A name used by historic miners to describe intrusive bands of hard, igneous rock that cut through local slates and granites. These dykes are significant because rich tin and copper lodes are often found running parallel to or intersecting the elvan courses. The rock itself is exceptionally tough and was sometimes quarried for building stone.
Heard on the job
The copper values spiked just as the drive approached the elvan course.
Insider tip
When old mining records mention driving through elvan, it usually implies slow, expensive, and labor-intensive drilling through extremely hard ground.
Also heard as
- blue elvan