From the bronze age to the present day, man has found numerous uses for tin and its alloys, and has gone to great lengths to extract it from the ground. This book explains why tin minerals are found only in certain places, how and when they were formed, the ways in which deposits were discovered and mined in the past and how and where modern technologies for prospecting are applied. The history and development of mining since earliest times is reviewed, emphasizing the importance of the tin mining region of Cornwall and Devon to the British economy. The changing techniques of exploration, extraction, separation and smelting are examined against a background of evolving scientific understanding and technological advance.