The site of the Snaefell lead mine. The complex is shown on the 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map. This is a distinct working from the nearby Beinn y Phott Mine, despite the two sharing an almost identical map coordinate. The Great Snaefell Mine began serious working around 1856 on the eastern foot of Snaefell, about three miles north-west of Laxey village, and was originally an offshoot of the Great Laxey Mining Company, later passing through several reorganisations including the Great Snaefell Mining Company (formed 1871) and a re-registered Snaefell Mining Company (1883). Between 1870 and 1900 it produced roughly 4,567 tons of lead ore and 8,926 tons of zinc blende, worked from a single shaft eventually sunk to about 171 fathoms with eleven levels. On the night of 9-10 May 1897 a fire, believed to have started from a candle left burning near timber supports at the 130-fathom level, filled the lower workings with carbon monoxide after being fanned through an open ventilation door at the 74-fathom level; of the roughly 34 miners who went down for the early shift, 20 died of gas poisoning in what remains the worst mining disaster in Manx history. Recovery of the last body was not completed until 7 June 1897 because of persistent toxic gas, and mine captain John Kewley was recognised for his role in the rescue efforts. The mine finally closed in 1908 after a serious rockfall made further clearance uneconomic.