I popped down to Cwmystwyth yesterday morning and have taken a look at the
collapse - I'm glad to say that it isn't as bad as I was expecting it to
be - the collapse consists of loose rocks and dirt and is piled after the
end of the overturned wagon. There is a small opening that is passable into
Level Fawr however, I did not investigate through this in case I caused a
further disturbance and brought more material down. The entry is at the
moment approximately 8" tall and 14" wide, however this is not easily
passed, having a temporary support for the roof in. The water in the level
appears to be still draining out through the pipe so I would suspect that
the water level will not be significantly changed.
The weather in the valley is not too good at the moment - yesterday morning
there was several snow falls whilst I was there and there was ice on the
ground and across the spoil slopes making them quite slippery.
I've taken a few photos of the collapse and as soon as I get them developed
I'll put them up for people to view.
Thanks to the person that placed wooden planks through the collapse to keep
the entry open on Wednesday evening.
Thanks also to all the people that have expressed interest in the site and
who have offered help in keeping the entry open and I will endeavour to keep
you all up to date on the situation and sort out when we can get work done
to clear the collapse.
Andrew.
----- Original Message -----
From: "ANDREW BARNES" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 11:37 AM
Subject: Cwmystwyth
Just to let everyone know, as of the Thursday just gone, the entrance to
Lefel Fawr at Cwmystwyth Mine in South Wales is reported as being collapsed.
The collapse is just beyond the overturned minecart and from the description
I heard consists mostly of scree and rocks, possibly meaning that the roof
has broken through to the spoil dumps above the entrance again (the original
collapse being passed through via the overturned mine cart)
I'm going to head down there in the next few days and take a look around for
myself and see the extent of the damage.
We are also considering methods to reopen the collapse and shore up the
roof - any suggestions would be gratefully received - although materials
could be a problem, what with being a university caving club. (here is a
shameless plug: http://users.aber.ac.uk/club06)
As Cwmystwyth currently stands, probably the only entrances to Lefel Fawr
are via the adits above, and are likely to be difficult to find and
negotiate, followed by a descent down the incline to Fawr.
I'll post what I find down there as soon as I get back, sometime in the next
couple of days.
Andrew.
------------------------------------------------
Andrew Barnes
Department of Physics
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
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http://users.aber.ac.uk/adb2
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