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New Minera Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern lead extraction site in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference DE241. The mine exploited lead ore deposits within the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation and South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation, a Westphalian-age sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interbedded with coal and ironstone. These geological conditions, typical of South Wales coalfield regions, created favourable circumstances for lead mineralisation alongside the more extensively worked coal reserves.
The site reflects the industrial development of Welsh mining during the post-medieval period through to modern times. Lead mining in Wales was driven by both domestic demand and export opportunities, with operations adapting to available extraction technologies across successive centuries. The underlying coal measures geology provided a stable foundation for mining infrastructure, though the mudstone and siltstone bedrock required careful management of ground stability and water ingress.
Today, New Minera Lead Mine survives as an archaeological record of Welsh industrial heritage and geological resource extraction. Its designation by Cadw recognises the site's historical significance within the broader narrative of Welsh metalliferous mining and the relationship between local geology and industrial enterprise. The monument demonstrates how mining communities responded to and exploited the mineral wealth contained within specific geological formations.
New Minera Lead Mine is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE241. View the official record →
New Minera Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern lead extraction site in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference DE241.
New Minera Lead Mine dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a lead mine. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
New Minera Lead Mine is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is DE241.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: Section SW from Tatham Bridge (7.5 km), Wat's Dyke: Section extending from Pentre-Clawdd to Wynnstay Park (7.6 km), Wynnstay Colliery Walker Fan House (7.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of New Minera Lead Mine's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
New Minera Lead Mine stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.