Geevor Tin Mine welcomes its one millionth visitor

Geevor Tin Mine is a mining heritage attraction located on the rugged cliffs of West Penwith, Cornwall, that is popular with visitors from all over the globe. This must-see Cornish mining destination - a Key Centre for the World Heritage Site - has just celebrated its one millionth visitor. 

It's an amazing milestone for the team at Geevor Tin Mine Museum who do such fantastic work telling the story of mining and more importantly from their own experience of working at the mine when it was still operational. Geevor is a unique and moving experience for visitors of all ages from across the world. The enthusiasm and passion of the team brings the mining story to life for so many. The award-winning learning programme is richly deserved and the work the outreach team does a fabulous job inspiring young visitors and creating an unforgettable experience for so many school groups. It is fitting that the one-millionth visitor was St Hilary School and so important that the next generation feels connection with their heritage and sense of place.

The mine has a long history of metalliferous mining and has produced primarily tin since Geevor Tin Mines Ltd. was formed as a company in 1911. The closure of the mine in 1990 - due to the collapse of the international tin price in 1985 - could have meant the end, but Cornwall County Council was able to acquire the site and secure it for future generations to experience and enjoy. 

Since opening to the visiting public in 1993, Geevor has developed into a world-class mining heritage attraction and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site Office and Partnership Board has been pleased to support it during this journey. 

Geevor Mine is the largest preserved tin mine in Europe and is recognised nationally through its Scheduled Monument status. The Registered Charity Pendeen Community Heritage acquired the lease for Geevor in 2001 and has successfully managed the site since this time.

World Heritage Site designation helped Geevor obtain £3.8 million in Heritage Lottery, Cornwall County Council, Penwith District Council and National Trust grant funding in 2007, to conserve the twenty main buildings which comprise the mine. The funds also enabled the creation of the excellent Hard Rock Museum, installed within the former Top Fitting Shop. 

The World Heritage Site Office was pleased to assist in securing grant funding for the extension of the Geevor underground experience in 2011. This exciting new section of the eighteenth-century Wheal Mexico workings was opened to the public in April that year and has proven very popular. Visitors can see intact sections of lodes and features typical of early Cornish mine workings, including hand-drilled holes for the gunpowder charges used when driving the Wheal Mexico adit level in the 1700s.

Cornwall Councillor Martyn Alvey, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change congratulated 'Pendeen Community Heritage Trust for reaching their millionth visitor. This success is testament to the enduring significance our mining heritage has for communities whose culture and identify has been shaped by the industry and the fascination visitors have with the historic mining landscapes of Cornwall. Geevor Tin Mine showcases the mining technology and innovation of its era and through the million visitors that are in addition to all the schools and colleges that visit, it continues to inspire young people to consider careers in STEM and be part of shaping Cornwall’s future prosperity, including how we transition to renewable energy tapping into lithium and other rare minerals critical to our climate adaptation’.    

Tamsin Daniel, Cornwall Council Protected & Historic Landscapes Manager, said: ‘Congratulations to Pendeen Community Heritage Trust for reaching this incredible milestone! Within a few years of taking over the operation of Geevor Tin Mine in 2001 and following investment by the Lottery and the council in the visitor experience, the Trust has doubled annual visitor figures and importantly for the local community, has created year-round employment. Geevor is a Key Centre of the Cornish Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, winning awards for their education programme, providing a unique learning experience for primary, secondary, college and university students as well as work experience opportunities in all aspects of the heritage site’s operation’.

Geevor Tin Mine is one of the Key Centres for the interpretation of the World Heritage Site, which explains the site’s mining heritage and the World Heritage designation through high-quality interpretation and an excellent guided visitor experience.

The World Heritage Site Office and Partnership Board congratulate Geevor in its success in reaching this impressive milestone, with Dave Crabtree, Partnership Board Chair, saying: ‘That this is a magnificent achievement and proves that museums can go from strength to strength. The timing of this comes just before the Cornwall Mining World Heritage Site, of which Geevor is a Key Centre hosts the World Heritage UK Conference for the first time with delegates coming from far and wide and will also experience a visit to this site during the two day Conference’.

Sally Weston, World Heritage Site Lead Officer, added: ‘This is a fantastic milestone, congratulations to all involved at the site. Geevor Tin Mine are great supporters of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, encouraging local communities and visitors to explore not just this Area but across the wider World Heritage Site, sharing the mining stories and how these feed into today’s technologies and innovation’.

You can discover more about Geevor at - https://geevor.com/