The end of the 18th century was a difficult time for Cornish copper mines, because the vast quantity of ore that was being mined cheaply from Parys Mountain in Anglesey was flooding the market. In 1787 Consols made a loss of some £8,000, and some time in the 1780s Boulton and Watt acquired an interest in the mine, probably in lieu of payment of their dues; furthermore in around 1788 the company reduced the dues to £1,000 a year to help keep the mine open. At this time it was one of only two mines in Cornwall to employ over a thousand people, North Downs mine being the other.