This feels like one of those situations where, whatever one says, invites
the response from those who know the site well; "We've already thought of
that!"!
Never-the-less, I start from the assumption that miners would always choose
the easiest and/or quickest and/or lowest-energy option. It is possible
that differential slipping over the years means that the concavity was once
straight. Although this might make barrowing a little easier, it does
nothing to explain the extra effort needed to push a barrow uphill.
Secondly, this mine is on the southern edge of a much-worked area, so I
wondered if there was little ore here. No, I was wrong. Looking at the
area around there are many un-vegetated areas and there is galena for the
easy picking up. This suggests to me that there was plenty of lead ore and
no need to dress for the last ounce. As far as I can tell, it's not
relevant to Pete's question, but I wonder from the un-vegetated areas
whether some of them were bale sites?
Thirdly, looking at the peat over the adjacent couple of acres. I wonder if
there has been significant peat harvesting here? Did the miners have rights
only to extract the minerals and not to the peat on the surface?
Fourthly, there is an edging of large stones around the end of the tip - as
if to mark 'This far and no farther'. If the miners were not allowed to tip
over ground where, say, peat harvesters had priority; then the only way to
go would be up. There is one other tip (perhaps quarter of a mile away)
with a similar stone edging: I am reminded of a very large boundary cairn
near a Roman Road in Yorkshire.
Sallie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Jackson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2017 7:53 PM
Subject: Mine dumps
The North Pennines Oresome project is studying some of the SAM sites in the
North Pennines. At Slatesyke Mine, there are examples of small dumps, with a
very narrow ridge and a steep gradient to a peak. They look like oil shale
bings as found in Scotland, but with a concave curved top. The assumption is
that they are wheelbarrow dumps.
My problem is understanding the origin of the shape. It would be difficult
and hard work to push a loaded barrow to the top of the dump, even if a
narrow plank runway was available. The mine is located on open moorland and
the washing floors are spread over a much larger area. I assume that there
was no restriction on the available space. An image is available on my
Facebook page, or ask and I will mail a copy direct.
Any ideas why the dump is this shape?
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