adit Level, commencing 13 fms. from the adit entrance. From the bottom of an old shaft 315 yds. N.E. of Engine Shaft, a drive 10 fms. S.W. meets a crosscut called Batts Adit that commences on the cliff 60 yds. N.N.W. of the shaft and extends 48 fms. S.S,E.; from the bottom of Flat Rod Shaft, 350 yds. E. by N. of Engine Shaft, there is a crosscut 4 fms. N. and 10 fms. S., with short drives from the ends on lodes coursing E. 10° S., the northern one of which is called Watson's Lode.

There are no records of the nature of the lodes here. In 1872, 1873 and 1893–5 the mine produced 24 tons of black tin. Under the name West Wheal Lucy there is a record of half a ton of black tin in 1873, but the site of this mine is not known.

Official returns show:-1872–73, 13 tons of black tin; 1873–74, 16.5 tons of tinstuff; 1893, 15 tons of tinstuff worth £15 and 1895, 11.5 tons of black tin. (Beer, K.E. Addenda and corrigenda. 1988).

West Wheal Lucy was the name for the 1872 reworking of Lelant Wheal Towan (p.126) and official returns show 10.5 tons of tinstuff sold for £25 in 1873. (Beer, K.E. Addenda and corrigenda. 1988).