Klondyke Lead Mill

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

NEfollowing provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The Klondyke Lead Mill was built in 1900 by the Welsh Crown Spelter Company after they had become proprietors of the Pandora mine in 1899. The mill was originally called the Geirionydd Mill until 1908 when it was known as the New Pandora Lead works and subsequently as Klondyke Mill. It is a large, imposing stone building, now roofless.

The mill was connected by an aerial ropeway and tramway to the lead mine at New Pandora. A wooden platform supported between two stone walls adjoining the NE end of the mill received the aerial ropeway. Protruding out from the platform are two rails, which imply that entire trucks were carried down the ropeway from the upper platform on the hill opposite. The ore was then taken onto the top floor of the main mill building, from which it descended via various crushing and jigging machines. Some of the waste material was then further treated outside in circular buddles, in the large waste tip.

The water wheel was situated on the south side of the mill.

The other buildings on the site attached to the west and north side of the mill are also roofless, and some of the masonry is in a state of collapse. The locations of a store and office are also known.

The entrance to the level opposite the mill by the side of the river is still visible.

The bridge which crossed the river and served the main track to the NE has collapsed.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the lead industry. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.