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cunningcorgi Senior Member Posts : 71 Location : Status : Offline |
Pontneddfechan Silica Mines, February 2012 Explored with walsh (non member).The plan of the day was to an early start (7am) to visit Pontneddfechan Silica Mines (upper, middle and lower), move on to an old train tunnel and to finish with an old colliery. Great in theory but the reality was that these Silica mines are HUGE ! Entered the Upper mine at approx. 9am and didn't get out until nearly 3pm (managed half of the Upper mine, the Middle mine and none of the Lower mine in the 6 hours). Needless to say, the tunnel and the colliery had to wait for another day ! The Upper mines are especially vast and they also slant at a 45 degree angle for much of thisn vastness. Hence, the camera was not on a slant - the ceiling was ! Also, we will be going back for a Part 2 in the not too distant future to complete the job ! HISTORY The area around Pontneddfechan at the head of the Vale of Neath is one of very few in the world where sandstone has been extensively worked in underground mines. But then this is a very special sort of sandstone. In the steep walls of the gorges of the Nedd Fechan, the Afon Mellte and the Sychryd are exposed beds of a very hard and pure sandstone which have come to be known as 'the Silica rock'. It is in fact the lowermost of a whole family of such beds which collectively are termed the 'Millstone Grit' - a gritstone is simply a sandstone formed from coarse angular grains of quartz or 'silica'. It is the purity of these rocks - almost 100% silica (SiO2) - that made them a target for miners from the 18th to the 20th century. The burgeoning industries of industrial South Wales needed large numbers of heat-resistant bricks to line the furnaces in which copper and iron-smelting took place. Only bricks made from more or less pure silica could stand the intense temperatures without shattering. The silica rock was worked through a series of adits - horizontal mine passages driven into the side of the hill - both behind Craig-y-ddinas and on either side of the Nedd Fechan upstream of Pontneddfechan. In both cases tramways were forced through difficult terrain to these mine entrances to permit horse-drawn drams to take away the rock to the brick works. An early factory was built by Messrs Frederick and Jenner at Dinas Bridge and a works was later established at Pont Walby near Glyn-neath. The mines behind Dinas Rock were a rather larger affair than their cousins alongside the Nedd Fechan. Several large entrances are still clearly visible from the path which drops steeply down from the top of Dinas Rock to the Sychryd. The underground galleries were very extensive, extending over an area some 1000m x 500m. Parts of the mine are now flooded, others will have become unstable. The material was transported by a series of tramways and inclines and indeed overhead cables suspended on pylons, down to the valley floor and then onward to the Pont Walby brickworks. The former tramway along the southern side of the Afon Mellte is a modern-day bridleway which allows the route to be traced on foot or pushbike. In later days the material was taken to a brickworks at Swansea until the whole operation closed down in the 1960's. (From http://www.breconbeacons.org/fforestfawr/understanding/archaeology-industrial-heritage/silica-mines-at-pontneddfechan) THE VISIT We didn't enter the Upper mine at its main entrance but at a point to the west of the entrance which was slightly higher. Reason for this was that we entered at the highest point and worked down. If we entered through the main entrance, we would have had to veer left to get to the highest point instead of starting at the highest point. 1. Entering the Upper mine. The whole upper mine roof slants at a 45 degree angle. (Looking down at this point). 
2. Looking left across at the highest horizontal adit. 
3. Looking right across at the highest horizontal adit. 
4. Old abandoned tram rail. 
5. Vintage mine fork and lucky horse shoe ! 
6. Second adit down and the 45 degree angle becomes more apparent. 
7. Old tramline trackbed with supports and cable holders at the third adit down. 
8. Dead end adit on level three. 
9. Cable holder still in situ in the roof. 
10. Looking back along adit four. Cabling now begins to appear. 
11. Onwards towards adit five. 
12. Beginning of the level five adit. Again cabling and roof holders are still in situ. 
13. Abandoned equipment comes thick and fast in the fifth adit. 
14. Level six adit complete with roof support. 
15. Motorised hauling gear on adit six (to help the wagons up from adits seven and eight). 
16. View back up the 45 degree incline towards adit one (somewhere through the black hole in the distance) from adit six. 
17. Grappling hook still attached to the winch of the gear. 
18. View from adit six down the incline to adits seven and eight. 
19. View along the small adit seven. 
20. Bottom of the mine and a view all the way back up the incline. No natural daylight at all can be seen. We will have to haul our arses all the way back up here ! 
21. Adit eight, the lowest level of the Upper mine which is now partially flooded. 
22. After a long climb up the incline, we are back at approx. adit level two. The view back down from whence we came ! 
23. Where we exited ! A bit of a squeeze ! 
25. The view that greeted us on our exit from the Upper mine. 
We then went to have a look for the main entrance to the Upper mine and for a quick look at the flooded Middle mine. 26. Middle mine which is very small and also very flooded. no way through here. 
27. Old silica carts at main entrance to the Upper mine. 
28. Main entrance to the Upper mine and also, end of fun for the day ! 
Sorry if a bit pic heavy but as I said, this place is massive ! Any comments / advice most welcome and thanks for looking ! ---------------------- |
 Sat 03 Mar 2012 @ 19:08
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ratty Admin Posts : 96 Location : Pontypridd Status : Offline |
Excelent photos. If you are going there again let me know WELL in advance so I can book a day off/sicky  I tried going there a couple of years ago but ended up just wandering around taking in the scenery.
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Sun 04 Mar 2012 @ 21:33
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cunningcorgi Senior Member Posts : 71 Location : Status : Offline |
Going back soon to finish off the Upper mine and do the Lower mine (hopefully get Paecaedrain tunnel done too). Will let you know as soon as a date is set. |
Sun 04 Mar 2012 @ 22:50
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