Klondyke mill

The mill was built by the Welsh Crown Spelter Company, formed in 1899, and a subsidiary company of the English Crown Spelter Company (formed in 1883). The Welsh company worked a number of mines in the area, having purchased them from previous owners, notably what is today most-commonly known as Pandora mine (though known successively as Willoughby Lead Mine, Welsh Foxdale Lead Mine, and New Pandora Lead Mine), which lies about 1.5 miles south-south-east. The company also developed the small mine known as Klondyke, adjacent to where the mill was built. The company had grand plans for expanding the production of Pandora mine, which already had dressing floors immediately south of the lane (between Llyn Geirionydd & Capel Curig). Most prominent in the scheme was the construction of a new, large dressing mill at Klondyke, to which the ore would be carried on a 2-mile tramway, before descending by aerial runway from the hillside above into the upper floor of the mill itself. Much of this tramway was level, and it is known that the company had a " gauge Kerr Stuart petrol locomotive. access was shorter and more direct this way, crossing the river Geirionydd by a bridge a short distance from the mill. Although the bridge platform has long been removed, the bridge parapets remain in good condition. Klondyke mine showing Llyn Geirionydd in the distance, with Klondyke mill highlighted, with its prominent spoil heaps to the right Klondyke mine itself, which lay immediately adjacent to the mill, albeit on the other side of the river Geirionydd (really just a large stream at this point), consisted essentially of one main adit heading south-east, directly below the line of the aerial ropeway into the mill. Although there is no evidence of a bridge today, there would clearly have been one, laid with rails, connecting the mine entrance with the lower storey of the mill - a distance of only some 40 yards. The mine had a brick-lined portal. A matter of yards beyond the portal, the adit splits into a number of very short levels, indicative of an intention to develop the mine in a number of directions. This, however, did not happen, for, inside, three tunnels head off to the right, all in a general southerly direction. The first tunnel is the longest, following the contour of the gorge at this point. Further in, the second tunnel is next in length, splitting into another very short tunnel right at its end. The third tunnel is the shortest, but all of these tunnels are ornate to a degree with mineral intrusion. As well as this mine, Klondyke mine was worked together with numerous smaller adit workings which lay a little upstream in Geirionydd gorge, although some of these latter working were strictly part of the Bryn Cenhadon Mine. ==Decline==

Following construction of the mill, shareholders were informed in 1900 that the future was bright, and in 1901, as indicated above, that much was indeed actually happening on the ground. Moreover, Grant Francis was claiming that ore reserves now totalled some 40,000 tons, a figure more than twice that given at the time of purchase, which was just 18,520 tons. The first buy-out of Pandora and Klondyke was by the North Western Spelter Syndicate in 1906, who produced over 10 tons of lead ore and 50 tons of blende before an option on seeking additional funds run out after a year. The Welsh Crown Spelter company still retained a few men on its books, to safeguard its assets, and a catalogue of these assets was prepared. In June 1907 an auction advertisement (see bottom picture) subsequently appeared in the Mining Journal, selling many of the mechanical assets of the Welsh Crown Spelter Co., and divided into 'Electrical Mining Plant', mostly from Pandora mine and 'Dressing Plant', from Klondyke mill. Pertinent to the Klondyke operation, this sale included the like of 100 tons of 18 lb flat-bottom rail, a petrol locomotive of 22.5" gauge, 25 side-tip wagons, and 800' of Henderson cableway. The dressing plant on offer included a stone breaker and several jiggers, pulleys and belts, the contents of smiths' and carpenters' shops, telephone installations, drawing instruments, office and household furniture, and a pony and trap. It is clear from the full list of auction items that the mill was very dependent on electricity for its operation. This may also have contributed to the decline, for pumping equipment in particular was prone to failure. The contents of the auction were bought lock, stock and barrel by a Liverpool colliery owner, who went on to form the New Pandora Mining Syndicate Ltd., registered in 1908. Some 50 men were employed, but in 1912 the company folded. In that year Hafna Mines Ltd. (of 1907) bought Pandora mine, but not Klondyke mill, as they had other dressing floors available to them on their Hafna site. In 1919, Edward McCarthy, Mining Engineer and Consultant, wrote of the following causes regarding the failure of the Welsh Crown Spelter Company: • Underground development bore little proportion to expenditure on surface works. • Too much attention was paid to an unproductive section of the New lode to the north of its intersection with the Goddard lode. • Unreasonable conditions were demanded for the right-of-way over the considerable distance to the mill. • The benefit of the adit level was not available until after the company had left the sett. • The low price of lead and zinc made profitable working impossible. ==Aspinall's Klondyke scam==

The mill is today known as Klondyke Mill, after the Klondike Gold Rush, and this name derives from a scam operated in the 1920s. In 1918 Joseph Aspinall, a man with mining credentials, but formerly an undischarged bankrupt (1912) who had served time in jail for failing to disclose this in 1917, formed the Crafnant and Devon Mining Syndicate Ltd, having purchased the lease from the Trefriw Mining Company. (This payment, incidentally, was not ever made!) In 1920 the Mining Journal of 6 May 1920 carried an article stating that this company had acquired the Trefriw silver-lead mines, where it had struck a rich lode – containing 70oz of silver per ton – in the former prospecting level. The mill machinery was described as being modern and in full working order, with a turbine easily capable of dressing 1500 tons a week. By 1920, however, Aspinall was in prison for running a scam. Much of the detail comes from Charles Holmes, proprietor of the nearby Parc mine, who claims he unearthed the scam. Aspinall would entertain prospective shareholders from London, paying for their first-class train fare and accommodation, and take them to see the mine and the mill. On approaching the mine, he would give a friendly hoot on his car horn, which was, in fact, a signal for his "workers" to act their roles. The entrance tunnel to the mine had previously been cleaned, and some 20 tons of lead concentrates (shipped from Devon) were glued to the walls, giving a sparkling appearance. Aspinall had also purchased locally galena concentrates for which he would pay 50% above the ordinary market price. This was he said, for use in a new secret process, but was in fact used to provide some evidence of mined ore. Men guarded the entrance to the tunnel, and others ran around, giving an impression of great activity. In Klondyke mill itself, much of the equipment (a stone breaker and a few jigs) was of virtually no use at all, but Aspinall installed a shaking table, then erected a launder from the stonebreaker to the head of the table. Together with a couple of other pieces of equipment, it all looked the part and made a convincing noise. Holmes, whose suspicions were aroused by a number of factors, notified Scotland Yard, and Aspinall was eventually sentenced to 22 months in prison for having deceptively obtained some £166,000 from his victims. He subsequently moved to France, where he attempted a similar scam, but was sentenced to 5 years in jail. In 1927 he received another 4 years in jail for an oilfield scam. ==The site today==

Today Klondyke mill is in a fairly dangerous state of disrepair. The roof has long collapsed, and in recent years there has been a small area of collapse on the east wall of the turbine house, though the remainder of the wall appears relatively stable. As a consequence of the well-buttressed walls, the remainder of the building also appears relatively stable, despite its height. The route of the tramway from Pandora mine can be seen running down the hill on and embankment on the southern side of the Capel Curig road and the stream. As it approaches lake Geirionydd it swings to the right, to cross the present day road, before heading for the lake shore. The route alongside Llyn Geirionydd can be discerned in places today, running along the lake's length between the road and the lake shore in a small cutting. (This road was not built until about the 1940s.) North of the lake, the tramway route is a flat path, now a right of way, and part of Trefriw trail No. 5, and on the hillside directly above the mill some minor remains of the loading platform, water tank and pipeline can be seen. From here it can be seen where the aerial runway ran steeply down to Klondyke mill. Geirionydd gorge, with its associated mine adits, and the area upstream of Klondyke are now popular for gorge walking. ==Gallery==