What a lovely day to be out on a DCA job! Today Pete K, Ian Web and Pete Monkhouse repaired the damaged grill on the upper entrance to Mandale Mine in Lathkill Dale. All 3 entrances to this mine are now secure from accidental public access but, as usual, explorers need only take a Derbyshire Key to go in. Thanks for the help in sorting this out today guys!

Remember that we must keep these access points secure, or the mines will have to be permanently sealed. That is the condition of access from Natural England. Please keep an eye on the gates if you're passing. You'll find plenty of spare nuts on each gate in case one has gone missing.

Report any access problems for this or any other site via the DCA website:
https://thedca.org.uk/conservation-access/issue-reporting 

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Hi all. Unfortunately I need to make a plea for some assistance at Mandale Mine again.
Cavers reported finding the Incline Level gate unbolted today and they were not able to get the bolts back in. On the face of it they said that it just looks like the threads are getting corroded and it all needs a bit of greasing and re-tapping.
I don't have access to any thread taps so I am hoping some lovely person on here might have a set and be willing to pop down and see if they can get it locking again. I know the bolts are big, but not exactly what size. A set of taps between m14 and m20 should cover it. I'm 99% sure it was all made in the era of metric.

Anyone able to assist an already very busy Projects Officer with this?

Also, if you ever visit a mine and find the Derbyshire Key not working, tell DCA! We can get it fixed and prevent these mines possibly being sealed. We are already on 'probation' for these sites in Lathkill Dale and they have got to stay secure from public entry.

Pete Knight
DCA Projects Officer

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I've got the gate shut again, but it's only secured on the left side. Hopefully back to normal soon, but at the moment you need to put your weight onto the left side to undo or fasten the bolt.

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I am going to Mandale on Wednesday with a small group so will see what I can do on the day
Will take some taps and bolts
Ian

I may well have fettled it by then - all it needs short-term is the right-hand bolt replacing with a new, slightly longer M14 which I can hopefully get tomorrow. There does look to be some distortion to the gate, most likely from an idiot trying to force it open while the left-hand bolt was still secured.

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Thank you!

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Thats great if you have it in hand
Let me know if it needs any more attention and I may be able to help on Wednesday

It looks like the bolts may be Whitworth rather than ISO. I'll try and source an exact match but in the meantime, might be an idea to move the remaining bolt to the other side which doesn't require force to close.

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