Go to the Main Scottish Cave and Mine Database Search Page

Eas Anie Mine

Beinn Chuirn, Colonish, SW of Tyndrum, Perthshire.

Lead Mine on the southeastern slopes of Beinn Chuirn near Eas Anie with workings on both sides of the Allt Eas Anie.

The Eas Anie site was a major lead mining area from 1739 until 1923. The amount of lead mined led to a lead smelter being built in the mid 18th century in Strath Fillan just outside Tyndrum. The lead ore was brought off the hill and down directly to the smelter by a "gravity" track. At the time of the 1745 Jacobite rising, the English Jacobite Sir Robert Clifton owned the lease for the mine, the Argyle Militia suspected that Clifton was making the lead into bullets and sabotaged the workings and burned the miners' houses. In the ensuing years several firms tried to make a going concern of the mine including the Company of Mine Adventurers of England and the Scots Mining Company but turnover was greatly reduced by the end of the 19th century and the last lead was extracted in 1923. [Wikipedia]

(Area centred NN 290 284). Three shaft symbols and four roofless buildings shown and described twice as Lead Mines (NAT) (OS 6" map, Perthshire, 2nd ed., 1867) and Old Lead Mines (NAT) (OS 6" map, 2nd ed., 1901).

The Tyndrum lead mines were started in 1739 and original workings are in Beinn Chuirn, above Coninish. Near a large waterfall, at Eas Anie, are the ruins of miner's cottages. Together with the mine at Sron nan Colan (see NN33SW 2) the workings were intermittently exploited until 1923. (Full details of ownership and production of ore given). [V A Firsoff 1954]

There are the ruins of four buildings, two by the side of the river east of the waterfall, and the others south of the waterfall on the mountainside. The former are the ones mentioned by (Firsoff 1954). The dry stone walls stand to a height of 2.5m, but whether they were cottages or mine buildings it is not possible to say. The buildings on the mountainside are of much cruder construction and are probably earlier. They seem to be mine buildings rather than dwellings. The shafts could not be located, but the farmer said that they were levels driven horizontally into the mountain from the cleft by the waterfall. He also said that the mine had not been used during this century. [Visited by OS (G H P) 1 May 1962.]

Two groups each comprising two unroofed buildings are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Perthshire 1867, sheet lxxvii) at NN 2883 2835 and NN 2919 2848. Two unroofed buildings are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1976).

A building which may be one of the two buildings at NN 2919 2848, is depicted and named as Essanie hut on an 18th century plan of the glen called Coninish (see archive). [Canmore]

Alternative Names: Tyndrum Mine

Notes: Although close to boundary of Argyllshire both Tyndrum and the site of the mine are in Stirlingshire.

Eas Anie is a waterfall popular with winter ice climbers..