Arsenic Works Opposite The Botallack Mine Count House. Royalty-Free Stock Photography

It is unclear how far back mining activity goes in this location. Early records date from the 1500s. Some archaeological evidence points to mining here in the Roman era or even as far back as the Bronze Age. Botallack was a submarine mine, with tunnels extending under the sea, in places for half a mile. Over its recorded lifetime, the mine produced around 14,500 tonnes of tin, 20,000 tonnes of copper and 1,500 tonnes of arsenic. In the 1860s a new diagonal shaft was dug. The mine closed in 1895 as a result of falling tin and copper prices.