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Thread: Caving -v Mines

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    Adventurer at Large! BruteForce's Avatar
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    Caving -v Mines

    How do these two relate? We found a mine that was accessible.. proximate to Ophir, Utah. We wandered in at least 200' before it got so dark and moist, that we turned around. About 100' in, we saw tracks on the ground, to suggest there's probably a mine cart somewhere further in. Mine was easily 7' tall and about 6' wide.. easy to walk in, very cool and moist, but not putrid to the smell.
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    Canyon Wrangler canyoncaver's Avatar
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    What kind of relating are you looking for? Mines are man-made, and caves are natural, but I assume you already know that?

    Caves that have no entrance are sometimes intersected by mines, and cavers will use the mine to access the cave. There are also mine explorers, who intentionally explore abandoned mines.

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    Adventurer at Large! BruteForce's Avatar
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    I was just curious if exploring and entering abandoned mines was treated the same as caving - and do cavers frequent mines. I need to get better illumination, then head back into that thing..
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    Canyon Wrangler canyoncaver's Avatar
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    A lot of the same safety protocols would apply like helmets, three sources of light per person, tell someone where you are going in case you don't return, etc.

    As a caver, IMO the main difference is that mines are usually more unstable and contain some dangers that caves usually do not.

    Mines are more prone to collapse than caves, being much younger and still collapsing, whereas most caves have had millions of years to stabilize. Most (not all) rocks you see on the floor of caves fell many thousands or even millions of years before. Not so with mines. Many are less than 100 years old and are actively collapsing.

    Another potential danger in mines is bad air. While uncommon, caves can sometimes have elevated levels of CO2. Mines can potentially have high CO2, but can also contain other nasties like CO, methane, or other hydrocarbons.

    The local mine exploring group is called Mojave Underground. You may want to look them up. There is some overlap between cavers and mine explorers but not much. I've always found it interesting how separate the two groups seem to be.

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