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 Post subject: Cae Coch Sulphur Mine (Wales UK) - Discussion
PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:36 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:33 pm
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Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
To view pictures for this, click here:

http://www.ironminers.com/mineforum/vie ... hp?t=20538


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:41 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:33 pm
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Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
Very neat.. Never been in a sulfur mine before. It looks dirty and mucky like a coal mine would look, not flat like a coal mine but very different with the interesting colors in your shots. I love the wheels left behind, they look pretty intact. The opening almost looks like a cave.. Pretty wild.. Thanks for sharing!

Miner Greg


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:04 am 
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Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:54 pm
Posts: 25
Location: England (UK)
Cheers Greg. To be honest i was'nt expecting much from this place, how wrong could i be! It was a superb explore.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:04 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:33 pm
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Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
Yeah I know what you mean... I guess you never know what to expect when you find a new site. I have to admit, you've posted a lot of good shots. Thanks for posting them!

Miner Greg


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:28 pm
Posts: 1758
Location: Winnemucca, NV
Myles, this is truly an historic mine! It is beautiful to see the contrast of the oranges and the blues in the mineralization accompanied by interesting lighting. Nice. Do you know how recently the mine was abandoned and for how long it worked? I imagine the blues are attributed to copper minerals, did they mine copper here too? Was the chief ore chalcopyrite?

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:55 pm 
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Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:54 pm
Posts: 25
Location: England (UK)
Sorry for the late reply but day to day life gets in the way of things now and again :)

It is suggested that mining took place during the Roman occupation of the UK, however this has never been confirmed. The first written reference to mining at Cae Coch is in a letter in 1607 referring to a mine with "great store of brimstone (Sulphur). The mine was worked on and off up until 1942. The blues in the photos may be due to the use of l.e.d torches as copper is not an ore that is to be found here. All said, it is a stunning place.


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:44 pm 
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
Sure, I'm the same way. Wow, the blues really are vivid. Do you know what keeps mines of this age accessible for so long? I know there are mine preservation groups in the UK that dig out old adits and refurbish workings. With mines this old, I am curious to know how well they are documented and how difficult they are to find. Historical books and maps get lost over time (although the Internet seems to slowly be changing that) and I have to imagine an eroded adit must be difficult to discern that is over 400 years old.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:17 pm 
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Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:54 pm
Posts: 25
Location: England (UK)
Miner Mike wrote:
Sure, I'm the same way. Wow, the blues really are vivid. Do you know what keeps mines of this age accessible for so long? I know there are mine preservation groups in the UK that dig out old adits and refurbish workings. With mines this old, I am curious to know how well they are documented and how difficult they are to find. Historical books and maps get lost over time (although the Internet seems to slowly be changing that) and I have to imagine an eroded adit must be difficult to discern that is over 400 years old.


Mike,

You ask some good questions, i will try my best to answer them.

With regards to what keeps the mines accessable. Take Cae Coch for example due to the rock being of a volcanic nature it is pretty solid which makes the place quite stable other places the roof will come down by just looking at them! There are caving clubs that have leases on some of the mines in the UK and these groups do a sterling job of keeping them open to the public.
As for the mines being documented, yes the majority on non coal mines are well documented and many due to there remote location and lack of dangerous gases are left ungated, with little research and google earth the adits can be easily found. I am fortunate in that were i live i am no more than two hours drive in any direction from various types of mining, Slate, Copper Lead, Coal, Fluorspar, Limestone, Sulphur,Silver,Gold, Fireclay, Stone.

Have a look at my flickr site to view some mines.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/b3tarev3/sets/

There are some dedicated websites that you maybe familar with that cater for all things underground in the UK that are well worth a look at.
http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/

If any of you guys find yourself in the UK at some point and would like to see any of these mines just let me know.


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