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Clwyd Metal Mines Survey


Halkyn Central

Halkyn Central (also known as Halkyn New North) lies in the community of Halkyn in the county of Flintshire. It is located at Ordnance Survey national grid reference SJ20307070. The mine is recorded in the CPAT Historic Environment Record as number 103388 and this number should be quoted in all correspondence.

Lead (18th century-1913)

Geology
Carboniferous Limestone with chert beds.

Workings
The area was intensely mined from the 18th century and formed the site of large-scale operations in the 20th century by several companies. The Central Halkyn Mining Co (1901-1910) and the New North Halkyn Companies entered returns for the sett (Burt et al 1992). Little evidence of workings remain in an area designated as a Welsh Development Agency Landscape Wales Project in conjunction with Delyn Borough Council. Shaft mounds and spoil heaps remain surrounding the Pant Quarry area. The Engine House of the New North Halkyn Shaft or Pen-y-bryn Shaft stood at SJ20307070 with the shaft to the west of it. This area now lies within the quarry. The shaft was the central area of the Halkyn District United Mines in the 20th century and became the main shaft on the Deep-Level Tunnel.

Transport
The underground diesel railway of the Halkyn District United Mines served the sett (Richardson 1936).

Power
The 20th century workings were powered by electricity. The sett was drained by the Deep-Level Tunnel.

Processing
Smith (1921) records the ores being dealt with at a concentration-plant near Lewis Shaft. The details refer to the early 20th century procedure: 'Ore is crushed with manganese steel jaws to fragments 8mm or less, this being the size of the largest jig-mesh. It is then sorted by trommels and water classifiers and passed into jigs. Elevator buckets used for re-crushing are also of manganese steel. At the new building the grades obtained from the jigs are mixed and recrushed, put through rollers and again through trommels and water classifiers....further separation of slimes is effected by round buddles.....'. The sieved galena from the Pantygof vein, which contained no fluorspar was sent to the Potteries for glazing. The mixed grades were sent to Purex Ltd, of Greenford, Middlesex for smelting. Galena was sent to Parker & Co. of Bagillt and to Messrs Quirk, Barton and Burns of St Helens. The buildings on this site were demolished in 1972. A new mill was built around the Pen-y-bryn Shaft in 1932 (Richardson 1936) and these buildings were demolished in the 1960s.A large processing mill was erected the Pen-y-bryn Shaft in 1932 (Richardson 1936).

Other features
The main workshops surrounded the Pen-y-bryn Shaft.


This HTML page is reproduced from the Powys and Clwyd Metal Mine Surveys which were undertaken between May 1992 and December 1993 by Mark Walters and Pat Frost of the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust with financial support from Powys County Council, Clwyd County Council and Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. Further information about this site is available in CPAT's Regional Historic Environment Record.
Page produced by Rachel Stebbings and Chris Martin.

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