ROSEVALE MINE
View from the entrance of No.1 Level
[John Dowling's debut album 'The Underground Sessions']
Penzance Convention visit to the mine, 2012
Close-up study of iron oxide deposition
For any further information about the mine - contact.
The mine lies on private land owned by the local farmer and there is no public access to the site. The mineral lease is on a long-term contract, such that the underground workings are privately owned and are not accessible to the public.
Further information about the mine can be obtained through email - contact.
Underground visits
Rosevale Mine is not a tourist mine and is not open to the public. Neither is there any intention to develop the mine as a tourist mine as this would jeopardise the aims of the restoration and its authenticity. Although during the early 1990s trips around the mine were provided to visitors organised and run through Geevor Mine Museum, we no longer offer mine tours for the members of the public.
On rare occasions, private supervised visits have been pre-arranged for small specialised groups (10 - 20 people) who have a particular interest in Cornish mining history. However, such visits are restricted to people or groups known by the team members.
Filming and recording
In the past, the mine has been used by the BBC and by several independent film companies for documentaries, drama and advertising (for example 'Life Underground').
In the past the mine has been used by local artists, including John Scott-Martin, and was used as a field trip venue during the 2012 Penzance Convention. It has also been used by musicians, including Bagas Crowd and the debut banjo album 'The Underground Sessions' by John Dowling. A few amateur and professional photographers have used the unique underground environment as a subject or backdrop for their works, including Simon Jones' collection of Cornish mine images and a video project on Cornish tin mining by photographer Maisie Marshall.
The mine has also been included as a subject in various books relating to Cornish mining.
Research
The mine is recognised as one of only a few venues in Cornwall where underground mine workings can be accessed for the purpose of research. In the past the mine has been visited by students at the Camborne School of Mines in relation to mining projects and for geological research, including specialist under-graduate and post-graduate theses.
The mine was recently used by the British Geological Survey (BGS) as promotion for the Tellus SW survey carried out in 2013.
Impression of Rosevale Mine by John Scott-Martin; entitled 'Ladderway XI' from his 'Below Grass' mixed media images.
[Courtesy of Simon Jones (2013), © Cornishmineimages]
