Sallies Mine
Location - 4 miles south of
Pontesbury (SJ396001)
Minerals - Barytes
Working Life - Known
working life : 1930s-1948
History ("Rhadley & Sallies Mines", Alisdair Neill, SCMC Journal
No.2)
This mine lies to the east of the Stiperstones, the country rock being
massive purple sandstones of the Bayston-Oakswood Group (Longmyndian,
Pre-Cambrian). The beds dip steeply west, being inverted. These rocks have
hosted large barytes orebodies at a number of mines with a little copper but no
lead.
The most important barytes producer, Huglith Mine, was showing signs of
exhaustion towards the end of the 1930s. The owners, Malehurst Barytes Co Ltd
(a subsidiary of B Laporte Ltd who also worked the Bridford Mine in
By 1943, these had been proved by a cross-cut adit, from which levels
were driven along each vein and rises put up to surface on each vein for
ventilation. For most of the distance driven at adit level, the veins were
found to consist of a solid leader of barytes up to 1ft wide, not wide enough
to be worth mining. The east drive on the north vein, however, proved the vein
to widen to workable widths. Stoping was commenced here and a winze was sunk
below adit which proved the vein to improve further at depth. Between 1943-44,
1,388 tons of barytes were produced.
In 1944, a vertical shaft was commenced to prove the vein at depth. An
electric winder and a Holman compressor were acquired from Huglith Mine and a
converted tram tub was used for rock hoisting. Rock drills were used for all
drilling, including stoping. Safety fuse was used in blasting, except in the
shaft where electric firing was sometimes used. Stoping was by an overhand
method. A major problem was the dust disease Silicosis and many men used face
masks as protection against this.
Employment figures given in the official returns are as follows :-
1945 26 (20 underground)
1947 36 (25 underground).
Although fair amounts of barytes were produced for the Malehurst Mill,
supplemented by some from Gatten Mine, not enough could be obtained to replace
that from Huglith Mine which had closed in 1945. The mines and mill were not
profitable at this reduced level of output and all closed in November 1948.
Surface Remains
The site is marked by a small spoil tip and several concrete footings
for buildings and machinery. The brick magazine is well preserved but the
concrete cap of the shaft is split and beginning to tilt. The foundations of
the headgear can still be seen. There appears to be a collapsed trial adit next
to the shaft.
The main adit is open but blocked by a timber gate since it is used as
water supply. On the hillside above are two filled shafts which connected with
the workings. A small hole on the right of the track, 45 yards north of the
ford, leads into a collapsed adit. There seems to be a spoil tip for this on
the opposite side of the stream