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Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UKi
Regional Level Types
Wheal CoatesMine (Inactive)
St AgnesCivil Parish
CornwallCounty
EnglandConstituent Country
UKCountry

This page kindly sponsored by Keith Compton
PhotosMapsSearch
09165060014946265413998.jpg
View of Wheal Coates looking South

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
06231000014946260231271.jpg
Buildings at Wheal Coates

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
01491210014946260273583.jpg
Calciner

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
09165060014946265413998.jpg
View of Wheal Coates looking South

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
06231000014946260231271.jpg
Buildings at Wheal Coates

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
01491210014946260273583.jpg
Calciner

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
09165060014946265413998.jpg
View of Wheal Coates looking South

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
06231000014946260231271.jpg
Buildings at Wheal Coates

Wheal Coates, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
50° 18' 19'' North , 5° 13' 49'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
50.30528,-5.23028
GeoHash:
G#: gbuq0vz3m
GRN:
N34W03
UK National Grid Reference:
SW700501
Type:
Mine (Inactive) - last checked 2019
KΓΆppen climate type:
Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Saint Agnes2,820 (2014)2.0km
Mount Hawke1,511 (2017)3.0km
North Country773 (2017)6.2km
Portreath963 (2017)6.5km
Perranporth3,210 (2017)6.8km
Mindat Locality ID:
1168
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:1168:9
GUID (UUID V4):
5976c272-cc9d-47c7-891a-6526d3b53834


Much-photographed engine house at Towanroath Shaft and huge partially-worked sea cave below with adit at rear which intersects several lodes which have not been exploited. Accessible at low tide but easy to get cut off.
Whim engine house on slope above engine shaft and a number of old opencuts further inland.

The mine is famous for the highly desirable and classic pseudomorphs after Carlsbad twins of orthoclase feldspar that were found around 1828. The replacing material consists of a granular mixture of largely cassiterite and minor quartz in varying proportions. Depending on the fraction of cassiterite, the colour varies from almost black to various shades of grey. The vein where they came from (perhaps an elvan), only 3 inches wide on average, was in a soft decomposed granite and contained so much of a light red sandy matter that it was called "the sand lode" (Coon, 1933; Rudler, 1905; Reid et al., 1906).

The pseudomorphs are typically are around 2.5 cm long or less, but specimens to a maximum of 5.6 cm are known. Good examples are rare and fakes were made in the 19th century by coating appropriately shaped lead sheet with granular cassiterite (Embrey & Symes, 1987). Elsewhere, similar pseudomorphs have been found very rarely at Carn Brea Mine, Illogan and at Balleswidden Mine, St. Just (Rudler, 1905).

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


17 valid minerals. 2 erroneous literature entries.

Detailed Mineral List:

β“˜ Agardite-(Ce)
Formula: CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
β“˜ Andalusite
Formula: Al2(SiO4)O
β“˜ Arsenopyrite
Formula: FeAsS
β“˜ Bismite
Formula: Bi2O3
β“˜ Bismutite
Formula: (BiO)2CO3
Description: Originally thought to be eulytine, however Clark et al. proved it to be bismutite.
β“˜ Cassiterite
Formula: SnO2
Description: also as pseudomorphs after orthoclase
β“˜ Cassiterite var. Wood Tin
Formula: SnO2
β“˜ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
β“˜ Copper
Formula: Cu
β“˜ Cuprite
Formula: Cu2O
β“˜ Eulytine
Formula: Bi4(SiO4)3
Description: A specimen from J.H. Collins in the collection of the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro (catalogue no. 1588), is labelled as eulytine from Wheal Coates, but has been shown by Clark et al. (1986) to contain no eulytine at all, but turned out to be bismutite.
β“˜ 'Glauconite'
Formula: K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
β“˜ Goethite
Formula: Ξ±-Fe3+O(OH)
β“˜ Hematite
Formula: Fe2O3
β“˜ Melanterite
Formula: Fe2+(H2O)6SO4 · H2O
β“˜ Orthoclase
Formula: K(AlSi3O8)
β“˜ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
β“˜ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
β“˜ Schorl
Formula: NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
β“˜ Svanbergite
Formula: SrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
β“˜ Tenorite
Formula: CuO
β“˜ 'Tourmaline'
Formula: AD3G6 (T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
β“˜Copper1.AA.05Cu
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
β“˜Chalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
β“˜Pyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
β“˜Arsenopyrite2.EB.20FeAsS
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
β“˜Goethite4.00.Ξ±-Fe3+O(OH)
β“˜Cuprite4.AA.10Cu2O
β“˜Tenorite4.AB.10CuO
β“˜Hematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
β“˜Bismite4.CB.60Bi2O3
β“˜Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜Cassiterite
var. Wood Tin		4.DB.05SnO2
β“˜4.DB.05SnO2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Bismutite5.BE.25(BiO)2CO3
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
β“˜Melanterite7.CB.35Fe2+(H2O)6SO4 Β· H2O
Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates
β“˜Svanbergite ?8.BL.05SrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
β“˜Agardite-(Ce)8.DL.15CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 Β· 3H2O
Group 9 - Silicates
β“˜Eulytine ?9.AD.40Bi4(SiO4)3
β“˜Andalusite9.AF.10Al2(SiO4)O
β“˜Schorl9.CK.05NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
β“˜Orthoclase9.FA.30K(AlSi3O8)
Unclassified
β“˜'Glauconite'-K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
β“˜'Tourmaline'-AD3G6 (T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hβ“˜ Agardite-(Ce)CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
Hβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Hβ“˜ GoethiteΞ±-Fe3+O(OH)
Hβ“˜ MelanteriteFe2+(H2O)6SO4 · H2O
Hβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
Hβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
BBoron
Bβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
Bβ“˜ TourmalineAD3G6 (T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z
CCarbon
Cβ“˜ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3
OOxygen
Oβ“˜ Agardite-(Ce)CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
Oβ“˜ AndalusiteAl2(SiO4)O
Oβ“˜ BismiteBi2O3
Oβ“˜ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3
Oβ“˜ CassiteriteSnO2
Oβ“˜ CupriteCu2O
Oβ“˜ EulytineBi4(SiO4)3
Oβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Oβ“˜ GoethiteΞ±-Fe3+O(OH)
Oβ“˜ HematiteFe2O3
Oβ“˜ MelanteriteFe2+(H2O)6SO4 · H2O
Oβ“˜ OrthoclaseK(AlSi3O8)
Oβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Oβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
Oβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
Oβ“˜ TenoriteCuO
Oβ“˜ TourmalineAD3G6 (T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z
Oβ“˜ Cassiterite var. Wood TinSnO2
NaSodium
Naβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
MgMagnesium
Mgβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
AlAluminium
Alβ“˜ AndalusiteAl2(SiO4)O
Alβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Alβ“˜ OrthoclaseK(AlSi3O8)
Alβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
Alβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
SiSilicon
Siβ“˜ AndalusiteAl2(SiO4)O
Siβ“˜ EulytineBi4(SiO4)3
Siβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Siβ“˜ OrthoclaseK(AlSi3O8)
Siβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Siβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
PPhosphorus
Pβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
SSulfur
Sβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS
Sβ“˜ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sβ“˜ MelanteriteFe2+(H2O)6SO4 · H2O
Sβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
Sβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
KPotassium
Kβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Kβ“˜ OrthoclaseK(AlSi3O8)
FeIron
Feβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS
Feβ“˜ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Feβ“˜ GlauconiteK0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2
Feβ“˜ GoethiteΞ±-Fe3+O(OH)
Feβ“˜ HematiteFe2O3
Feβ“˜ MelanteriteFe2+(H2O)6SO4 · H2O
Feβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
Feβ“˜ SchorlNaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)
CuCopper
Cuβ“˜ Agardite-(Ce)CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
Cuβ“˜ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Cuβ“˜ CupriteCu2O
Cuβ“˜ CopperCu
Cuβ“˜ TenoriteCuO
AsArsenic
Asβ“˜ Agardite-(Ce)CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
Asβ“˜ ArsenopyriteFeAsS
SrStrontium
Srβ“˜ SvanbergiteSrAl3(PO4)(SO4)(OH)6
SnTin
Snβ“˜ CassiteriteSnO2
Snβ“˜ Cassiterite var. Wood TinSnO2
CeCerium
Ceβ“˜ Agardite-(Ce)CeCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O
BiBismuth
Biβ“˜ BismiteBi2O3
Biβ“˜ Bismutite(BiO)2CO3
Biβ“˜ EulytineBi4(SiO4)3

Geochronology

Geologic TimeRocks, Minerals and Events
Phanerozoic
 Paleozoic
  Permian
   Guadalupian
β“˜ Major polymetallic mineralization~270 MaCornwall, England, UK
   Cisuralian
β“˜ Porphyry dikes intruded (latest age)~275 MaCornwall, England, UK
β“˜ Greisenization (latest age)~280 MaCornwall, England, UK
β“˜ Porphyry dikes intruded (earliest age)~280 MaCornwall, England, UK
β“˜ Formation of metallized pegmatites~285 MaCornwall, England, UK
β“˜ Greisenization (earliest age)~285 MaCornwall, England, UK
β“˜ Emplacement of major plutons~295 MaCornwall, England, UK

Mindat Articles

Pseudomorphous crystals of oxide of tin, found in Huel Coates mine, in St. Agnes by Jolyon Ralph


Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
UK

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Rocks & Minerals 16, 129.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/wheal-coates/history-of-wheal-coates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheal_Coates
Rudler, F. W. (1905) A Handbook to a Collection of the Minerals of the British Isles - Mostly selected from the Ludlam Collection, in the Museum of Practical Geology. 253pp.
Reid, C., Scrivenor, J.B., Flett, J.S., Pollard, W., and MacAlister, D.A. (1906) The Geology of the Country near Newquay. HMSO Publications (London), 131 pp.
Coon, J. M. (1933) Pseudomorphs of cassiterite, etc., after feldspar at Wheal Coates, St. Agnes, Cornwall. Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall 16(6), 297-310.
Dines, H. G. (1956) The Metalliferous Mining Region of South-West England (1st ed.) Vol. 1. Geological Survey of Great Britain, London.pp.476-477
Sharpe, A. & Smith, J. R. (1986) Wheal Coates, St. Agnes: An Archaeological Survey for the National Trust. Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall County Council (Truro).
Clark, A. M., Couper, A. G., Embrey, P. G., Fejer, E. E. (1986) Waylandite: new data, from an occurrence in Cornwall, with a note on β€˜Agnesite’. Mineralogical Magazine, 50 (358) 731-733 doi:10.1180/minmag.1986.050.358.23 [disproves the occurrence of eulytine]
Embrey, Peter G., Symes, Robert F. (1987) Minerals of Cornwall and Devon. British Museum (Natural History) and the Mineralogical Record, Inc., London and Tucson, AZ.
www.youtube.com (n.d.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeoOvXE-NY
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