The Old Ruminator
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Base shoring completed at current water level. Adit off to the right somewhere.
The Mine Shafts Project. Hydrology.
- Thread starter The Old Ruminator
- Start date
The Old Ruminator
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The long climb home and bye for now.
Shan't go to HE as we have our grandson staying and I will just be back from being away.
Shan't go to HE as we have our grandson staying and I will just be back from being away.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Ahh past glories certainly never to be repeated. A Facebook reminder today.
The Old Ruminator
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Ah well back to reality. The two Friday Nighters down to the dig today. I now have a useful purpose. He sits on me while he does the drilling. The ruddy 700mm bit snapped in half. Home to bath and bed ---
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Todays report with some photos later.
I nearly didnt go what with whimpering on the roof for two days. Brian unwell but Mr Goldie willing.
Met at the car park. Somebody had dropped three rocks on to the top platform. Not surprisingly the water had gone up to 4.50m. That from 5.90m last week. We had 70mm of rain in Taunton in one day more than the whole of " wet " July. Lots of gravel and stones in the road. Checked the water going out. It had gone down to 4.55 m.
We worked like dogs. 29 bags filled and emptied. I took 18 new ones to make it easier. All the strike dig was cleared but ultimately the end looked fairly solid. Back then to the dip dig which was cleared out and probed inwards another 1,5m though not as steeply as before. No sign of water here .Noticed that more mud had fallen from the roof at the back of the alcove. Goes on up with small rocks blocking the way on. ( see photo ). In the bedding but also on a vertical joint. Would be an easy Skyfall type dig with falling mud instead of rocks.Looked at the top hole in the shaft blocked by two big rocks. Goes in a metre or more. ( one for Brian or Mike).
TBH I am totally shot at the moment. Mr Goldie uncertain about next Tuesday but if Brian wants a gentle capping/p and f session I am happy to oblige.
I nearly didnt go what with whimpering on the roof for two days. Brian unwell but Mr Goldie willing.
Met at the car park. Somebody had dropped three rocks on to the top platform. Not surprisingly the water had gone up to 4.50m. That from 5.90m last week. We had 70mm of rain in Taunton in one day more than the whole of " wet " July. Lots of gravel and stones in the road. Checked the water going out. It had gone down to 4.55 m.
We worked like dogs. 29 bags filled and emptied. I took 18 new ones to make it easier. All the strike dig was cleared but ultimately the end looked fairly solid. Back then to the dip dig which was cleared out and probed inwards another 1,5m though not as steeply as before. No sign of water here .Noticed that more mud had fallen from the roof at the back of the alcove. Goes on up with small rocks blocking the way on. ( see photo ). In the bedding but also on a vertical joint. Would be an easy Skyfall type dig with falling mud instead of rocks.Looked at the top hole in the shaft blocked by two big rocks. Goes in a metre or more. ( one for Brian or Mike).
TBH I am totally shot at the moment. Mr Goldie uncertain about next Tuesday but if Brian wants a gentle capping/p and f session I am happy to oblige.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Today.
The Old Ruminator
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And again.
The Old Ruminator
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Bag Man.
The Old Ruminator
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Tipping Point.
The Old Ruminator
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Etc etc.
Yesterdays report was written in a fog of dispair and fatigue. Today has not started well as I fell into the fishpond. I have now changed and feel more optimistic.( Though not enough to go back on to the roof to do the highest point of the gulley ).The survey has now been redrawn and is attached.You will see that Dip Dig is 23m SE of the platform so basically 23m SE of the entrance. Will be interesting to measure that out on the surface. Then of course Strike Dig is unlikely to go to the lode.
The mud filled aven gets more interesting. Clearly it was part of the Alcove before the miners cleared the mud out. Its in the bedding X and adjacent to a vertical fault Y. Z is all semi dry clay fill. Its heading upwards to the truncated voids we see on both sides of the shaft. Its the easiest dig I have ever seen. Pick out the clay and tip it down the shaft. It would keep us going if the Dip Dig floods but I would not mind a go at it next Tuesday. No bags, No hauling. An easy day in pleasant company. More images of Mr Goldie whose innate jolly disposition carried me through the long day.
Re Mr Goldie's email. Yes the water has risen 1.4m but on the day dropped back 40mm.The mines reaction to heavy rain is very quick . It can peak and drop back down again within a few days. Attached is the 2022 / 23 winter profile showing a peak and drop over a wet January and dry February. In green is the dig profile. Water reaches the alcove at 2.5m and the dug tunnel at 2m. Dip Dig will flood at just over 3m. The graph shows dry weeks ( D ) and wet weeks ( W ). No doubt most of the water input is sub surface down **** Shaft. Note the Alcove ladder position.
Yesterdays report was written in a fog of dispair and fatigue. Today has not started well as I fell into the fishpond. I have now changed and feel more optimistic.( Though not enough to go back on to the roof to do the highest point of the gulley ).The survey has now been redrawn and is attached.You will see that Dip Dig is 23m SE of the platform so basically 23m SE of the entrance. Will be interesting to measure that out on the surface. Then of course Strike Dig is unlikely to go to the lode.
The mud filled aven gets more interesting. Clearly it was part of the Alcove before the miners cleared the mud out. Its in the bedding X and adjacent to a vertical fault Y. Z is all semi dry clay fill. Its heading upwards to the truncated voids we see on both sides of the shaft. Its the easiest dig I have ever seen. Pick out the clay and tip it down the shaft. It would keep us going if the Dip Dig floods but I would not mind a go at it next Tuesday. No bags, No hauling. An easy day in pleasant company. More images of Mr Goldie whose innate jolly disposition carried me through the long day.
Re Mr Goldie's email. Yes the water has risen 1.4m but on the day dropped back 40mm.The mines reaction to heavy rain is very quick . It can peak and drop back down again within a few days. Attached is the 2022 / 23 winter profile showing a peak and drop over a wet January and dry February. In green is the dig profile. Water reaches the alcove at 2.5m and the dug tunnel at 2m. Dip Dig will flood at just over 3m. The graph shows dry weeks ( D ) and wet weeks ( W ). No doubt most of the water input is sub surface down **** Shaft. Note the Alcove ladder position.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
The Old Ruminator
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The " aven " with hypogenic debris fill rising up the bedding above the Alcove. Vertical line is a minor fault seperating the fill from the rock.
The Old Ruminator
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Offshoot of caving engineering though I think that I am safer underground.
JohnMCooper
Member
Survey annotation of 1cm = 1m is no use when pictures go up and down in size. A scale bar would be better.
The Old Ruminator
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Duly noted .
The Old Ruminator
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To expand on my reply to JC. I never meant to get this far in the thread. It sort of morphed into an online diary and a place to splodge endless photographs. ( if only to make up for those that never seem to get here ). What you get is a copy of my email report to the group ( suitably redacted ) so at times it they do not read as a forum treatise. Same with any sketches. You get the copies from my caving log. So no scale bar and no survey quality. They are for the group and myself really. To do it properly I would have to amend everything. Pointless really as hopefully one day a publication might be forthcoming. Anyway I hope that others find it of some interest despite the minor deficancies.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Ah well back again. We have had over 400mm of rain through July to 8th Nov with more to come. As you can see from this graph digging below the 20m platform has had to be abandoned until next Summer ( if at all ). So at the moment we are digging a natural vugh at 16m from the surface which still follows the lode.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Well that suits me as Uncle Brian and me have built a third platform in the shaft by The Hole In The Wall. Finished it yesterday.
So this is Uncle Brian making a start to my design. We are a good team. I supply the tools and materials, take the photos and he does all of the work.
Huge 200 year old beam.
So this is Uncle Brian making a start to my design. We are a good team. I supply the tools and materials, take the photos and he does all of the work.
Huge 200 year old beam.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
On the platform under the beam.
