There has been a mine at Parys mountain for at least 3500 years.

Rowland Pugh, a local miner, discovered the "Great Lode" on 2 March 1768 and was rewarded with a bottle of whisky and a rent-free house for his lifetime. It's heyday was the 18th and 19th Centuries when there where thousands of workers at the site providing most of the worlds copper. The centre of the mountain has been gouged out, and at one point was one of the biggest man made holes.

Parys Mountain dominated the world's copper market during the 1780s, when the mine was the largest in Europe. The copper from the mine was used to sheath the British Admiralty's wooden ships of war, to prevent the growth of seaweed and barnacles and to protect the wood from attack by shipworms. This increased the speed and manoeuvrability of the vessels, and enabled them to remain at sea for longer as there was less need to return to port for maintenance. It has also claim to fame for providing the copper hulls of the British Navy, in particular HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson in 1805.

Information taken from

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