An introduction to industrial archaeology in Wales, which looks at the remains of some of the old iron, steel and tinplate works, those industries which are readily associated with the populace areas of Wales. It also describes industrial enterprises, not always successful in the 19th century, which were developed in counties remote from coal supplies and were therefore unable to take full advantage of developing steam power. In the main, these were enterprises devoted to metalliferous mining, which were dependent on water power for the operation of the plant and process. The ingenuity behind the use of water wheels as prime movers for pumping, winding and crushing machines is seen in the surface remains of lead and zinc, copper and gold mines and there are numerous references to the operations involved in the recovery of the metallic content of the ore.