A BOLTON student will shed a tear today when Cornwall says farewell to its final tin mine.

Denis Mason, aged 22, used to work in South Crofty mine, near Redruth, which was once the hub of a thriving Cornish tin industry.

But today the pit closes - the last of dozens to fall victim to competition and cheap prices abroad.

Denis said: "It's the end of an era and I'll be thinking of my mates who will lose their jobs.

"Cornwall was a mining community for so long and now I don't know how the area will recover."

The industrial geology student, who studies at Camborne School of Mining, Cornwall, worked as a driller and beltman at South Crofty for several months while studying for a degree.

And tomorrow he will join tin workers on a protest march from Redruth to South Crofty to highlight anger at the mine's closure and growing unemployment in Cornwall.

He said "It's very much the forgotten county.

"Economic conditions are poor, lots of people are out of work and people should know about it."

But Denis, of Bromwich Street, Bolton, could soon be heading for the sun thousands of miles from the gloom surrounding the South-west.

The student, whose complex degree involves studying mining techniques and mineral quality, is due to graduate in July and hopes to manage pitmen digging for gold or diamonds in South Africa or Australia. "I've always been interested in geology and that's why I wanted to get into mining," said Denis. "But it's sad to say that there aren't many pits to work at in Britain today."

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