mistericeman
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2012
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction score
- 139
As myself and the Mrs are currently holed up in our caravan hiding away from tinsel and crackerz ...And are likely to be doing so until well after the last chorus of Auld lang syne are chanted in a drunken stylee.
We decided to head up the road a tad to the mine rich area that is close to our base camp (I wonder how we managed to end up at a camp site so close .
Anyway a quick scout around and no signs of folks around ...(probably all tucking into their boxing day lunches) the guard cows were out in force though ) following a quick recce we located the two main drift entrances AND the two main winding shafts ....
A brief history
For most of the 18th and 19th centuries the lead mines at Grove Rake were worked by the Beaumont Company. By the 20th century the mines of Grove Rake were producing fluorspar. After passing through the hands of many different companies the mine finally closed in 1999, by which time it was the last fluorspar mine in England.
Fluorspar was mainly used as a flux in iron and steel making. It is also used in the chemical industry to make fluorine to add to drinking water and toothpaste. Fluorspar was also used to make chloro-fluorocarbons, which used to be used as aerosol propellants and in fridges, but are now blamed for destroying the ozone layer.
We had a good old wander around and even managed to get my old man to the top of the head gear with us
Pictures
We decided to head up the road a tad to the mine rich area that is close to our base camp (I wonder how we managed to end up at a camp site so close .
Anyway a quick scout around and no signs of folks around ...(probably all tucking into their boxing day lunches) the guard cows were out in force though ) following a quick recce we located the two main drift entrances AND the two main winding shafts ....
A brief history
For most of the 18th and 19th centuries the lead mines at Grove Rake were worked by the Beaumont Company. By the 20th century the mines of Grove Rake were producing fluorspar. After passing through the hands of many different companies the mine finally closed in 1999, by which time it was the last fluorspar mine in England.
Fluorspar was mainly used as a flux in iron and steel making. It is also used in the chemical industry to make fluorine to add to drinking water and toothpaste. Fluorspar was also used to make chloro-fluorocarbons, which used to be used as aerosol propellants and in fridges, but are now blamed for destroying the ozone layer.
We had a good old wander around and even managed to get my old man to the top of the head gear with us
Pictures
