Underground Mines - Victoria

[Occasional_panner]

Fountain?

Sorry I'm tired as hell, had a big day. I was thinking of the one in your front yard.

 

[user 4386]

Yes, I go underground a lot myself but have it checked by an experienced miner, although experienced myself from years underground in operating mines. My comments relate in particular to those without experience who may not appreciate the hazards and the need to test air, bar down loose hanging daily etc. Personally I don't think it a great recreational activity and would not encourage it for recreation, as there is always some risk even in a mine being worked full-time - I do it as part of my work because it is necessary. If you like going underground, I recommend joining a caving club rather than exploring old mines. Stability is better by far in caves, although not entirely without risk - lung diseases from bats (also in old mines) and rapid inflow of water during rainstorms are more the issue. But because caves don't involve blasting that opens up fractures everywhere, and because limestone takes a long time to dissolve to form tunnels etc, there is more time for roof and walls to equilibrate and be stable....also air is more likely to be better.

Lung diseases from bats (also in old mines) - "Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis is a respiratory infection that is caused by inhaling the spores of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum." You can get sick when you breathe in spores that the fungus produces. Every year, thousands of people with a normal immune system worldwide are infected, but most do not become seriously sick. Most have no symptoms or have only a mild flu-like illness and recover without any treatment. It is commonly found in the soil in river valleys. It gets into the soil mostly from bird and bat droppings. If you encounter bats in old mines you need to exercise caution and wash your hands as soon as possible. In spite of the potential risks involved in mine exploration, the danger to the experienced mine explorer is relatively low: the majority of accidents involve people who are unprepared. As such we advise the general public not to enter abandoned mines and to exercise great caution around old mine shafts.

Agree with most of that, and in particular only about one in 20 people get quite ill - but it can be fatal. Best to avoid dusty areas with lots of bat guano:

'Symptoms of the infection appear within 3 to 17 days after exposure, most commonly 12-14 days.

The severity of the illness is related to how many spores the person was exposed to, and the ability of their immune system to destroy Histoplasma organisms in the body. If a person does become unwell with histoplasmosis, the disease may appear in any of four different forms:

Acute respiratory - the illness varies from a mild respiratory illness to feeling generally very unwell with symptoms of tiredness, high fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, weakness, chest pains, cough and sometimes a rash.
Acute disseminated - the disease quickly becomes severe, with rapid spread of the histoplasma organisms to organs outside the lungs. Symptoms include high fever, cough, exhaustion, gastro symptoms and enlargement of the liver and spleen. This form of histoplasmosis is most frequently seen in infants and young children and in people with weakened immune systems; it is usually fatal if left untreated.
Chronic disseminated - Histoplasmosis develops slowly over a period of 10-11 months as the organism spreads to organs outside of the lungs. People with chronic disseminated histoplasmosis experience mild intermittent fever, weight loss, weakness, anaemia and enlargement of the liver and spleen. Other symptoms will depend on which organs are affected as the organism spreads, and can include signs and symptoms of infection of the liver, lungs, brain or meninges (the covering of the brain) and heart. Ulcers of the mouth, throat, stomach and bowel may be present and problems with the adrenal gland (Addisons Disease) may occur. Chronic disseminated histoplasmosis is nearly always fatal if not treated.
Chronic pulmonary - occurs most often in persons with pre-existing lung diseases such as emphysema. It resembles tuberculosis and is more common in males over 40 years of age. This form of histoplasmosis progresses slowly over months or years and can sometimes resolve without treatment.

Confirmation of histoplasmosis infection usually requires laboratory examinations which identify Histoplasma capsulatum in sputum, blood or specimens from biopsies of infected organs, ulcers or lymph nodes.

 

[user 4386]

Gday Goldierocks,
It's really good of you to alert forum members of the many dangers in underground mine exploration.
But I thought I would let you know about Dean65 and the guys who go underground with him.
Dean is well practiced in this activity and uses a gas metre, also one of the team that goes with him is a very experienced miner who has been working underground in the Ballarat gold mine at Mt Clear.
He is very knowledgeable in every aspect of mine safety and always explains where and why there is a hazard.
For any other members of the forum who may be tempted to participate in this activity, BEWARE!!!
What may seem a benign or harmless mine maybe your last place on earth.
I have been going underground for nigh on 40 years and I never have or will take the dangers for granted.
Don't be tempted to go underground unless you go with someone who is knowledgeable and safety is there mantra.
Cheers Steve

Yes, I go underground a lot myself but have it checked by an experienced miner, although experienced myself from years underground in operating mines. My comments relate in particular to those without experience who may not appreciate the hazards and the need to test air, bar down loose hanging daily etc. Personally I don't think it a great recreational activity and would not encourage it for recreation, as there is always some risk even in a mine being worked full-time - I do it as part of my work because it is necessary. If you like going underground, I recommend joining a caving club rather than exploring old mines. Stability is better by far in caves, although not entirely without risk - lung diseases from bats (also in old mines) and rapid inflow of water during rainstorms are more the issue. But because caves don't involve blasting that opens up fractures everywhere, and because limestone takes a long time to dissolve to form tunnels etc, there is more time for roof and walls to equilibrate and be stable....also air is more likely to be better.

also don't forget that you would run into lots of bat crap too being a caver and you should know the risks of that as well. and another thing too is the limestone its not perfectly safe in fact you often can't see the cracks in the roof because of the calcium carbonate hides it very well until it all comes down suddenly a least in mines you can generally see cracks in the strata

Yep, that is what I said about bats and caves. Have to disagree re frequency of roof collapse etc in caves versus mines though (as a former underground mine worker - geo - and caver), although I agree collapse can occur in caves. However mines involve blasting in rocks that are commonly highly stratified or fractured (the mineralisation being mined commonly requires the fractures in many cases for it to be deposited there). Caves tend to mostly form by rock slowly dissolving in water over thousands or tens of thousands of years, so many are quite safe although exceptions occur (eg when in massive, little-stratified limestone). But working in underground mines one knows that there are commonly sections of a mine that loosen up on an almost daily basis and have to be checked daily. The old miner approach of barring down and seeing if the rock "talks" will usually identify such areas, but a beginner often simply walks under loose hanging etc without realising it. Gas is more common in old mines, winzes can be hidden in the floor when wading through water-filled tunnels, rock may be supported by timbers that are now rotten and only need a nudge. If you have to go into mines, go initially with a miner and learn.

 

[dean65]

Artificial diversion tunnel on Sailors Creek Daylesford - This artificial diversion tunnel on Sailors Creek was built by gold miners around the early 1870s. A tunnel through the spur was cut to redirect water flow from the original creek line. The soil in the dry creek bed was then sluiced for gold.

 

[Heatho]

Hey Dean, might want to check out this thread mate. Photobucket is going to be a problem here in the future. Please, if you can upload your pics directly to this website it would be a big help, it's not our doing mate, this is because photobucket has changed it's terms of use. Hope this won't be a problem.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22687

Cheers

 

[dean65]

Hey Dean, might want to check out this thread mate. Photobucket is going to be a problem here in the future. Please, if you can upload your pics directly to this website it would be a big help, it's not our doing mate, this is because photobucket has changed it's terms of use. Hope this won't be a problem.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22687

Cheers

No problems. I will switch to the new procedure.

 

[dean65]

Your server is limited in terms of file size. If I make images large the quality is compromised so for the time being they will have to be small. If someone can suggest a workaround I would be grateful.

 

[dean65]

Stoney Creek pipeline at Anakie Gorge - "Built in the 1870's this was a huge project of the time. It was to supply Geelong with fresh water and they worked around the clock to get it done. The dam is built of 1.5 -3 ton bluestone blocks trained into Meredith from Ballarat and bolted into a natural stone base with 2" bolts .The drill had to especially manufactured for this job alone . In May 1870 heavy rains set them back where in places tons of earth had slide into their dug trenches , brickwork was damaged and embankments subsided. But they pulled together and got the job done." - Garry Hope

 

[Heatho]

Thanks Dean, much appreciated. When I take photos for the forum the resolution I use on my samsung phone is 2048x1152, I can usually upload 4 photos simultaneously. If you set a resolution of similar size in your camera then there is no need to edit the size down later. Though if you take pics at full resolution then you will need to edit the size down, when editing size I've been using the free windows app called microsoft paint, just use the resize function at the top left of MS paint and click on pixels instead of percentage.

Here's how my pics turn out, they pretty much look the quality all the time.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=344886#p344886

Hope this helps mate.

 

[Heatho]

Here's a test I did with one of your photos by making it 1024x768 in MS paint. Keep in mind also that taking larger file sized pics first and then editing down will make clearer pics than doing it the other way around.

Cheers

 

[Hunting the yellow]

dean use flicker or goggle photos copy the link no blurry photos and no small ones

 

[Hunting the yellow]

Here's a test I did with one of your photos by making it 1024x768 in MS paint. Keep in mind also that taking larger file sized pics first and then editing down will make clearer pics than doing it the other way around.

Cheers

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/487/1500070529_1500038152_img_7341.jpg

a bit blurry ?

P1270504 by ,

try something like that

 

[casper]

What the hell are those weird things painted on the wall?

they be "magic marks"

casper

 

[Heatho]

Here's a test I did with one of your photos by making it 1024x768 in MS paint. Keep in mind also that taking larger file sized pics first and then editing down will make clearer pics than doing it the other way around.

Cheers

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/487/1500070529_1500038152_img_7341.jpg

a bit blurry ?

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4171/33625061844_b0e2b008fb_z.jpgP1270504 by ,

try something like that

That's because the photo was very low resolution to start with 192x256 and only 17kb. The settings in the camera or phone need to be around 1024x768, a bit higher is no prob either.

 

[dean65]

"Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1862 and at its peak home to around 4,000 residents. Today, the town has a population of fewer than 20 permanent residents, though it has a large proportion of houses owned as holiday properties. It attracts large numbers of tourists and is a major focus of the regional tourism industry. The town's name is taken from an early gold mine in the area, named for the German hall of fame, the Walhalla temple (Valhalla from Norse legend)."

 

[Heatho]

Those pics look great Dean, well done. :Y:

Cheers

 

[Mick Cov]

I love those pics of the old mines,great history there and a top spot. :Y:

 

[dean65]

Those pics look great Dean, well done. :Y:

Cheers

Thanks. It took a bit of playing around to get the quality I needed at the right size for the page. Managed to get there in the end.

 

[Mackka]

Thanks for sharing Delano.
Mackka

 

[dean65]

Recently, I was invited over to Daylesford to visit a working gold mine. It was great to see how underground working are constructed rather than just observe something that had been long abandoned. In the last photo an ore truck has been converted into a wood stove ensuring the miner's teapots are never cold.