clive copper mine shropshire 10 jan 2010

[ditzy 24//7]

Had an invite from Mike Moore - moorebooks - to have a look in here.
The shropshire mine trust control access which needs bca insurance.
They can be contacted through him.
Our guide for the day was Andrew Wood

We got there in our landy with no heater, well JD had a gas heater to keep ice off the inside of the windows, and met the others by the shed with well shaft in. They were putting in a new pump for the village water supply. There was lots of machinery there from old pumps.
We went over to rubbish shaft by the old ladies folly, a tunnel under the road, I was lifelined down the fixed ladder to the mine levels.
The mines have been worked over lots of times with the old coffin levels dug away by latter tunnels
http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/sites/clive.html
http://shropshiremines.org.uk/misc/clive.htm
First we went to look at a stope down to lower levels that connected back to well shaft, then back under rubbish shaft and belayed across a winze that also linked to well shaft and lower levels. We followed the large passage along past holes from collapsed false floors to lower levels. There were many small coffin levels going off to the sides and small shafts in the roof and sides that were run in. One had lots of roots hanging down. We saw lots of copper stains. there was some managanese and cobalt as well. The main passage followed a fault with slickensides and there was lots of layered rust stains making pretty patterns. We got to a hole in the floor just before a forefield and jd pointed out some triangle crossection drill holes. How were they drilled? We also saw soot and stemple holes to make a brattice to keep the air fresh. We made our way back and passed another group going in, and left the mine with Mike. He showed us the local pub The Railway where they had a real fire to keep us warm.

Part of the pumping stuff over well shaft.

Looking down the stope

JD in a forefield

Looking up rubbish shaft

The ledges and rope across the top of the 80 foot winze

Me in a well picked coffin level

Slickensides on the fault

Copper stains on the walls

Brains in a roomy coffin level

JD on a stemple by the collapsed floor to the lower level

Brains in the backfilled area under the road

Iron stains on the walls

More iron stains

JD climbing up into old man stuff above the main passage

Brains coming up the rubbish shaft

The old ladies folly tunnel under the road

 

[moorebooks]

Ditzy great report slight errors - the Shropshire Caving and Mining Club control the access. Its a requirement of the landowner due to the expensive submersible pump that supplies the village water supply everyone must have insurance whch the club facilitates

Anyone interested in a trip please contact myself and i will forward requests to the Club Sec

cheers

Mike

 

[Roger W]

Sonds like a first-rate trip!  Nice photos, too.

jd pointed out some triangle crossection drill holes. How were they drilled?

How indeed?  Can anyone offer enlightenment?

 

[ChrisJC]

It's quite easy to get a triangular hole - just get a drill-bit that is knackered and has been reground where the tip is off-centre. It's harder to get a round hole!

Chris.

 

[Tartan Amy]

Great report & photos.  What is the bedrock? 

 

[Brains]

Great report & photos.  What is the bedrock?

The host rock is a rich red new red sandstone of the Permo-Trias, a Keuper sanadstone. It has been heavily altered by the mineralisation which has followed the fault line.

 

[ditzy 24//7]

Ditzy great report slight errors - the Shropshire Caving and Mining Club control the access. Its a requirement of the landowner due to the expensive submersible pump that supplies the village water supply everyone must have insurance whch the club facilitates

Anyone interested in a trip please contact myself and i will forward requests to the Club Sec

cheers

Mike

Thanks mike I couldnt remeber it all

 

[Brains]

Here is a shot of JD by a short hand picked cross cut to a run in / backfilled shaft. The spoil is composed of the unaltered host rock. This is actually a rich red but looks purple brown in this pic.

 

[Mrs Trellis]

The Shropshire mines are similar (but less extensive?) to the Alderley Edge Mines where there are triangular drill holes as well. The green stains are Chrysocolla - copper silicate, a tertiary deposit . The primary mineralisation is Chalcopyrite, secondary Malachite and Azurite (copper carbonate) and tertiary Chrysocolla. The Cobalt and Manganese ore is Asbolite, known to the miners as "Wad" or "Manganese (Wad)". It was used in the paper industry for blue colouring, especially during the Napoleonic Wars when imports from Saxony ceased,  and there was a smelter at Wallasey Pool.

 

[owd git]

thanks ditzy /brains great info' as per'. 
good geology  and piccies.
well added  'mrs trellis
O. G.

 

[Brains]

Anyone know the origin of the term "wad" for a mineral / ore - also heard it used for graphite from Cumbria, and I am sure I have heard that calamine was also referred to in this way but cant find the reference ATM, suspect it was to do with Pikedaw Calamine Caverns?
BTW, also saw some Pyrolusite on joint faces, both dendritic and as a complete layer.
What is the name for the redox layers of iron(II) and iron(III) and how were they formed?

 

[Mrs Trellis]

The original meaning of "wad" seems to have disappeared - just to clarify Asbolite is wad containing more than 20% Cobalt - but we should remember that from the 17C at least onwards miners travelled the country in search of suitable work and took their once local terms (and customs) with them. 

At Alderley Edge work was done by a Shropshire man Abbadine in 1708 and later work done by Ashton, a Derbyshire lead miner. In the main era of mining 1857-1877 a Cornishman Michell worked the mines with a mixed workforce of local men, Stockport men and Cornishmen.

Charles Roe, born in Castleton in 1715,  started mining copper at Coniston in the Lake District in 1756 and around the same time at Alderley Edge, Cheshire. and later at Penrhyn-Du in North Wales in 1763. In 1764 he obtained a 21 year mining lease from the Bayly family for Parys Mountain in Anglesey and for a lead mine in Caernarvonshire. In March 1768 a discovery was made of a very large deposit of copper ore, which was known as 'The Great Lode' and which turned the mine into the largest copper mine in Europe.

Other  copper/iron/sulphur minerals deposited in the faults are Chalcocite and Bornite. Water running down the faults is responsible for the dendritic deposits.

 

[Brains]

Thanks for the history info, the geology bits confirm my thoughts.
Do you have any info on the redox layers formation, naming etc?

 

[Mrs Trellis]

Only from the general epigenetic theory of mineralisation at these sites around the Cheshire/Shropshire ring - which encloses the Cheshire rocksalt deposits of recent interest.


"Origin of the minerals

There are two theories which geologists have put forward to explain the origin of the mineral deposits around Alderley Edge and Mottram. The first is the syngenetic theory which states that the minerals were deposited at the same time as the Triassic host rocks . Geologists believed that the source of the minerals was nearby metal-bearing highlands and that water transported the mineral substances to Alderley . The syngenetic theory was most popular during the 19th century but more recently views have changed and most geologists now accept that the minerals were deposited epigenetically. The epigenetic theory basically states that the minerals were deposited long after the formation of the host rock from fluids entering the fault system. A more detailed description of the epigenetic theory is outlined below.

Epigenetic origins

It is believed that the carboniferous shales of the Cheshire Basin are the source of the copper, lead, zinc, iron and barium found at Alderley and Mottram. The metal ions contained in the shale were dissolved by fluids from the Triassic rocks and transported to the Alderley area . When the fluids reached the impermeable mudstone layers and fault breccia they became trapped which concentrated the mineral deposits in these areas . The overlying impermeable Tarporley Siltstone and Lower Mudstone Formations acted as 'seal' which prevented further migration of the fluids .

The copper and lead minerals were formed by the precipitation of fluids rich in methane, whereas the barium was precipitated separately from fluids with no organic content to form the extensive barite mineral veins . Finally, the primary unaltered copper (and to a lesser extent lead) minerals were redeposited through the porous sandstones and conglomerates by weak carbonic acid, which was formed by rainfall reacting with organic matter on the surface . As a result the secondary copper minerals are the most widely distributed mineral deposits at Alderley and Mottram."

Another obvious link between the mines is the use of the acid leaching technique to produce a saleable copper chloride precipitate from the ore which is around 3% copper . This was invented at Alderley by the company chemist and enabled large scale operations to take place.

 

[Brains]

Mike Moore has given me the name for the rings, Liesegang, which led to a simple google search...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339974/Liesegang-ring
Named after a German chemist the rings are a property of chemical precipitation, and can be seen in many different settings. Here in Clive the appearance is very dramatic.
Searching for images will give a good range of examples.