Mine shaft dive

[dpierce]

I am not a diver,,but I have an interesteing possiblity for a very experienced diver...
On our property is a mine shaft that was used to pump water out of the rest of the working mine...The entrance to the mine is 8 feet wide,,by 15 feet accross.and drops down to approxamtely 90 feet,,(measured with a string)..The working entrance,,which was filled in is a couple of hundred feet away..I do not know if a lateral exsists..or any of the conditions..The water is cold,,50 degree's or so...
It was sauk countys largest working iron mine,,It was last used in the early 1900's...
so it is around 100 years since anyone has been down there...
I myself an curiuos if rails,,or anything else is still down in the mine..
I have attached a link showing an article on the mine...
The property is located in southern wi,,about an hour north of madison wi...article

 

[MikeFerrara]

I'll send you a PM but, in the mean time, If you want to know what's down there I have just the crew for you.

We have a fair amount of experience diving flooded mines...mostly lead mines in Missouri...and I don't mean the tourist kind.

Besides us I can think of lots of folks who would be willing to take a peak for you...a few of which make their living making detailed maps of flooded mines (usually for mining companies still working in the unflooded sections.

Lets talk.

 

[divad]

If this happens, please, tell us a story.

Thanks,
Armchair Diver

 

[flyinghuntster]

I bet silt would be a HUGE issuse. Are there any special tech to prevent the silt from coming up other than just being carefull?

 

[MikeFerrara]

I bet silt would be a HUGE issuse. Are there any special tech to prevent the silt from coming up other than just being carefull?

Silt is always an issue in this part of the world. It's an issue in most caves and especially mines.

I've also seen clouds of "stuff" in mines. By stuff I mean I don't know what it is...maybe a cloud/river of oil or maybe some kind of bacteria.

Good technique is how you keep from making it any worse and good line useage for when it's bad anyway. In one mine we dive vis is usually great further in but the entrance is often close to zero.

Mines can, in general, be far more maze like than natural caves. You can have gym size rooms, multiple levels and tunnels or just windows connecting rooms. There can be miles and miles of tunnel. While natural caves are pretty stable I've seen some sections of mines that looked pretty delicate. They can also be more like wrecks in that depending how fast they flooded there can be lots of equipment left behind and in some cases electric cables and other potentially nasty stuff. There is also probably the potential for some pretty interesting antiques. For some reason I usually find shoes though. LOL Salvaging anything larger than hand tool type stuff would be a real trick and probably not worth doing.

In this case, without a little research I really wouldn't know what to expect. Being that he says the entrance was a pump shaft, I don't even know if you can be sure there's a passable entrance into the mine from there and a lot of stuff can fall down a vertical shaft in almost 100 years. Shoot, being so close to major cities the bottom could be stacked with stolen cars...maybe even with gangsters still in the trunk. LOL

Without research or getting in the water there isn't any way to know what to expect as far as depth either.

All in all, pretty interesting and I'd like to look into it but how should I put it?...Mines aren't good places for most divers, even experienced ones. They are for cave divers (preffereably those with experience in mines) who are badly in need of a weekend out.

 

[Randy43068]

I too would love to hear what happens.

Randy

 

[MikeFerrara]

I too would love to hear what happens.

Randy

Me too but we haven't heard back from the original poster yet. Maybe some one already jumped on it.

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

We have a fair amount of experience diving flooded mines...mostly lead mines in Missouri...and I don't mean the tourist kind.

Mike,

Please don't think this is a troll post, but Lead Mines? That can't be good for you. Knowing lead is posionous, and being able to soak through you skin. You are a much braver man, than I my friend.

 

[Randy43068]

maybe that's why he's willing to dive this mine shaft. Normal people won't do it!

Mike,

Please don't think this is a troll post, but Lead Mines? That can't be good for you. Knowing lead is posionous, and being able to soak through you skin. You are a much braver man, than I my friend.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Mike,

Please don't think this is a troll post, but Lead Mines? That can't be good for you. Knowing lead is posionous, and being able to soak through you skin. You are a much braver man, than I my friend.

Even bonne terre in Missouri is an old lead mine and thousands of tourists dive it every year. The lead is embedded in the rock and I don't think there's much if any in the water. Also some of the quarries where people swim and dive all the time are the open pit portions of lead mines. I've never heard of the lead being a problem. Of course I don't drink the water though. LOL