Glasdir Copper and Gold Mine Mill

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a mill, used for processing ore from Glasdir Copper and Gold Mine. The mine was worked from the 1850s to 1915 and its large, stepped ore processing mill on the hillside was developed from the 1850s onwards. The mill complex is an impressive group of structures and includes remains of Frazer and Chalmers concentrating units, Elmore concentrators and crushers, water channels and railways. Frank Elmore's oil flotation system for separating copper pyrite from ore, patented in 1898, was first put into use at Glasdir, and now continues in use world-wide in metalliferous mills.

The monument is of national importance as an exceptionally well-preserved metal mine mill site, where a process of major significance was first used. It has the potential to enhance our knowledge of manufacturing techniques and processes and 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 concerning chronology and building techniques.

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