I always wondered whether Maggie shutting the coal mines down (having also been pushed around by the oil sheiks) was clever resource planning. Import everything whilst keeping your stash fine....rather like the Americans appear to do with a lot of things.

I think Britain's future is a tourist island off coast of the United States of Europe, (led by Emperor Blair). People can see all sorts of attractions of what it was like when people worked in GB, all these attractions will have the glorious flag on them, so we know who paid for it all.

I gather Jane's reserves were proven down to the 25 level and although they finished at the 15, the last major level was the 13. That's a fair bit left. Whilst everyone is quick to say how wet Jane was, it was because they were largely pumping out the whole of Gwennap. We know the decline was largely pointless, but there would have been other targets to go for, particulary under Sperries and Basset Graze. They could have got really ambitious and done a 20 level crosscut to somewhere like Peevor!!!

Even though Clemows and No2 are protected shafts on the superduper schedule (surrounding exclusion zone of the larger amount), the glorious crowd leading the wretched remains of Crofty PLC have decided that the tailings dam is a good idea to dump hardcore/earth in. It is making them a fortune, but will pose a total obstacle to when they do want to look at it again, say in 40 years time.

Looking at somewhere like Hemerdon (and as a Cornishman, feel free to shoot me - as a libertarian, perhaps I should shoot myself) I wonder if the actual exercise is really worth it. You take a huge deposit, a company comes in with millions of pounds of investment fund money, whacks up a load of automatic machinery, digs a hole with lots of automatic machinery, pays some dues to the mineral lord and then leaves a fercking mess.

"It will provide loads of jobs, which the area is aching for"

Really? Sales of grease and overalls may go up a bit, but it's not going to be the big employer that prior operations were, nor is Francis Basset likely to come along and build a school for the local rats.

The profits will probably go on advisors in luxembourg whilst the remainder will be spent on the cost of using the logo of the international company through a bagatelle of trusts, shell companies and avoidance schemes. No doubt the planning office are also counting the contents of their envelopes.

As much as it pains me to say it, common sense doesn't exist. The country does not need to obey any sort of economic rules. We can go on selling each other houses at ever increasing prices and base the economy on that instead. We can build even more houses and sell them to each other at ever increasing prices, whilst allowing China to do all the nasty hard work.

Getting Britain back to Growth. Make sure you vote Conservative in 2015. (The only party which will give you an EU referendum)

This topic was actually quite interesting until it went political, and I enjoyed reading your previous post with the tide marks photo. Although my politics censor did cut some of it out, but mostly informattive.

Although do we not think that the maths has been done to work out that this was the cheapest and most effective method of controlling it?

Yes there are safetys built in, but things do change and they might not be as large as they once where. Is there any underground surveying and remediation going on to prevent further collapse etc?

Why shy away from politics?

Is it not the key part of what collectively guides us?

I'd say it was pretty damn relevent, as it is central to the formation of legislation at all levels. Humans are political creatures (apart from the lib dems) and their collective output is what makes your country a polluter, employer or whatever else.

My comment about the EUSSR and Vote Dave were crass and tongue in cheek, as are most of my comments on the net.

From the best of my knowledge, any monitoring from the usual sites (laddered shafts and ones with maintained collars/caps) ceased when the mine closed. No-one has formally inspected the adit system and the jane adit is flooded all the way back to the stoping as water is entering the adit via other workings below and under the tailings dam and the lowest point for it to drain is the top of the gradient. No 7 shaft below the tailings dam was one of the former ladderways and that's flooded quite a way up. 20ft or so.

On-one in their right mind would attempt to turn on the adit valves to allow inspection. Health and Safety would have an orgasm, I doubt anyone has got the necessary tickets and the resulting orange soup would send No 20 cafe in Penryn into a total meltdown, the smell of burning beards would be intolerable.

I don't shy away from politics. Only yours. 😉

I don't shy away from politics. Only yours. ;-)

Do I strike you as being a swivel eyed Ukipper?

I thought we had an agreement that this site is about the history, practice and exploration of mines and that we'd leave politics to other sites?
I thought I'd say that before it all turns nasty and the thread gets 'modded'. 🙂

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I don't shy away from politics. Only yours. ;-)

Do I strike you as being a swivel eyed Ukipper?

Well, you get 5 out of 5 for mine-related conversations, but if I were caught with you down the pub and the topic moved on to politics, I would rapidly find some excuse to leave politely, in the way only the British can do well. 🙂 What's happened to smilies? Grrrrrrrr.

I wouldn't underestimate the speed of rebound in Jane. Pumping halted in 1991 (March I believe), by November the water had rebounded to adit level (It took crofty nearly 3 years to rebound after the pumps were switched off). In January 1992 the NRA pumps, which were keeping the water below adit level, failed, within 9 days the water level had built up with enough head to blow the adit plug.

This winter the combined pumps of Veolia, The EA, Cornwall Fire Brigade, Devon & Somerset FRS, London Fire Brigade and the Coal authority were pumping at a rate of 27 million Gallons a day at one stage. The calculation of 12 hours would have been based on all of those pumps failing, which would be highly unlikely.

This winter the combined pumps of Veolia, The EA, Cornwall Fire Brigade, Devon & Somerset FRS, London Fire Brigade and the Coal authority were pumping at a rate of 27 million Gallons a day at one stage. The calculation of 12 hours would have been based on all of those pumps failing, which would be highly unlikely.

Are we talking about de-watering the mines or treating effluent? 27million gallons a day is one hell of a treatment plant for mineral contamination!

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The thing with Jane is they have to treat the entire water inflow into the mine as they cannot let it overtop. With the extremely wet winter the water inflow was massive - Janes pumping burden was in the region of 12mgpd in operation, but this winter was one of the wettest on record.

I would`nt worry to much about the polluted water in the Mine`s,before long they will be tankering and piping it across the country to feed the fracking well`s,as there ain`t enough clean water around for that job.

Regarding Drillbilly`s comment on the closing of coalmines to keep the stash of coal for the future,most of that has been sterilised and the rest will get gasified.

Sadly Mining and Politics have always gone hand in hand,and to separate them is only deluding oneself.

Politics is like food. Some is good for you, some is bad. Some tastes great. Some makes you want to throw up. Nobody likes it forced down your throat. But you can't live without it.

Drillbilly - 'the smell of burning beards would be intolerable'.

:lol:

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Politics is great fun if you remember all politicians are tow sides of the same coin, and all politicians are slaves to the corporations and do their bidding for them.

Politics is great fun if you remember all politicians are tow sides of the same coin, and all politicians are slaves to the corporations and do their bidding for them.

As long as it suits the senior 'civil' servants who really run the country :curse:

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Politics is great fun if you remember all politicians are tow sides of the same coin, and all politicians are slaves to the corporations and do their bidding for them.

As long as it suits the senior 'civil' servants who really run the country :curse:

I thought it was the lizard shape shifters who ran the country.

It must cost a lot of money to pump the water out. This might be a silly question, but here goes..

Why can't the water be syphoned out?

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It would involve having to tip the earth on it's side to achieve that.

It would involve having to tip the earth on it's side to achieve that.

LOL.

;D
I was assuming the adit level was a reasonable height above sea level, and thus if there was a long enough pipe, the water would suck itself out, once the syphon got going.

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A vacuum will only lift water around thirty feet. (depending on ambient atmospheric pressure).