Hendre Fluorspar Mine, North Wales, April 2012

Visited with walsh, the kwan and Xan Asmodi.

HISTORY

Hendre is situated not far from Mold in north wales. The mineral extracted from this mine up until the early 1980’s was fluorite also known as fluorspar. It comercialy had quite a few uses some of which bieng a flux for iron smelting, and flouride thats found in toothpaste.

Fluorspar comes in many different colours and because of this it was also used in jewellery, most famously was the blue or purple form that is mined from the blue john caverns in Derbyshire.

This mine is not the most extensive mine but the chambers are huge in this place.

AND

Hendre Spar employed seven men below ground and ten men at the surface and was worked on six levels, originally accessed by a steep decline which is now flooded. Both Calcite and Fluorspar were mined, the mine was worked until 1981, when the adit was sealed.

Uses include glass making, as a flux in iron and steel making. It is also used in the chemical industry to make fluorine to add to drinking water and toothpaste. Fluorspar was also used to make chloro-fluorocarbons, which used to be used as aerosol propellants and in fridges and lenses for telescopes and other optical equipment.

THE VISIT

We first descended into the mine to the lowest accessable level (level 4) and worked up to level 1. All photos were taken on the assent upwards.

1. Level 4 adit.


2. Continuing down the level 4 adit.


3. A sub adit appears over the level 4 main adit. Only accessable via SRT.


4. Level 4 adit comes to an end in a chamber with a sheer face to the sub adit. Again only accessable via SRT.


5. What they were looking for - fluorspar.


6. Old equipment remains on level 4.


7. Model figures, the (Ian) Adams family, made and left by members of a local caving and mining club.


8. Old drill bit left on level 4.


9. View from the level 4 adit up to level 3. Access is via the ladders. Top to bottom, circa 130 feet.


10. Me, for scale.


11. Levels 4 to 1 were the emergency escape for levels 5 and 6 in later years.


12. Top of the ladders and into the level 3 adit. More ladders up to level 2.


13. Calcited wall and tears on level 3.


14. Calcite tears, level 3.


15. View down the level 2 adit from the ladders. The adit ends in a collapse.


16. White pearls on level 2 adit.


17. Moving up the level 2 adit past the ladders to level 3.


18. Old mining cart abandoned on level 2.


19. Level 2 stoop with old stooping timbers.


20. Last view down level 2 adit from the ladder to level 1.


21. Lights, camera, action on the annex adit below level 1.


22. Rotting stooping timbers in the annex adit stoop.


23. Old track remains in the annex adit.


24. The annex adit soon becomes flooded to end the days proceedings.


25. Back to level 4 and the access incline to levels 5 and 6. Unfortunatly flooded...

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