RASSAL COPPERMINE
The ore (Bornite)
was in a vertical rake vein running at or near the surface, and
extends for some 50 metres like a cut in the hillside above Rassal
wood. It may have been worked on a small scale in historic times,
but was certainly being mined before 1762 and when Williams visited
around 1810, he stated "The copper at Kissern (Kishorn)
is of the best quality, perhaps, of any ore of that metal found
in Britain".
It is likely
that the vein was exhausted and operations ceased by the mid 19th
century but was definitely reported as abandoned by G.V. Wilson
in 1921. Small amounts of Malachite and Brochantite can also be
found.
LOWER SANACHAN
COPPER MINE
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Lower Sanachan Copper Mine
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The exploratory
horizontal shaft seems to have begun around 1903, and from 1904
to March 1906 was being run by a Liverpool Company. Exploration
costs for labour and materials in 1904 alone being £787-15s-3d
(approx.£787.75).
After March
1906, Mrs Stuart, the landowner, employed a Mr Jackson, Mr Myres
and a Lochcarron man to continue the search under the watchful eye
of her factor, Mr John Maclennan. This seems to have carried on
for sometime as various references are made in letters from the
Factor, for example in February 1907 he wrote "The copper
mine is quite as far advanced as it was four years ago. Mrs Stuart,
who is very well, has three local hands blasting away. She was in
a great state of excitement the time of the big snow storm, the
tunnel got frozen up as hard as iron and was afraid the snow would
never melt again".
However, eventually,
with the main lode not found and money exhausted the shaft was finally
abandoned.
TORNAPRESS
IRON MINE
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Tornapress Iron Mine
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Here the Haematite
ore is deposited in a series of veins and strings. The 1913 "List
of mines" gives
the owner as
the Kishorn Iron Ore Co., the secretary as William Clark and the
chief agent as William Hogg. The mine shaft was driven into the
side of Allt Mor Gorge above Tornapress and with six men working
underground several hundred tons of iron ore were brought up. It
was left in a pile by the stream at the bottom of the gorge prior
to being winched up out of the gorge with a pulley and bucket system
lowered down from the rim. From here it would have been taken away
by horse and cart.
Unfortunately,
however, on one occasion the entire pile was washed away by a flash
flood before it could be uplifed!
As a result
of this misfortune and the irregular nature of the veins, mining
stopped in 1914 and never resumed.
UPPER SANACHAN
IRON MINE
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Upper Sanachan Iron Mine
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This mine, just
over the hill from the Allt Mor gorge, was in operation at the same
time as Tornapress and in all likelihood being run by the same company.
Again the haematite ore was of variable quality and in small pockets.
As a result mining was not very profitable and hence short lived,
ceasing around the same time as the Tornapress mine.
Acknowledgements
Williams,J. 1810 -"The Natural History of the MineralKingdom"
Macgregor.M., Lee, G.W. & Wilson, G.V. 1920 - "The iron
Ores of Scotland"
Wilson, G.V. 1921 - "The Lead, Zinc, Copper and Nickel ores
of Scotland"
British Geological Survey Library for all their help and assistance.
Mrs Helen Murchison - The font of all local history.
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