Last month we got chatting about Gudhamgill mine and started to
wonder how far the first stopes on the horse level actually go. After almost 3
years since we last visited, one of the comments then was that we needed to do
a survey - no time like the present. Heading for the Brownley Hill portal, we
made our way along the drive until the Gudhamgill Moss Cross Vein was reached,
here the bearing took us south east until we intersected the Gudhamgill (Moss)
Vein, the start of the Gudhamgill Horse Level, heading north east. Survey
time.
First thing was to survey along the horse level to see the
distance to the fall, which turned out to be 75m from the junction. At 57m the
rise giving access to the stopes was 12m high. Once in the stope there was a
depression (an ore chute), some 15m from the main rise in, which we thought
coincided with the fall, measurements confirmed this to within 3m. Near the
entrance to the stope is a ore chute and manway with a stone dividing wall, to
get across this you need to walk along a ledge and then across a ladder - the
traverse chute. There are two sound anchors here, but the blue 6mm poly prop is
something else. Whilst myself and Pete carried on along the stope surveying we
had Dog Pete straying behind us looking in every nook and cranny, and also
giving interesting geology commentary (Dog Pete is a geologist), never noticed
this the first time we came here, but there are some very large examples of
slickenslides on the stope walls.
Finally we made our way to the end of
the stope, or rather as far as we could go. Climbing up a rubble slope it was
possible to get above the stope roof, here large slabs had come down and some
were already hanging down, a wedge keeping them in place. Via the slope top it
was possible to make your way round to a little flat shelf with a window down
into the stope. Pete found a calcified midgie here, making us think about
whether there was a air flow here? Or was it just a very lucky midgie to have
navigated this far? With some nice rock shelves in the little flat it proved to
be a very comfortable place to have, you guessed it - lunch. After looking
around a bit more, we finally climbed back down the rubble slope and proceeded
to look in more detail around the stope as we retraced our route. Throughout
the whole length of the stope there is a sublevel that you could get access to
via hoppers or via brakes in it. Roughly towards the middle point of the stope
the level gave access to a heavily calcified shaft that intersects the stope
roof and floor. We had wondered if this was the Borehole Sump.
Returning
back to the horse level, we made our way back to the Gudhamgill Moss Cross
Vein, at the junction we had a look around and then proceeded to leave. Just a
bit past the junction Dog Pete disappeared down a little cross cut. Whilst
waiting from him I spotted a rather nice looking fungus, he finally came out
with some old glass, and pointed out a piece of timer with a peg in it, then we
noticed some tins. Taking out my camera I discovered the tripod missing, panic,
curses, only one place - the stopes. Pete went back with me and yes it had to
be across the traverse chute! Returning back, snaps got taken and then we
climbed up a rise we had seen on the way in. It gave access to some minor
stopping, nothing much of interest apart from some geological features that Dog
Pete pointed out. Also there a surprising amount of old litter in these stopes
and battered cavities.
Having finally drawn up the survey these details
were revealed: 1) we had no where near got along the stopes as far as we had
thought, only some 260m from the main junction, 2) the calcified intersecting
shaft in the stopes was not the Borehole Sump, the shaft from our surveying is
the first one shown on the cross section of a VM abandonment plan dated 1922,
it also coincides with a trio of surface shafts around NY:78274465. There are
still some loose ends that need addressing in the stopes and also a good
explore of the Gudhamgill Moss Cross Vein needs to be carried out as there are
numerous little cross cuts and open rises. |
