Unesco granted the heritage status in July 2006, saying the "substantial remains are a testimony to the contribution Cornwall and West Devon made to the Industrial Revolution in the rest of Britain and to the fundamental influence the area had on the mining world at large".

BBC: Mining at South Coffee

After 1800, however, living standards began to increase, first in the West, as stagnant economies transitioned to the industrial revolution and to a period of modern economic growth where living standards double every 35 years.

FORBES: Prof. Edward C. Prescott On China