Mine exploration

Hobby of visiting abandoned mines
visiting mines

Mine exploration is a hobby in which people visit abandoned mines, quarries, and sometimes operational mines. Enthusiasts usually engage in such activities for the purpose of exploration and documentation, sometimes through the use of surveying and photography. In this respect, mine exploration might be considered a type of amateur industrial archaeology. In many ways, however, it is closer to caving, with many participants actively interested in exploring both mines and caves. Mine exploration typically requires equipment such as helmets, head lamps, Wellington boots, and climbing gear. Mine exploration typically involves less crawling and more walking than caving, since mines were purposefully excavated to allow human access. Some disused mines have been adapted for tourism, or use by organized outdoor recreation groups. Conversely, gaining access to other mines may require technical skills such as rappelling or single rope technique. Such techniques may also be used inside a mine to explore a winze, shaft, or steep incline. Similarly, some traverses and slopes may be roped for safety, particularly if organized groups are taken into the mine. Mine exploration shares some interests with Urban Exploration, primarily that of gaining access to abandoned or sometimes restricted locations. Mine explorers share an unspoken code of ethics, that of leaving sites in the same condition as they were found. A common phrase illustrating this viewpoint is the Baltimore Grotto caving society's motto: "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." This is similar to the Leave No Trace ethos followed in much of modern outdoor recreation.

Like many hobbies or sports, mine exploration appeals to a specific subset of people. An interest in industrial archaeology may be a motivating factor for some enthusiasts. Relics and artifacts found in abandoned mine workings may include equipment such as pumps, cranes, drills, narrow gauge railway tracks, wagons and locomotives. Abandoned mines may occasionally contain larger features such as timber bridges, cable railways, or waterwheels. Photography is often a significant component of enthusiasts' motivation for exploration. Underground photography requires specialized techniques such as light painting or an 'open flash.' Such techniques may require considerable practice for mastery.

There are many abandoned mines in the world – for example, it is estimated that there are approximately 500,000 abandoned mines in the United States alone, with Nevada having the largest percentage of this number. However, access to many of these is not possible for a variety of reasons, including:

Restricted Access: Legal access to explore mines is not always possible, even though it may be physically possible to get in. The sites of old mines are often taken over by the public bodies such as the Forestry Commission, National Trust or by private land owners who consider the liability risks of access to be sufficient to justify blocking off access permanently, a common approach being to bulldoze the adits and cap any shafts. In other instances, entrances may be gated in order to restrict access to those approved by the landowner. Re use: The sites of old mines are sometimes taken over for new uses such as data storage or mushroom cultivation, or re mining: the owner will rarely permit public access. Collapse: As workings age, the roofs of passageways and chambers can fail. In doing so, the collapsed area itself is no longer accessible and any workings beyond that point will become inaccessible if there remains no other way around. There are many mines that have suffered a small collapse right at the entrance (often the most vulnerable part) sealing off significant sized workings beyond. Flooding: Almost all working mines require pumps to remove water, with the exception of those being self draining via deep drainage adits. Once a mine is abandoned, the pumps are usually turned off and the mine slowly fills with water until a level is reached where water can drain out: this is usually the lowest adit. However, it is possible to find flooded sections in mines which are above a dry adit as workings are often very complex: in some cases reservoirs may have been created in higher chambers to provide power for machinery below. Technical Limitations: Some mines are easy 'walkabouts', while others require expertise, skill and equipment to explore; for example SRT may be needed to gain access via a vertical shaft.

Moscow oblast and adjacent regions – tens of 19th century limestone quarries. Samara region – 20th century limestone quarries. Leningradskaya oblast – sandstone quarries.