³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

From 1836 to 1845 Sark's landscape was transformed by Sark Mining Company. Cornish mining technology was renowned from Peru to Southern Australia and it was Cornish mining engineers who were imported to work Sark's copper, lead and silver deposits. Steam engines pumped water up from the shafts but it was the water, channelled in wooden tubs ('launders') running downhill to the sea at Port Gorey, that powered much of the ore processing. The sluice rod mechanism extended through the wall of the dressing floor pond, where the metal ore was separated. Turning the butterfly nuts pushed or pulled a tapered wooden bung inside the pond and controlled the outflow of water. The valve survived under 3 feet of earth: like other features of Sark's mines (including a 'mellior stone' - bearing-stone for a capstan pit) it is unique and predates most of what survives in Cornwall's historic mining area.