tarboat's photos with the keyword: great longstone

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.

A relic of the fluorspar extraction from mine hillocks in the Great Longstone area of Derbyshire. The spar was lowered down an inclined plane with the rope passing around this wheel with brake wheel above.