Lecht Mine

The Lecht Mine was used twice, once to mine iron ore and later to mine manganese. It can be found in a remote spot off the A939, around 5 miles south east of Tomintoul.

The only part of the mine that remains today is the crushing mill. It has been restored and an information board added, making it both a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

The mine was created in 1730, to dig for iron ore in the surrounding hills. Once extracted from the ground, it was taken 20 miles west to the village of Nethy Bridge, where the metal was extracted.

The process involved smelting the ore, using charcoal from the Abernethy pinewoods. The resulting iron was made into bars and used in local buildings and industry.

The iron mine only lasted seven years, closing in 1737 as it was no longer viable.

In 1841, the mine was given a new lease of life. This time to extract manganese used in the production of bleach. Lecht was the largest mine to extract manganese in Scotland.

Mine shafts were driven into the hillsides, then men and boys would dig it out. The manganese was then placed in the two storey crushing mill, where an eight foot waterwheel would power the mechanism to crush the manganese between two Cornish rolls. If the resulting powder was not fine enough, it would be put through again. It was then crushed to a fine powder, washed and dried, then taken to Buckie for onward transport to Newcastle, where it would be made into household bleach.

In 1846, the mine was forced to close when the price of manganese dropped significantly.

In 1863, there was a brief chance of the iron mine reopening, but sadly there was no money to build the required railway line to Tomintoul.

It is a delightful walk up to the crushing mill, and now the industry has gone the wildlife has taken over.

From the car park, follow the path up the side of the burn for just under 1km.

Lecht Mine is a designated Scheduled Monument with Historic Environment Scotland.