A mine shaft that collapsed in a garden in Redruth recently was not shown on any official plans, however, our knowledge of historic mining allowed us to predict it’s existence beforehand.
Working from old records in 2013 we predicted a risk in this garden from possible shafts or similar problematic workings. Little over a year later this shaft suddenly collapsed; thankfully away from the nearby houses and close to where we had anticipated.
It is likely that the shaft dates from over 200 years ago and has remained hidden ever since.
Our Mining Search on this property, as with all the reports we produce, incorporated three distinct stages:
- A review of our extensive Mining Archive to find the recorded problems.
- An expert interpretation of the records to predict the unrecorded problems.
- An assessment of the risks from both.
Like this shaft, many mine workings in the South West remain unrecorded and unsecured, so it is vital that searches for metal mining in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset include this high-level interpretation in order to provide an accurate assessment of risk. Use our MineScanner tool to check your postcode now!