Llywernog Mine

Llywernog Mine is an 18th-century silver-lead mine in Llywernog, Ceredigion, Wales, currently run as an industrial heritage museum and tourist attraction. Exploiting the mineralised rocks of the Central Wales Orefield, it is one of many silver-lead mines in Wales, and unlike many others it still has a large number of intact buildings and mining equipment, much of which has been restored as part of the museum. The first vein of galena, an ore which contains silver and lead, was discovered around 1742, and active mining commenced in the 1770s. Mining continued intermittently for over a century, interspersed with phases of idleness and with many changes of management. However in 1891, low lead prices forced the mine to close. The mine was briefly active again from 1907 to 1911, when zinc was extracted. In 1974 restoration work began, and the site opened as a museum later that year. In 2012, the site was rebranded as The Silver Mountain Experience, and included an underground horror attraction set in the mine.