The Crowns Engine Houses of the Botallack Tin Mines are remnants of an earlier time in Cornwall’s history. Mining tin from the earth was one of Cornwall’s means of survival. It is not known exactly when mining started in this area but early records date from the 1500s. According to Wikipedia, some archaeological evidence points to mining here in the Roman era or even as far back as the Bronze Age. The mining tunnels extend 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. The mine closed in 1895 as a result of falling tin and copper prices.
In the following Botallack Tin Mine shots of the Crowns Engine Houses I experimented with long and regular exposures, and applied different white balances for different effects on the images.
