West Mine Alderly Edge

[captain cave man]

The biggest mine in Alderly Edge is West Mine and was worked during the years between 1857 to 1878, in 1858 there was a great discovery of an ancient gallery which clearly shows earlier mining had taken place well before this time although this earlier mining was very small compared to the activities of the Alderly Edge Mining Company, there were mining here for copper and cobalt which is Malachite (a copper carbonate mineral which is a green-colour mineral) and Azurite (a soft deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits) and also Asbolite (A black, earthy mineral aggregate containing hydrated oxides of manganese and cobalt) this was in one of the orebodys and in the second orebody was Lead in the form of Cerussite (known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) and in this small amounts of Silver was also extracted.
The first mining type of work was by open cast in the years between 1857 to 1860 this created a vast quarry on the southern slope of Alderly Edge and within this was three mineral rich beds known as bed 1, 2 and 3 the beds were sandstone in-between these beds was barren rock with the ore in irregular but large patches and above the clay beds. Bed number 1 or the bottom bed was the most productive and due to this gunpowder was used to blow large chunks off the bed for the miners to brake up further to manageable sizes, to process the ore (copper and lead) a treatment works was built.
By the 1860's the copper ore grade was around the 2.5% which was satisfactory for the mining company but by 1864 a fault was encountered, this had displaced the ore layers and this caused several problems, several exploratory levels were mined to find the ore mineralised rock again and this was done under the instruction of the mine manager.
In the back end of the 1860's the ore became depleted thus the output from the mining company dropped dramatically and by the 1870's the cheaper imported copper brought a close to the Alderly Mining Company by 1867. Around the 1950's/60's the quarry was filled in and the mine entrance sealed.
If you wish to gain access to any of the mines in Alderly Edge then you need to contact DCC and more information for all the mines can be found on there website at www.derbyscc.org.uk/

On with the pictures.....

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174171.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170237.jpg

Pick marks from years gone by

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170230.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170274.jpg

Old tools

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170298.jpg

View from above the hour glass (for a bloke of my size bloody hard to get through ! even when you take a cool drink down the back of your neck, you would have to have been there to understand !

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170322.jpg

I knew I was tight but not this TIGHT !!!!!.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170351.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170352.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170353.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170354.jpg

Pic's at the green river !

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA170225.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174185.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174178.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174181.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174180.jpg

The Roman gallery.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174176romangallery.jpg

And from the Roman level.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174259lookingoutoftheromangallery.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174195.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174197.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174198.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174209.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174207.jpg

Hmmmmm and they use to smoke these !!!!!

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174213.jpg

Looking down the 40 foot near vertical climb.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174219lookingdownthe40footverticalshaftihavejust climbed.jpg

At the top of the 40 foot near vertical climb.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174226morepeepsontheway.jpg

An old tool chest.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174244.jpg

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174245.jpg

Time to have a play on the ladders.

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/PA174254anyoneforladders.jpg

If you want a good laugh at my expence then you have to watch this small vid !.....just click on the bottom picture

http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/th_methroughtightholewestminealderlyedge.jpg (http://s948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/cpcnick/west%20mine%20in%20alderly%20edge%20oct%202010/?action=view&current=methroughtightholewestminealderlyedge.mp4)

:ty

well it was a grand day out after all.....

[boxfrenzy]

Blimey - that looks like there are some very tight presses - love the video too. Nice one :thumb

[wevsky]

nice mine mate..small gaps are never fun tho..

[MJS]

This looks immense! I'd love to see this place

[ERNIE99_UK]

Nice. the green river looks like copper deposits. Youve gotta be skinny for that!

[coops]

great stuff mate....made me feel clostrophobic from here so god knows what it must have been like down there lol

[SilentHill]

Nice one mate :thumb

Explored these mines back in the earlier 70's but the memories are rather vague now :lol:

[captain cave man]

Oh just to let you all know the green river leads to a green waterfall which has not been seen by human eyes or any other for that matter for over 40 years due to there is no way to get past this without damaging the green bed...bloody shame i've my thinking cap on to work away over it, final thing not that you will believe me (but its true) is there is a big smell of mint there too ! duno what thats all about.....:confused: