Cwmrheidol Mine, Ystumtuen, Cwmrheidol, Ceredigion, Wales, UKi

Regional Level Types
Cwmrheidol Mine	Mine (Abandoned)
Ystumtuen	Village
Cwmrheidol	Reservoir
Ceredigion	County
Wales	Country
UK	Country

The mine occupies a very steep hillside and a small river bank area above the Afon Rheidol river at the limit of the public road.

The mine began as two drainage adits driven in 1824 and 1874 for the No.6 and No.9 levels respectively at the Ystumtuen Mine, which worked the Castell Lode some 500 m distant.

The adit on No.6 level enters the hillside at the top of the mine some 80 m above the river, whilst that for No9 enters only just above the roadside some 10 m above river level.

The adits were driven through areas extensively mineralized with marcasite in lodes up to 1m thick and some 4,000 tons were sold for sulphuric acid manufacture. However, that which remained has contributed to a very significant acid mine drainage problem and in the 1960s the No.9 level adit was accidentally broken into and a large amount of ocherous discharge entered the river causing significant environmental damage.

Whilst the 'mine' may not have begun as such there is one notable building partly standing close to the road and apparently associated with a series of settling tanks. Ore processing must however have taken place on site as several of the tips up the hillside almost to the height of the No.6 adit level are comprised of crushed sand. Attempts were also made to sell the ochre pigment.

Both the aforementioned building and settling tanks and the entrance to the No.6 level drainage adit may be accessed by public footpaths.

This historical information is largely taken from the infographic board beside the roadside below the mine and is part from personal observation in December 2017.

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