Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007
Forget London - the next boom will be in born-again mining towns
Times Online: Tin revival drives delighted men back down derelict Cornish mine
"The last working tin mine in Cornwall has been given a new lease of life, nine years after it closed, thanks to demand for metal in China and the developing world. South Crofty is expected to employ 400 people and help to regenerate one of the poorest regions in Britain." --- Could this start happing all across the former coal-mining regions of northern England and south Wales? What could this mean for the relative property values of the south Wales valleys compared to London?
Posted by drewster @ 12:11 PM (430 views) Add Comment
8 Comments
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1. cornishman said...
Yes - everyone rush to buy in Redruth. House prices are only about 12x income at present. They are bound to go up if the mine re-opens....
2. Mark said...
interesting I know a location with shale oil, with new technology this could be extracted...
3. Davros said...
Has anyone been to Camborne or Redruth? Padstow it's not.
South Crofty has been operating on and off for years and will make little or no difference to the regeneration of Camborne, Redruth, Hayle or countless other Cornish towns where locals have been priced out of the market. If anything, expect prices to plummet, as there are absolutely none of the 'fundamentals' which the experts bang on about to support prices here.
4. Surfgatinho said...
Don't make me laugh. I live 12 miles from Redruth and beleive me even when South Crofty was the last working tin mine in the UK 'Drooth wasn't a 'boom town'. Regenerate my bottom (edited)! This area has had Objective One money thrown at it for years and it hasn't made much difference. Another interesting fact is that the government appointed quango to regenerate the area (the CPR) has been bitterly opposing the reopening of the mine and trying to compulsary purchase the land for house-building - scum!
Also where do you think those 400 miners are going to come from? I'll hazzard a guess and say Eastern Europe.
5. stillthinking said...
Good lord. We are going back down the mines! What happened to the service economy?
This is just the start. It could end up with everybody working.
6. drewster said...
I see this as part of the bull-run in commodities. Oil prices are near all-time highs. Coal prices are up 64% this year. Lead is up 40% this year. Copper is up 100% in two years. By contrast, the big London financial firms are reporting huge write-offs because of the subprime collapse and the trouble in the US mortgage market (soon to hit here too). This potentially represents a massive shift in wealth-generation, from London and the services sector to semi-rural mining towns and the commodities sector.
Towns which aren't particularly pretty but happen to be sitting on natural resources will surely benefit. I'm thinking of neglected places like Blackburn or Merthyr Tydfil. While jobs are lost in the London financial sector, coal mines might be re-opening in the hinterland, providing employment to many.
7. tyrellcorporation said...
...get your coat Scargill, you're wanted down t't pit! I can't see any industry really replacing almond croissant and guava smoothie production in the South West.
8. Mr Plumbase said...
Blimey! The mines reopening! Industry! You don't want that, all those talented artists and meeja types will leave, then you'll be sorry!!!!!