Copper and lead have been worked at Bradda Head, above Port Erin, since at least the mid-17th century, the earliest period for which primary sources give a documented reference (widely repeated online claims of Bronze Age or medieval working are not supported by Manx Notebook's primary sources). Industrial-era mining in the North and South Bradda workings drove shafts horizontally and below sea level through the 18th and 19th centuries under operators including the South Manx Mining Company (1850-63) and the Bradda Mining Company Limited, which ceased work in 1884.