The first recorded working of Wheal Hearle appears to have commenced
operation in 1855 as a cost book company. In September 1860 shares in the
mine, previously held by six individuals, were offered for sale to the
public. 1024 shares of £7 10s were for sale and by this time the mine had
sold £1346 10s worth of tin concentrate and £225 19s 4d of copper ore. The
debit balance of £446 3s 4d had been reversed by a call and the company
showed a credit balance of £65 16s 8d. The mine was equipped with a
10-inch winding engine and a 30-inch pumping/stamping engine. Other
structures on the mine included dressing floors, burning house, smiths'
and carpenters' shops. The Engine Shaft, sometimes referred to as
Borlase's Shaft, (a lode called Borlase's is shown on Symons' 1857 map of
the
St Just district), on the Bill Lode, was 8 fathoms below the 80-fathom
level and the new Flat-rod Shaft on the Boscaswell Downs Lode was 5
fathoms deep. Eleven other lodes were in the sett. Man power at the time
comprised 23 men and 5 boys on tribute and 22 men and boys on tutwork.
By December 1st 1860 it was decided that more stamps were needed to
augment the 15 heads already in use. By this time Borlase's Shaft had
reached 90 fathoms below adit while on the 60-fathom level east a junction
was expected with Bridgework Lode. The extra 6 heads were
in operation by
January and Borlase's Shaft connected to the 100-fathom level by the end
of March. Despite all the optimism of the agents' reports a debit balance
of £647 15s was reported at the AGM in June and a call of 12s 8d per share
was made. Production appears to have averaged about 20 tons of black tin
per quarter.
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By March 26th 1862 the Engine Shaft was 7 fathoms below the 110-fathom
level. At surface the dressing plant had been increased to try to cut the
labour cost and several 'new' self-acting frames had been added. At this
time the depressed condition of the tin market was affecting the mine and
the sales for the previous quarter were about £300 lower than anticipated.
The Engine Shaft was sunk to the 122-fathom level by
September and levels
commenced east and west of the shaft. The sett was surveyed in November by
Symons of Truro to create a new mine plan. In November there is a note
that 'the new stamps is gone to work' which suggests that even more heads
had been attached to the engine.
Little work seems to have gone on at the mine from here; the lower levels
(below the 90-fathom level) were extended but by February the operation
had disappeared from both the dividend and progressive lists in the Mining
Journal. Despite the steps taken to reduce the wage bill the mine was
employing 101 people in May 1863: 28 men and 6 boys on tutwork, 15 men on
tribute and 18 men, 14 boys and 20 girls at surface. About this time the
Skip Shaft was opened up through old workings to the 80-fathom level; why
it had not kept pace with the Engine Shaft is not known although
this was
not atypical for the St Just mining district where even main pumping
shafts were not always deeper than other shafts or levels. By the end of
July it was just above the 122-fathom level, still in old workings, while
several stopes were suspended until the shaft was ready.
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Financial alterations took place in September and the company's shares
were subdivided from 1024 to 4096; this suggests that it was short of
money. In addition it was decided to appointment a committee of
management. The surface of the mine was also being reorganised and a wire
rope was run from the steam whim to the Skip Shaft and a railway was laid
to the dressing floors, presumably from this shaft. The new skip running
in
the shaft was in action almost straight away and by mid-November the
ore that had accumulated at the 100 and 110 fathom levels had been
cleared. Twenty-four heads of stamps were in operation.
During 1864 the pumping arrangements were changed. In February the Engine
Shaft was down to the 130-fathom level and balance bobs were being fitted.
By June the work was completed, and pumping beams in the 100 fathom level
were pumping water from the Skip Shaft, which was being deepened, to the
Engine Shaft. The Skip Shaft, situated to the northwest of the Engine
Shaft, was closer to a run of tin ground. Little is reported from the mine
for 1864 and 1865 apart from working on the deeper levels of the mine. In
August the mine had a balance of £1361 4s 3d against it and by December
Skip Shaft was 4 fathoms below the 130. By June the following year only 83
persons were employed but tin was only selling for £54 per ton at this
time and with
tin production in a recession there would have been little
that the adventurers could do to make their situation any better. By this
time the mine had reached its ultimate depth of 150 fathoms, although this
fact is not recorded by any published report.
