Two young miners have croust (a food break). During this time, boys as young as 14 could work in the mines. A pasty is in the linen bag on one of the boy’s knees and he sits on a water barrel like the one seen in the case below.

Arsenolite on realgar found in an old arsenic calciner at Gunnislake. Realgar is known as ruby sulphur or ruby of arsenic.

Refined arsenic samples. The larger vial is from South Crofty Mine, Camborne in the 1930s.

Miners and bal maidens at Tincroft Mine, Illogan in the late 1800s.

A hammer head belonging to a spalling hammer. There were many types of hammer for different jobs. This one was used to break larger pieces of ore into smaller ones, a job often taken by Bal Maidens at the mine’s surface works.

Silver on quartz. From Potosi, Bolivia. Philip Rashleigh collection.

Tin dressing frames, Dolcoath Mine, Cornwall in the 1800s. Bal maidens can be seen working the frames.