Apedale Colliery includes an underground experience where students and researchers are directed along a series of mine roadways, galleries and excavations. This experience is further enhanced by the use of additional roadways and surface galleries.
Mine and “pillar and stall” Gallery
The underground experience consists of the upper parts of the Nos 3 and 4 Pits and a short length of connecting roadway (crosscut) in the Bassey Mine seam. This roadway now has an extensive “pillar and stall” gallery driven off on the down drift side of the roadway and follows the true dip of the coal seam. This gallery serves to illustrate stratigraphy (banding), dip (drift), strike (crosscut), faults (slip) and a broad range of other geophysical (mining) features that yield discrete examples of coal, fireclay and ironstone with some fossils. This gallery can be made available to interested parties by prior agreement. Apedale plays host to frequent projects, assignments and exercises with a very high level of achievement.
Recent Activities
• “Confined space rescue training” for different authorities
• Documentaries, commentaries and even a thriller production for radio and television
• Exploration and redevelopment of closed and abandoned mine workings
• Location of “lost” coal mine workings using Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT), Gravity and Ground Penetrating Radar
• Practical additional experience and training for active coal miners
• Topographical and underground survey exploration.
Other facilities
The Apedale experience can be geared towards specific requirements for individuals dictated by personal experience and background. There is also access to documentation, maps, reports, artefacts and other original source material for use in research dissertations.
We have lately extended the scientific and mining experience at Apedale and can offer a greater flexibility to suit specified requests within the mine complex. Field visits are now allowed into the recently rehabilitated No 7s Pit return and connecting roadways.
Apedale is a valuable national resource that in practical terms emulates a traditional coal mining operation, subject to regular inspections by the Coal Authority Mines Inspector and complies with current levels of safety legislation.
To discuss your requirements or make a booking click here.