| Snaefell (Metal Mine) | Index | Snaefell (Metal Mine) | ||
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Snaefell (Metal Mine)
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| Location: | Laxey 8 miles [13 km] N of Douglas |
| Map Ref: | SC407875, 54° 15' 30" N, 4° 26' 40" W |
| Maps: |  1870 map [www.old-maps.co.uk] |
| Opened: | |
| Closed: | Sep 1908 |
| Output: | 1887 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. |
| 1888 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1889 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1891 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1892 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1893 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1894 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1895 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1896 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1902 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
| 1908 - Lead Ore, Zinc Ore. | |
 Detailed Mineral Statistics for Snaefell (Metal Mine) |
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| Employment: | 1884 - 25 (17 below, 8 surface) |
| 1887 - 64 (32 below, 32 surface) | |
| 1888 - 96 (61 below, 35 surface) | |
| 1889 - 95 (60 below, 35 surface) | |
| 1890 - 90 (60 below, 30 surface) | |
| 1891 - 108 (75 below, 33 surface) | |
| 1892 - 117 (80 below, 37 surface) | |
| 1893 - 138 (79 below, 59 surface) | |
| 1894 - 71 (45 below, 26 surface) | |
| 1895 - 39 (25 below, 14 surface) | |
| 1896 - 46 (30 below, 16 surface) | |
| 1902 - 78 (51 below, 27 surface) | |
| 1908 - 61 (42 below, 19 surface) [Suspended] | |
| Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Snaefell (Metal Mine) |
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| Notes: | 1911 - Abandoned |
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Description
The mine is situated on the south-eastern flank of the mountain from which it takes its name, and at a distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the summit. A rough cart-road connects it with the village of Laxey, from which it is distant about four miles. The top of the shaft is 908 feet above the sea level.
The property belongs to the Crown, but the mine has been leased to the Snaefell Mining Company, Limited, which has been in possession for many years.
The deposit worked at the Snaefell Mine is a vein which has an approximatelt north and south strike, and an average dip to the east of about 15° from the vertical. Its width varies from 6 inches to 40 feet, and it consists of the following minerals, viz., galena, zinc blende, copper pyrites, some iron pyrites, pyrrhotine, pearl spar, and calc spar. The surrounding rocks (country) are generally composed of clay-slate, now known as the "Barrule Slate," and considered to be of Cambrian or Silurian age.
Official Report into the 1897 Disaster
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Disasters (5 or more killed)
| 10th | May | 1897 | Underground fire, caused by naked light igniting timber, 20 lives lost (Show Names) |
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Names of those killed at this colliery
Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!
 | Callan, Sandy, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 24, Waggoner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Callow, William, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 29, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Cannell, Robert, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 41, Waggoner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found in a sitting position near "hanging wall" [More information ...] | |||||
| Christian, Frank, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 30, Waggoner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Christian, Walter, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 21, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Christian, William, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 26, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform, he had fallen off the ladder [More information ...] | |||||
| Corkhill, James Henry, 26 May 1897, (accident: 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m.), aged 44, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground file (caused by naked light igniting timber), rescued alive [More information ...] | |||||
Davies, William, 28 Apr 1888, aged 38, Miner, unexpected fall of the roof of a stope; the roof had been sounded and appeared to be perfectly firm, and a man was in the act of boring a hole in the very rock that fell, in order to bring down part of it by a blast | ||||||
| Fayle, John, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 40, Waggoner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Kelly, Robert, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 20, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying in the level, body recovered on the 7th June [More information ...] | |||||
| Kewin, John Robert, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 28, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found sitting on the platform with his legs through the manhole [More information ...] | |||||
| Kewin, William, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 24, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Kewley, Edward, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 22, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Kewley, John, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 32, Kibble-filler, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Kinrade, Edward, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 27, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Kinrade, Louis, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 24, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform close to "hanging wall" [More information ...] | |||||
| Lewney, Robert, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 24, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform, he had fallen off ladder and bled a good deal [More information ...] | |||||
| Moughtin, Joseph, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 28, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found lying on platform, he had fallen off the ladder [More information ...] | |||||
| Oliver, John, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 57, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found in the manhole with his arm over one of the rungs of the ladder [More information ...] | |||||
| Oliver, John James, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 22, Labourer, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found in manhole with one foot on the ladder and the other on the platform [More information ...] | |||||
| Senogles, William, 10 May 1897, 6:00 a.m., aged 46, Miner, killed in the 1897 underground fire (caused by naked light igniting timber), found clinging to the ladder, with one foot on a rung, and the other on the platform [More information ...] | |||||
| 21 names found | ||||||
If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.
For those names marked
the text of the Mines Inspectors report into the incident is available online. Click on the
icon to display the report.
more information on some of the fatalities shown above
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Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)
a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Snaefell (Metal Mine)
list of collieries/pits etc. near to Snaefell (Metal Mine)
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Credits
Sources:
- 1884 List of Mines
- 1888 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5779), North Wales & I.O.M. District (No. 9) , by C. Le Neve Foster, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
- 1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
- 1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
- 1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
- 1908 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
- Official Report into the 1897 Snaefell Lead Mine Disaster (C.8880)
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Related Links:
| On this site | |
| | Newspaper articles |
| | Awards for Bravery |
| | Text of the Mines Inspectorate Report into the 1897 undergound fire |
