Bodelva Pit

Bodelva, St Blaise, Cornwall, England, UK

Bodelva pit is a former china clay pit which is now the site of the Eden Project visitors attraction.

Bodelva pit may also be referred to as the Carvear China Clay works, but really these are two pits – the Carvear pit and the Bodelva pit. Carvear was not worked much after the second world war, until the 1950s, when the pits were combined.

Something quite interesting about the pit – the clay was stained pink, which limited its value for the production of newsprint with one exception, the Financial Times, which is printed on pink paper – the source of which was, once, the Bodelva pit.

 

Various minerals are known from the site, including kaolinite and cassiterite; however, no further specimens will be found here!

The clay pit was used for over 160 years, but was exhausted by the mid 90s. In 2000, the Eden Project opened on the site.

 

Further reading

 

 

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