New Board for Mining Discussion

[Pegasus]

We have been asked by forum members interested in mining to provide a place for mining discussion on UKC whilst the excellent Adit Now site is undergoing work.

Of course UKC is happy to help so here it is 

Roy Fellows will be Moderator.....

'Having me as a mod on the new mining board. I am an existing mod on AN and you need to be aware of package you are getting. It would be AN rules, no "F" words, politics, climate, Trump, vegan nationalism or anything like that'.

I'm sure the UKC community wish Simon and Adit Now all the best and hope the site is back up and running soon.

[tamarmole]

Thank you very much. 

[ditzy]

  thank you 

[RobinGriffiths]

Awesome! Thanks.

[Down and beyond]

Woo thanks Uk caving I have even chose a caving avatar of me  just to look the part for now haha 

[Leclused]

Super from uk Caving :-) If any of you wants info about mines in Belgium I'm willing to help, I have some contacts in the urbex/mining community in Belgium.

As a little teaser a link to the following inventory,
 
http://tchorski.morkitu.org/13/michel-caubergs.htm

The Caubergs inventory is the startingpoint of many research :-)

[royfellows]

Good morning friends, on here its my usual avatar you have got to know and love, even if it makes me look old.
BIG thanks to UKC and the wonderful people who run it.

On the news front. I have discovered close to where i live two 19th Cent colliery sites with extant remains!
One has the brick base of the steam winding engine, the other has the same again plus the brick base of what I believe to be the steam pumping engine. Also some other stuff.
Rare as hens teeth around here.
More details and pics when i have completed my field work.

[ttxela2]

Thanks all involved. It's good to have a temporary home at least.

I've not been anywhere near a mine since last summer. Unless of course you count the many gravel pits out my way.

[Down and beyond]

Interesting stuff Roy !!

Last time I was underground was middle of December in are short break of lockdown and sadly it was not really underground properly was the small passages at dinorwig but a stunning site !

So I have a question for all it’s mine / cave related

Wigpool iron stone mine .
Is this all mine or part cave ?

When I entered I went through sway adit it was kind of mine like after a long way it became more cave like for a very long period of time no signs of mining activity like it entered  a series of natural caverns ? After this we encountered a haulage style route again then back to the lovely red mud mine workings

https://www.aditnow.co.uk/Photo/Curtains_120283/


Link to our album


Tom

[AR]

I think Wigpool is part cave, as are quite a few of the iron mines down in the Forest. It's possible the cave fill was iron-rich and dug out by the miners to get the mineral, much as they dug through many bits of natural in the Peak and washed the fill to pick out any lead ore it contained.

[Down and beyond]

It’s a spectacular place and is so interesting it’s on my list quite near the top actually it’s such a large mine I still believe could hold interesting things , when you venture of the most commonly used entrance series it just keeps on going and going and turns more cave like this is what made me also believe it’s part cave as it’s nearly all belly crawling . Thanks for your reply

[pwhole]

I think Wigpool is part cave, as are quite a few of the iron mines down in the Forest. It's possible the cave fill was iron-rich and dug out by the miners to get the mineral, much as they dug through many bits of natural in the Peak and washed the fill to pick out any lead ore it contained.

I have a decent-sized waterworn nugget of galena found in exactly those circumstances, within orange sandy sediments in Speedwell - it just fell out of a stratified bank of the stuff as I climbed up it. Loads of galena pebbles in the streamway and side-passages too if you look.

I've got my eye on one lump that may need a boat to float out if it's really what I think it is. I'll never sneak that past the shop though, so I'll have to give John a bit. Probably wouldn't get it up the staircase

[Down and beyond]

Speedwell is number 3 on my list to visit have watched a video of the fast flowing water with the lead miners boat correct me if I am wrong and on about a different place , looks a amazing place to visit

[pwhole]

That's the one, though the boat is often completely submerged in winter. Trips in through the showcave aren't really allowed if it's just for fun, and the main route in is via Peak Cavern, which is more of an ordeal but is proper caving. Wetness and muddyness is guaranteed, but wetness at least is possible at the end, which means removing the muddyness! Speedwell in winter can be scary, and definitely requires a well-insulated approach - wetsuit or a very thick furry undersuit.

[Down and beyond]

Thanks very much for the useful help have found out some
Good information , I would have people with me with far more experience leading luckily anyway as I am new to caving have done a few though and do really enjoy it especially the mud and water 

[pwhole]

I'm sure Keith won't object - this shows the main route:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SkuLW-pwvfE

[Down and beyond]

Great video that route looks very good , I have only done gb cave at the mendips , Swildons to sump 2 , and some welsh caves , after 8 hours in wigpool mostly in the cave system on my stomach it doesn’t look to challenging actually!  The devils elbow at gb was a bit snug have to admit caught my beer tummy 

[ChrisJC]

I'm sure Keith won't object - this shows the main route:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SkuLW-pwvfE

How far is Colostomy Crawl?, it was skipped over in the film, but having done it myself I recall it being pretty hard work! (we ate lunch in Egnaro Aven and then spent most of Colostomy Crawl trying to keep it inside)

Chris.

[cavemanmike]

colostomy crawl is no were near as tight as it used to be,

[Brains]

I'm sure Keith won't object - this shows the main route:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SkuLW-pwvfE

How far is Colostomy Crawl?, it was skipped over in the film, but having done it myself I recall it being pretty hard work! (we ate lunch in Egnaro Aven and then spent most of Colostomy Crawl trying to keep it inside)

Chris.

Pre foot and mouth it was a gooey flat out crawl in custard, post F+M it is stooping to hands and knees mostly, apart from the boulders below Ventilator... Not sure how accurate but I was told it "Was about 1000 foot!"

[Mark Wright]

When we first made the connection back in 1984, Colostomy Crawl was pretty tight. Whilst most remember their trip as being mainly glutinous mud, when we first went up it the floor of the crawl had a thick crust of hard, sharp mud which ripped our wetsuits and scraped any exposed skin. 

I was the first through the tight section at the end of the Trenches and Keith and Clepto both had to enlarge it further to fit through. Bograt and I had been up during the week before the breakthrough to chemically enlarge it.

I’m not sure how long it is via Faulty Tower but it was about 400m from the original Windtunnel to the top of Egnaro Aven.

Soon after making the connection Frank Brown and Pete O’Neil made regular trips into Speedwell to climb Cliff Cavern with the likes of Pitlamp and myself carrying all the climbing gear through Treasury Sump so they just had themselves to make the long crawl.

Similarly, Richard Bartrop and I carried climbing gear through Treasury to help climbers scale Block Hall. It’s a pity there weren’t any decent lights available at the time. If there had been we might have actually found Heaven at the top.

With all the early traffic the thick crust soon broke up and it became what it is today. I’ve been down it many times but the last time I went up it was with Pitlamp to explore the tight passage at the junction of Liam’s Way and Colostomy Crawl, soon after making the connection. Now that is tight.

Mark

[Pitlamp]

Fully agree with everything Mark wrote above.

Egnaro Aven in Speedwell was climbed by self, Chris Rhodes and Brian Hague. Brian insisted on poking me into Colostomy Crawl when we got to the top and Mark's description of the sharp, crunchy calcite film over the goo is spot on. Colostomy Crawl was explored for 40 extremely difficult metres from the top of Egnaro Aven and the problem was the sediment was thixotropic. It had to be agitated to lower its viscosity then you would gain a short distance but it flowed in behind you and set again. Pretty awful really and there was no way Brian could have got to me to help.

Mark and Co did a cracking job of forging ahead into this from the Peak end. That was a great period to be immersed in exploratory work in the Peak Cavern system.

Egnaro is "orange" spelt backwards and originates from a TV advert which Tim Nixon was obsessed with at the time.

(How did we get onto this from "New Board for Mining Discussion?)

[pwhole]

I mentioned galena nuggets found within sediments - quite legitimate, I thought at the time

[Down and beyond]

Apologies that would be me also 

[Jimbo]

Morning Ladies!

What's all this then?