In its busiest time the Van mine is said to have employed 1000 men, some of whom walked great distances to work.
Today, little remains. At the site of the last mine workings, being the steam powered production uphaul and pumping facilities built from about 1870, only two factory chimneys are obvious. In the valley below are some remains of the lead and silver extraction site. Powys County Council dealt with polluted debris from the extraction processes in 1993/4.
This last mine was "wrecked" in 1921 under the leadership of a Mr Joe Butterworth (a professional asset stripper), to comply with lease terms. The present owners of the site have made a computer reconstruction of these mine workings, representing the likely appearance at the start of the "wrecking".
The last company to work the underground mining was the Welsh Van Mines Co Ltd, that took until December 1931 to liquidate. After the 19th Century, it seems that the value of ores raised became poor, and shareholders lost money.
There were earlier mine workings at this location, with steam uphaul and a water pump, driven from a water wheel via Flatrod Power links from the valley below, and dating from 1865. This mine was so successful that a railway line was laid from Caersws to take the lead to market. It has been said that this mine was (briefly) the most productive in Europe. These earlier mine workings were unable to drive into lower depths where it was hoped that there were more good ores, and it was this that led to the fully steamed mine workings as illustrated above. A computer reconstruction of these earlier mine workings, which are technically interesting, is currently being attempted by the owners of the site.
If you would like to view the site, please contact the owners, Norman and Rita Roberts in advance on 01686 413766
L.L.A.N.I. Ltd
In its busiest time the Van mine is said to have employed 1000 men, some of whom walked great distances to work.
The last company to work the underground mining was the Welsh Van Mines Co Ltd, that took until December 1931 to liquidate. After the 19th Century, it seems that the value of ores raised became poor, and shareholders lost money.