The following notice has been placed at Maen Offeren as blasting will very shortly commence in the 2½ Quarry.



Do NOT enter this area!

Where is the 2 1/2 Quarry in relation to the MO mills?

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2½ quarry is the open quarry to the east of the of the workshop and power house buildings. Not the one with the main incline in, but east of that.

Is it the one which (there must be a better term for this) 'Shiny' smooth slanting slate face to it? Try saying that after a few pints.

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I think that is correct. There are only two opencast quarries in that immediate vicinity. The one with the main incline in plus the larger one slightly further east. It is the one with the "binocular" bore holes in the northern side.

A few years I ws up there and was talking to a local chap.

I was bemoaning the loss of the old Foty etc

His comment was:
"The thing is that they are keeping people in work"

It made me think. Just a comment.

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I am on the same side as the 'local chap'

I look at a mine or quarry and the first thing I see is work, turnover, profit, wages

the rest is secondary

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I'm on the side of the jobs, and jobs for local people.

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:stupid:

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The work will, I understand, be on the opposite side from the Hunter-bored tunnels in the 'David Jones' part of the quarry.

As a result, Greaves need to be sure that they're not going to drop the roof onto anyone's head who happens to have ambled into the mine and is walking around mill floor - hence the blocking of the adit.

🔗Maenofferen-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-54782[linkphoto]Maenofferen-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-54782[/linkphoto][/link]

I would, however, offer up the comment that blocking the adit may not be the best of solutions in the longer term: once the chambering is opened up as the untopping gathers pace, the lure of an easy entrance may be too much for some to resist and it would be a *very* bad idea to be walking around in an area that's been recently blasted and has an unstable roof.

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Things falling on you aren't the only danger - rough ground means you may overbalance and put your hand down to steady yourself.

Slate rock fresh from blast is like a stack of very large razor-blades. You only have to touch them lightly.... as I found out in the main Sinc at Oakeley when investigating the eastern chambers with Wil Roberts.


Grahami

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'Ello, I tend never to question moderation, but there is always the exception - like now? Where did my post go?

In my opinion I was using a wit. that would put Noel Coward to shame. That said I always think that about my ramblings.

Surely a post making fun about a how useful specific piece of body protection would be if few tonnes of roof falling on you - even in the light of recent threads - is not that controvertial.

Even messages that were considered by some abusive were edited with an explanation. I hope you realise I am likely never to sleep again.

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Sorry AndyC. At one point yesterday there were 3 parallel threads running with people having a go at each other about helmets. Not to mention the PMs I received from people complaining about it. Nothing personal, I just don't want this topic to go that way.

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Today's mining is tomorrow's heritage. If it wasn't for mining in the past I would be bored today 😉

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As Maenofferen is still a working quarry the main priority is the extraction of slate from the rock face to keep up production. Which in turn keeps work for experienced craftsmen.
There could be a danger from lose rock from blasting and vibration.
So my view is that it would be safer to block the adits under these circumstances.

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As Maenofferen is still a working quarry the main priority is the extraction of slate from the rock face to keep up production. Which in turn keeps work for experienced craftsmen.
There could be a danger from lose rock from blasting and vibration.
So my view is that it would be safer to block the adits under these circumstances.

The trouble for Greaves is that once they have opened up the first chamber, that will give access directly into the mine from there - in the worst possible place as the roof will be particularly unstable following blasting.

To be honest, I do look at the photographs from Oakeley from when they were untopping in the area of the Arches Incline and I can't help but think it would have been a good opportunity to get in there... 😞

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Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time (the 1980s I mean) when the arches were being exposed - and Wil was as interested as I was in seeing what was there. You couldn't explore very far west because all of the workings had already been worked away or collapsed, and to the east most of the chambers had been tipped in and were full to the roof below G floor.

More recently McAlpine's untopping was much more serious and extensive - but I doubt you could have got any further west than we did back then, the real communication levels in the solid rock lay down on I and K floors and they were never dewatered.

Oh to have had digital cameras and access back in the 1960s though - now that would have been something! Before the large scale scrapping and untopping - even at Llechwedd. Gordon Hatherill's photographs ony scratch the surface of the treasures mechanical and electrical that were still there then.

So much for hindsight, but one can dream..... :zzz:


Grahami

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I wonder if this stop the copper thefts, last time I was in I found that they had been attacking the winding engines on the inclines, the fan had been spared; so far.

They say "its an ill wind that blows no good at all"!

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It might. It'll make it so much harder for them to get it out. In fact there's an argument in there for the mill adit having been blocked a good time ago.

Both B8 and B31 machinery a complete mess now.

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is the adit being permanently blocked or just for the blasting? Have the royal commission done their thing yet?