| |
| |
|
|
|
Stay Out of That Old Mine!
It seems like the most adventurous thing in the world. That dark opening in the hillside beckons, tantalizes, excites. What wondrous treasures await discovery inside? What artifacts might remain in this time capsule, mute testimony to an era when grizzled men moved tons of rock in pursuit of their dreams? Such is the poetic, romance-novel appeal that might induce you to take leave of your senses and crawl into an old mine. Thousands of such small openings are scattered throughout the country. Although most common in the historically "hard rock" Western mining states, they can also be found in the old lead and copper districts of the Midwest. In reality, multiple dangers lurk beyond the pale ring of light that filters through the adit mouth. While scoping out a field area for a thesis project, I spent six weeks camping and hiking in the West Elk Mountains, in the Colorado Rockies. My days were spent tramping around the flanks of a majestic 13,000-foot peak, chosen due to tantalizing reports of silver mining activity around 1900. During my ramblings, I came across several old mine workings. Some were simply short adits driven into the hillside, designed to test for the presence of silver, copper, and lead minerals that might be distributed within the contact zone of the porphyry intrusive that defined the mountain peak. Other workings, though small, were relatively more sophisticated and had rail tracks extending from the passageways out onto the progressively extended pile of fine waste rock. I explored each of these, sometimes crawling over piles of rock that had fallen from the roof or ribs, or widening a hole and sliding down the pile of washed-in dirt to reach the adit floor. This really was the height of folly, as I was alone in the wilderness and had no idea of the potential dangers. I currently work in the field of ground control engineering, and have firsthand knowledge of numerous fatalities that occurred in active mines when rock fell out of the roof without warning. I have also become more familiar with the extensive engineering design work, and variety of support systems, required to develop and maintain a mine opening. The "old timers" were often lucky by developing small openings in hard rock, but modern mining engineering indicates that time does not favor stability. A more insidious danger is represented by a lack of breathable air. In sealed underground openings, the air may have become "stale" by not being circulated through the outside. In modern mines, a staff is devoted to designing and maintaining ventilation systems that cycle fresh air through the mine. Some gases displace oxygen, but are colorless and odorless and give no warning of danger until the person suddenly realizes that they feel as though they have been holding their breath for several minutes. This is a condition known to miners as "black damp" that can cause loss of consciousness or death. While working in Bolivia, I entered over a dozen small mines in a district that had been developed initially by the Spanish, or perhaps even the Inca, and later by a Polish mining engineer in the early 1900's. The most modern operation had closed in the 1980's, when the underground portion of the mine was abandoned as uneconomical, but a small open pit was developed that intersected some of the old workings. As a geologist working to unravel the geological history of this area, I entered the mine to document the relationships between intrusive phases. As I was intently concentrating on the last face of the mine, trying to decide if the rock was rhyodacite or dacite, I suddenly noticed a warm, tingly, numb sensation in my nose and lips. Panicked, I exhaled what little air remained in my lungs and held my breath, while at the same time wheeling and sprinting back up the tunnel. Weird, ghastly shapes of rotten canvas and timbers danced in the shadows thrown by my flashlight. I had little hope of sprinting the nearly 300 yards to the mine mouth, but as gray spots floated before my eyes, I determined to keep my legs pumping to at least get out of what might only be a pocket of bad air. Then I saw a sliver of light where the floor of the open pit had intersected the tunnel. Fresh air! I ran to the cut and gulped in the thin mountain air. Although the air smelled like decaying sulfides, at least the threat of black damp was gone, and so my panic subsided enough to allow me to walk briskly out of the mine. Crawling into an old mine, in which no miner or engineer has evaluated the condition for decades, is something that I would now consider as pure stupidity. No shiny bauble or rusty artifact is worth it. Take a picture of that beckoning hole, and then leave it alone. Remember that the "old timers" have already taken out the rock and dumped it on the ground for you. Satisfy yourself with a little piece of azurite, malachite, chalcopyrite, or pyrite from the dump pile if you must have a souvenir, but stay out of that mine! About The Author I am a geologist who has visited several countries in Latin America and Europe, and worked on various civil engineering and mining-related projects in the U.S. and elsewhere. I have published in scientific journals, but thought it would be fun to write about some of my travel experiences on a more informal level. I have other pictures and geology items at my homepage, http://sedward.home.netcom.com/petrography.html
MORE RESOURCES: Buy Website Internet Traffic. Website online advertising. Buy full page popunder advertising and increase website traffic to your sites. Bad Credit Loans - Loans for people with bad credit. Access online government grants and financial credit services instantly online. Digital Streaming Radio On Your Mobile Phone - La Vella Mobile Radio. La Vella Mobile Radio Gives You Access To Over One Hundred Of The Hottest Streaming Radio Stations From Around The World And Brings Them To The Palm Of Your Hand, Right On Your Mobile Phone. Get Streaming Radio On Your Cell Phone! Audio And Video Streaming For Multimedia Purposes. This Is A Complete Step By Step Guide To The Beginners Who Want To Install And Setup Audio And Video Streaming For Multimedia Purposes On The Internet.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Zambezi Sharks Under Threat at Protea Banks Sharklife.co. Highpointing: It's Not Just For Mountaineers Mount Sunflower, Kansas. Ebright Azimuth, Delaware. A Fishy Road Trip in Cairns The Cairns Fishing Adventure A Great Australia Road TripYou love holidays? You love to fish? Then you'll need to come to Cairns, Australia where the fishing is, quite simply, bloody fantastic.You've got options coming out of your ears when you fish in Cairns on your next Great Australian Road Trip. A Torrent of Influences - Tourism in Goa Sun, Sand and Surf - an apt description for Goa? But Goa is much more. Ancient temples and old churches? Yes. Planning Your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Heres How Going on a gorilla safari must rank as one of the best wildlife experiences left in the natural world. Many people describe it as an overwhelming and awe-inspiring experience and worth every penny they spent on making it happen. Shark Pictures Not The Real Thing Pictures of a massive dead Great White shark on the back of a bakkie are doing the rounds on email with the subject line saying "Caught at Monwabisi and Strandfontein Beach yesterday" - but experts have dismissed it as a hoax.The grim pictures show the shark with a hook and trace still attached. River Rafting in Colorado The sport of river rafting was practically invented in Colorado. In the late 1960s Bill Dvorak came up with many safety standards for equipment and many guidelines for proper rafting technique. Welcome to Bragg Creek Welcome to Bragg Creek! Bragg Creek is located in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta Canada. It must be by far one of Alberta's best kept secrets. Hawaii Snorkeling - An Underwater Paradise Hawaii snorkeling is a fun activity available to almost any skill level of swimmer, where you can discover a breathtaking array of Hawaii's most exotic sea life a few yards from shore. Colorful coral, lava flows, turtles and more than 700 species of fish are found in the clear, high- visibility waters warmed to an average temperature of 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Gambling Isnt the Only Thing to do in Las Vegas Do you think the only thing to do in Las Vegas is gamble? Would you believe that there are a multitude of great hiking trails in a place where all-you-can-eat casino buffets are par for the course? Southern Nevada is chock full of great hiking trails ready to be discovered. Hiking areas near Las Vegas include: Red Rock, Mt. Hard Labor Creek State Park Earned Its Name One afternoon during a trip across the country in our fifth wheel, we were racing the sun to an RV park before sunset. We were driving through Georgia and convenient RV parks near the highway were sparse. Plymouth Plantation and Mayflower - Links to Our Past Guide, Part 1 Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II ship are major attractions in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Authentic yet entertaining the two are links to our past and the 102 passengers that survived the journey across stormy seas. Three Places to Interact with Dolphins in Hawaii Visitors to Hawaii frequently see dolphins from shore or on a whale-watching cruise or fishing boat. Visitors sometimes happen to be in the water snorkeling or kayaking when a pod of dolphins swims by. Backpacking Journals - Preserve Your Backpacking Experiences Backpacking is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your backpacking experiences can fade with time. Discover Knotts Berry Farm Of course you know about Southern California's premier attraction, Disneyland in Anaheim, but did you know that less than ten (10) minuets down the freeway, in Buena Park, is another great amusement park, Knott's Berry Farm. Knott's Berry Farm, America's first theme park, is located at 8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90620, telephone number (714) 220-5200 and has over one hundred fifty (150) rides in six themed areas: Ghost Town, Fiesta Village®, The Boardwalk, Indian Trails, Wild Water Wilderness® and Camp Snoopy which is the official home of Snoopy and the Peanuts characters. How to Repair an Inflatable Boat The owner can attempt small inflatable boat repair if factory-gluing instructions are followed closely. Rips and holes larger than one inch in the air chambers, or those within two inches of a seam, should be repaired with internal and external patches by a professional repair technician at a certified repair facility. Visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park If anyplace on earth is a natural paradise, Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is that place. Of all Croatia's eight National Parks, Plitvice is the oldest and most visited. The Royal Barge Procession - Splendor on the Chao Phraya River The Royal Barge Procession in Bangkok, conducted on very rare occasions, is a spectacular royal armada on the Chao Phraya River. This procession is normally conducted on the following occasions: When the King ascends the throne. Campsite Meal Planning and Recipe Hello Again,Today we will be talking about meal planning. Meals are one of the most memorable aspects of any camping trip and if one meal is a disaster you will never hear the end of it. Alaska - Brief Travel Guide WHAT TO SEE, TO DO AND WHERE: Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in North America (6,194 m or 20,306 feet), 150 miles from Fairbanks. Mountain climbing season is very short because of cold weather, strong winds and avalanche hazards.
|
