CORNWALL’S tin-mining heritage saw a historic moment this morning [Monday, February 23] when a smelting shed fired up for the final time to produce one last kilo of Cornish tin.

Tin-rich concentrate from Tolgus Tin was smelted at Wheal Jane Laboratory. The pure tin produced was poured into ingot moulds and will be used in the creation of Cornwall Gold’s Tolgus jewellery range.

In 2014 Cornwall Gold had regenerated Tolgus Mill to the point of producing tin for the first time in decades. Its 19th-century stamps and barrel pulveriser crushed Wheal Jane’s ore, and its shaking tables and round frame separated the resulting materials to produce the concentrate. The last of that batch was smelted this week, producing enough tin to produce 15 years’s worth of jewellery.

Mike Taylor, managing director of Cornwall Gold and Tolgus Tin, described the moment as “a great example of how Cornish mining business are still working together”.

He added: “Our machines are not currently running. It will take a lot of refurbishment to get them back in use, and then we’ll have to find tin ore to run through the mill. So this could be the last tin smelted by us, at least for some time.”

A percentage of the sale price directly funds the restoration of Tolgus, the last working tin-streaming mill of its kind in Europe. “We find visitors like to treat themselves to something that gives back to Cornwall, and this is a great way to do that,” said Mike.

The tin smelting shed at Wheal Jane was decommissioned last year, but Wheal Jane Group lab director Cliff Rice was only too happy to recommission it for one last hurrah before its conversion into a bat roost.

“I’ve been in the mining industry since 1980, and I love it,” he said. “Helping Tolgus is helping to preserve Cornish mining.”