Dolcoath mine

[6] In 1920 when the mine had become virtually worked out and following the tin price collapse (new deposits were also being found elsewhere in the world) Dolcoath finally closed.

The company was reconstructed in 1923 when fresh capital was raised and a new 2,000-foot (610 m) circular shaft was sited north of the old mine at Roskear.

On 20 September 1893 a party of miners was strengthening a large stull at the 412 level (nearly half a mile underground).

[11] In around 1898 the then mine captain, Arthur Thomas, reported that Davies went to America some time after, and then worked in South Africa.

[3] At the subsequent inquest, Captain Josiah Thomas said that the working party must have removed some of the old props before putting in the new ones, but this was contradicted by one of the survivors who reported that the men were doing nothing at the time to cause the fall.

[12] Because of its success, the mine paid frequent dividends to its shareholders, and its shares, which were nicknamed "Dollies", were among the most sought-after of the industry.

[13] They found 94% of the workforce was infected, along with telltale low haemoglobin levels, and skin eruptions called "bunches".

Workers on long underground shifts defecated in the mine shafts in humid conditions, expelling hookworm that later entered the skin of other miners through their accidental contact with faeces, sometimes on boots, ladders or tools (often through their knees or arms as they crawled along shafts).

The mine is an important case study for epidemiologists because very rarely in Britain were conditions damp and hot enough for hookworm to propagate.