This is the iconic mine head at the South Crofty mine in Cornwall.
The mine was first worked in pre Christian times for copper, tin and many other minerals. The Cornish traded tin and copper with the ancient Greeks and Romans, long before the Romans invaded England.
It finally closed in 1996 not because it was worked out, but because of the cheaper prices of foreign imports.
Despite the fact that there are thousands of shafts spreading for many miles in all directions and going down to a depth of 3,000 feet. There is still a huge stockpile of minerals here and if the economic situation was to change, I'm sure work will start here again.
