Kit Hill's forgotten mines uncovered by Cornish explorers

RARE pictures of mines underneath Cornwall’s iconic Kit Hill have been released after a group of Cornish mine exploring enthusiasts delved below the site.

For many, Kit Hill is known mostly as a monument marking their position within the Duchy, however, a group of explorers have recently dived below the surface, discovering a maze left as a snapshot of a Cornwall of yesteryear.

Cousin Jack, a collective of local cavers and geologists, have garnered a following online through a series of explorations of some of the region’s forgotten caves and mines. For more than 4,000 years, Cornwall has been a site for mining, with the demand for copper and tin during the Bronze Age kickstarting the processes, which ended up dominating the global market at the turn of the 19th-century, peaking in the 1850s. However, by 1866, the market crashed, ushering in the beginning of the end for the height of Cornish mining.

As a result, the Duchy has hundreds of mines which have been left abandoned, one of which is at Kit Hill, where Cousin Jack ventured inside.

Aaron, one of the group’s members told us: “We are a small team of Cornish mine exploring enthusiasts, made up of historians cavers and local geologists , some of which are actively involved in current mining projects in Cornwall.

“Near to us is kit hill which is known as the hollow hill due to having a rich mining past from several hundred years back , mining for tin ( cassiterite), wolfram (tungsten), and chalcopyrite (copper) to name a few.

“Kit hill was mined from various locations dotted over the hill and as such named as South Kit Hill, East Kit Hill ect. Lots of small mines worked the mineral lodes under kit hill and some intersected.

“There are workings down to a depth of 300 metres from north engine shaft at the very top of Kit Hill, now most of these workings are below water.”

However, following a period of dry weather, the group managed to access various workings

”We produce video footage of a walk through experience as well as photographing various features like huge caverns, flooded shafts, old miners tools, and working wooden platforms that remain .

“There are a few clubs over Devon and Cornwall who explore and document these historic workings I personally however, like to record a walk through experience but edited in a way to captivate an audience and we try to play it to various music to create a mood, 90 per cent of these mines are just long flooded tunnels full of mud and no one wants to see that, so we show this briefly but try to get to the real grit.”

However, despite being passionate about the hobby, Aaron, and the rest of Cousin Jack have emphasised the risks of exploring mines, and have urged people to not attempt it.

“Mine exploring is extremely dangerous,” Aaron continued. “With hazards such as open shafts that can drop hundreds of meters to rock falls and false floors - floors that appear to be solid rock but are wooden platforms covered in mud and rock with huge flooded voids below.

“Not to mention odourless gases and radiation. Most mine workings we explore are well known in the caving community and are as safe as can be expected and are often checked for bad air during the trip using various instruments.”

The team have also touched on the creepy elements of exploring such a space.

“The long tunnels can seam eerie or like you are being watched however, with all the chaos going on in the outside world its a welcome escape of reality as you have to have 100 per cent concentration and focus one what you are doing at every moment,” said Aaron. “From abseiling shafts to wading through flooded tunnels not knowing if your next step will be your last if you happen to stumble into a hidden flooded winze between levels .

“It’s important that the public do not enter open mine workings without experienced guide with correct safety equipment.”