Other mining

Boulby Potash Mine is operated by Cleveland Potash Ltd, a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals Ltd. There are two 5.5m diameter shafts to a depth of around 1150m. The potash averages 7m in thickness but ranges from nil to over 20m. Beneath the potash there are rock salt beds of about 40m and the main roadways for the mine are driven in pure rock salt 8-10m below the potash.

Mining of limestone in the Lilleshall and Pitchcroft area of Shropshire commenced in 1794. By 1826 a mine had been established at Pitchcroft with two shafts and a couple of limekilns adjacent to a branch of the Donnington Wood Canal. This is the view down one of the shafts. Mining here ceased after a serious flood in 1860.

The new Milldam Mine at Great Hucklow was opened by Laporte Minerals in 1985 to extract fluorspar and baryte with by-products of lead and zinc. The adit entrance seen here was granted planning consent and production began in 1991. Laporte closed the mine in 1999 and it remained on care and maintenance until 2012 when British Fluorspar restarted production. The ore was taken to the Cavendish Mill at Stoney Middleton for processing. Operations ceased in late 2023 after a number of collapses that reached the surface. The company stated that the business was running at a loss.

Andamooka is an opal mining town north of Roxby Downs in outback South Australia. There are several little museums and opal showrooms to have a browse through. The Long Bus is certainly eyecatching but was closed when I visited.