Over the next twenty years these shallow workings (less than 40 metres or 130 feet deep) produced copper of great value and made the fortune of the Bassett family.

The collapse of the tin price affected South Wheal Crofty both directly (loss of revenue) and indirectly, via increased pumping costs as neighbouring mines closed down.

In 1899, further backing was obtained and South Crofty gradually reopened, and acquired the adjacent New Cooks Kitchen mine.

This change of ownership was the start, in 1969, of a £1 million programme to increase ore hoisting capacity and to make substantial improvements to the mill.

In mid-1982, the company was acquired from St Piran by Charter Consolidated, which subsequently disposed of 40% of its holdings to Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ).

Carnon rationalised the operations, involving closure of the Pendarves mine which had supplied ore to the South Crofty mill.

This was made possible by the co-operation and financial support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the form of loans for the capital improvement.

In 1994 South Crofty was purchased by Crew Natural Resources of Canada; at this time the mines' identified and inferred reserves were expected to allow it to continue working for at least ten years.

In March 2001, a new locally formed company named Baseresult Holdings Ltd. bought the mine with the stated aim of re-opening it.

In 2006, equipment from the dormant Wheal Jane processing plant was purchased, and although some of this was outdated, it was planned that some elements would be refurbished at South Crofty to be used in the new mill adjacent to the decline entrance.

CPR wished to develop the South Crofty site, initially for a leisure centre, but latterly for a housing and business park.

One month later CPR Regeneration announced that they would be applying for a Compulsory Purchase Order, and published plans for a multimillion-pound development of 150 acres (0.61 km2) including the South Crofty site.

[9][10] On 28 November 2007, the owners of the mine successfully challenged the regeneration plan developed by Kerrier District Council for the area around the surface workings.

Crofty Developments Ltd., a partner of Western United Mines appealed to the High Court on the basis that it had not been involved in the consultation process.

In May 2011, a Canadian company, Celeste Copper Corporation,[13] entered into an earn-in agreement to acquire up to a 100% interest of the property and assets of the mine.

[16] However, in November 2012, UNESCO called for a halt on work to reopen the mine until "an assessment had been made of the project's impact" because it said it had not been consulted before planning consent was granted in 2011.

South Crofty is located within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape which had been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2006.

[19] In March 2016 it was revealed that the Canadian company Strongbow Exploration had acquired, from administration, a 100% interest in the South Crofty Tin Project and associated mineral rights in Cornwall.

[20] In April 2017 Strongbow announced that it has filed an NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the South Crofty mine.