About Us
The history of tin and copper mining in Cornwall and Devon stretches from the Roman occupation until the 1990s.
During the 1980s cheap production of tin in the Far East and South America forced a cartel of other producers to artificially support the metal price. It ran out of funds in 1985 and the crash in value of tin forced the closure of the then active mines in Cornwall, excepting South Crofty, which received Government support. This was finally withdrawn in 1991 and redundancies took place. Two people affected, Tony Elliott and Mike Shipp, the former being manager of the consultancy division and the latter providing Mining Searches, decided to form a business to continue the service. Cornwall Consultants had started.
The dramatic collapse of a shaft in a back garden in Gunnislake in 1992 made the national press and awareness of problems with property purchases in the South West rose dramatically. Even local solicitors, who had been somewhat sceptical, were convinced when similar problems arose in St Ives.
By the turn of the millennium, the number of qualified staff carrying out searches had grown to five with some 6000 being dealt with annually.
Meanwhile, problems with concrete blocks in houses had come to a head. The “Mundic” affect causes deterioration of cement as mine waste material in the concrete progressively weakens the blocks. Earlier testing had been unscientific and a leading geological consultant, Dr Alan Bromley, teamed up with Cornwall Consultants to provide a new test regime. This was put to the Council of Mortgage Lenders in 1992 and finally adopted with the publication of RICS Guidelines in 1994. A second department of the business opened and currently carries out about 1000 tests a year.
Consequent to Mining Searches are Property Inspections or full-scale Mining Investigations and this required more dedicated staff. The result was the need to relocate and the business moved to a former hotel (Parc Vean) in Redruth in 2001.
Expansion and the taxation rules also necessitated change and Cornwall Consultants became a limited Company in 2003.
Further legislation provided the need for a fourth arm of the business and Soil Contamination Surveys became part of the overall environmental impact of mining in which the company concentrates. With a turnover approaching £1m and 16 staff, the Company is now the largest specialist business in the field.
