The Mine Shafts Project. Hydrology.

[The Old Ruminator]

We have taken a few of the non caving locals down the mine. This time it was Chad's turn.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

After that the usual slog at The Hole In The Wall.

 

[braveduck]

After that the usual slog at The Hole In The Wall.

 

[braveduck]

After that the usual slog at The Hole In The Wall.

 

[braveduck]

As long tome drag tray maker ,can I suggest you put the dragging roes at the very base of the trays . It makes them much easier to easier to pull .
Less pulling effort ,longer digging time . With respect .

 

[mrodoc]

As long tome drag tray maker ,can I suggest you put the dragging roes at the very base of the trays . It makes them much easier to easier to pull .
Less pulling effort ,longer digging time . With respect .

I am sure the OR will attend to that asap. The drag is getting longer and longer.

 

[braveduck]

I am sure the OR will attend to that asap. The drag is getting longer and longer.

I thought you were going to use some conveyer belting , because that makes it easier as well .

 

[mrodoc]

I thought you were going to use some conveyer belting , because that makes it easier as well .

We do use conveyor belting and that helps. At one point we used an old children's slide and a large diameter pipe to dispose of spoil down the flooded shaft!

 

[The Old Ruminator]

The OR does all of the hauling. I have the upper body of an olympic rower but sadly the legs of Bambi. Most of the haul is on conveyor belting but I have to get the skip onto my knees to tip it over to the left and down the shaft. Skids would work well on the belt but not on my poor knees. Here is Mr O' Doc doing the easy bit on the conveyor belt.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I sit at home plotting and scribbling trying to keep " The Team " in order. In truth its much like herding cats. " Are you coming next week ? Well I might if the wife agrees " Or "Oh dear its my dental appointment.". For me Tuesdays are sacrosant. Anyway without being site specific here is my latest take on the mine and its geology arriving at an assumption of where the caverns might be. Firstly they were found beneath the wood shown top left. Our entry point is the second S ( Shaft ) down from the top left in the wood. Green is " The Lode " though in true mining terms its no such thing. Its Baryite with Chalcocite. Orange is the limestone boundary. The limestone is displaced 60 m by the faults which also displaces the lode. The miners worked both sections of the lode. In theory the caverns lie within 40m ( at most ) from the end of The Hole In The Wall dig. In theory ---

 

[The Old Ruminator]

B bottom right is " The Underlyer ". A shaft not dug vertically but coming down at an angle on top of the lode. This remains unlocated .North to south is the blocked main drainage adit. All workings at the 20 fathom ( in reality 30m ) depth are flooded .

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Another hard days digging at the hole in the wall. Progress is slow but continuing.









Now about those crisps. Well actually its to show the group my minor modification to the platform to stop the tub getting jammed .

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I ought to get an award for all of this stuff. More caving and digging photos online than anyone else in the world. The Friday Nighters were active on Thursday and the better part of The Tuesday Diggers today. Trouble is that means me in both teams. So just me and Uncle Brian today. He is not really my uncle but just very avuncular. He says that I have cognitive dissonance and I am neurodivergant. Not a clue what he means but thats the trouble with social workers. So lets start with my movie masterpeace. Almost worth a BAFTA in its own right. Then the photo splodge. Not so many here nowadays but you can rely on me.

https://flic.kr/p/2qgVVTr

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I think he is asleep.



Had to bag today as such a small team.









I should get 1,000 images on this thread if I don't die in the meantime.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Friday night wrecked me. Shifted all 19 bags and went to the bottom to dig out the old conveyor belt. Hauled that up to THITW. No photos. No time for frippery.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

The shaft plumbed 11m below the flooded adit level despite all of the rubble that has gone down there. Thats good as we can dump the full bags down there and get some more though they only get used when we are short handed. Slowly recovering. Tuesday to come next week.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Hauling out those darn bags have done for me today. Here is Uncle Brian following up with a big rock. The TG 6 went doolally doing this. Frozen up. Done it before. Solution remove battery and replace. Worth knowing that.

https://flic.kr/p/2qivNAV

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Darn bags.



Peter Glanvill sleeping off a hectic weekend at Hidden Earth.



Me at the lode. The Hole In The Wall.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

A few samples from yesterday.

Porifera.





Baryite and Chalcocite on Devonian Limestone.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Top image porifera is 1 cm high.

Porifera in context.