Dear Gill,
Map Ref. for the 'obscure' mine working in Artists Valley (Cwm Einion), 690
946
On the 2.5" it shows as "Works (Disused)". There is a drivable road up to
the place, and it is known as Tyn-y-garth (name on map). Per my prev., it used
to be a 'rough & ready' Forestry Comm. 'yard' - whether it is still used as
such I don't know - but I am sure no-one will mind a passing visit as you wish
to do. A powerful E-W 'mineralised fault' is in this vicinity, and, during
the late 1980's I had took out a License from the FC on a section a short
distance to the W of the 'yard' (about 200m to the W and over a run of about
400m), near a small 'quarry' used for forestry road building ballast. Minor
'prospecting' was done by JCB for a short while, and proved a wide shatter zone
with minor cerrussite dispersed throughout, however, while stone was being
excavated from the 'quarry' a 'significant bunch' of galena was met with.
Remnants of this 'bunch' were seen in the bedrock of the floor of the 'quarry' when
scraped clean - nothing startling other than veinlets and small pockets of
galena. It is curious that whilst someone went to the trouble of sinking some
trial shafts at the above map ref., that they didn't look further West;
particularly as this fault can be noticed at surface where I looked. As a friend
said at the time, "if the 'old man' had found this they would have put down a
shaft without hesitation" As we all know, some quite large and expensive
'trials' were done with next to nothing showing! So, one can only assume that what
went on at Tyn-y-garth could well have been done late-in-the-day so to
speak; also, with the Bryn-Dyfi mine being only a short distance away to the South
(this a classic example of a 'fiddle'), maybe this didn't help the
Tyn-y-garth 'prospect' very much. Anyway, a strange place one way and another, and a
pity it didn't receive the sort of exploration attention that other places did
in the Cards. mining heydays - I doubt whether there is anything
'commercial' there in todays world, but it would have been 'nice' to have known what was
there all the same!
I will dig out the MJ ref. shortly.
Regards, Bernard
|