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1 Below !BQuarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining ClubSpring Issue No: AdditionsSubterranea: Newsletter ofSubterranea Britannica & the ColdWar Research Study Group, Issue 6,December 2004 - includes a couple ofinteresting accounts of a hugeunderground city below Dedinje,(Belgrade) built 1960-70 and a largeWWII German bunker built for theproduction of Chlorine tri-fluoride - athroughly nasty incendiary fluorine was made by theelectroloysis of molten metallicfluoride, produced from Wales Caving Club:Newsletter 292 August-December2004 - has a report on recent tripsinto Grand Turk, including the Clubtrip there last Newsletter, , October 2004- contains an item on the inspectionof mine sites used by holders of theLocal Cave & Mine LeaderAssessment, and the backlogresulting from last years Chat: Newsletter of theNorfolk Mineral & Lapidary Society,Volume 25, Winter Caving Group: Newsletter& Journal No 144, December 2003; , September 2004.

2 Interim Newsletter:December 2004, plus minutes of AGmand CollieryUp to 180 jobs are to be axed atKellingley Colliery, West Yorkshire(the country s second biggest mine)due to unforseen geolocial Reports 12/1/2005 SCMC and SMT have agreed toorganise the NAMHO Conference for2006. The intention is that this beheld in North-east Wales and we willbe looking for assistance from localclubs in the organising of some ofthe field Conference will be held at theRoyal Pavilion, Llangollen over theweekend 11th to 13th June Royal Pavilion is the site of theEisteddod but do not think thismeans an enormous site - we willhave use of a permanent buildingwith a hall capable of seating 400, asecond hall capable of seating 100(possibly a third 100 seater hall)

3 Plusa large reception area on two now need volunteers to take on ahost of roles - below is a list that Ihave thought of but one individualmay end up taking on more than oneof these roles or of sharing a taskbetween a couple of persons. Pleasenote that at this stage we are notafter the organisers of individual fieldtrips - that will come Conference 2006 Suggested roles:Conference programme organiserConference venue organiserSocial event organiserAccommodation organiser (to sortout a list of Accommodation andcamp site(s) to send out)Surface field trip organiserUnderground trip organiserOrganiser of trips during thefollowing weekLiaison with North Wales &Grosvenor caving clubsTreasurerTrip booking organiserOverall booking organiser (probablythe person receiving bookingsand passing out different sheetsto the trip organisers and socialevent organiser).

4 Some individuals have alreadyvolunteered to undertake some rolesbut we now want a meeting to goover some of the issues and ensurethat all tasks are covered. If you areprepared to help, please get in touchwith me and let me know what youare prepared to HoldingBull Pot FarmRed Rose CPC are currently workingwith the landlord of Bull Pot Farm (inthe Dales) to upgrade their hut /bunkhouse. This will hopefullysecure the Club s future at the of the plans involve developinga resource and caver training centrein the adjoining premises. The clubhas requested support from BCA andEnglish Descent 185 Descent has moved ..If any Club members want to contactChris or Judith at Descent then youshould note that they have movedand the new address is:Wild Places PublishingPO Box 100, Abergavenny, NP7 9 WYThey also have new numbers:Telephone: 01873-737707 FAX: 0871-750-52772 Below Round-Up 1by Ivor BrownRock CannonsThese used to be found outside mostchurches and on high spots in metalmining areas.

5 They consisted ofholes drilled into large blocks ofstone and lightly charged withexplosive, they were set to makeevery wedding go with a bang. In Shropshire an archaeological guide states that in Hoarstones StoneCircle (Bronze Age, SO 324 999), nearStapeley Hall - thin cylindrical holescan be seen drilled into the innerfaces of two of the stones and a19th Century source tells how theywere made by local lead miners tomake rock cannons . See (1888) Neolithic Man and hisRemains in Shropshire Transactionsof Shropshire Archaeological Society1st Series, Vol. XI, 1888 p221. Doesanyone have a copy of this paper ora photo of the holes? Rock Sandwich goneThe Rock Sandwich mining display,part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museumat Jackfield China Works has closed,it is understood that the artefacts arenow back in the Museum ConferenceThe Proceedings of the WilliamReynolds Conference held inIronbridge, June 2003 have beenpublished by the Wrekin LocalStudies Forum.

6 The included papersdescribe his activities c1780 to 1803as an ironmaster, scientist, promoterand builder of canals and inclines,developer of mineral resources, NewTowns and high pressure steamengines, glassmaker, and tunnelbuilder. In the chapter on Tunnelsthe present writer gives some detailsof 15 Shropshire tunnels in which hewas probably involved in,and theClub gets much acknowledgement forits survey work over many are over 30 text figures, mapsand illustrations, some in colour in its52 pages. The cost is 5 from TelfordPublic Libraries or inc. postageand packing from Neil Clarke,Cranleigh, Little Wenlock, TF6 cheques payable to WrekinLocal Studies Forum.

7 Mineral PlanningThe latest Government figures showthat, last year 2003/4, 5 mineralplanning decisions were made byShropshire Council (none by WrekinUnitary Authority), four applicationswere granted as against 5 theprevious the UK as a whole there is stillconsiderable interest in coal, 8underground mine approvals weremade (against 6 the previous year), 7opencast approvals (against 15 theprevious year). In addition 2 CoalBed Methane productionapplications were approved. Therewere also 3 vein mineral approvalsand 1 ReportThe British Geological Survey havejust produced a report for theGovernment which discusses non-coal mining in the UK (IndustrialMinerals - Issues for Planning, ISBN0 8527 499 3, dated 2004).

8 It appearsthat the only producing mines noware Fosse Mine (Scotland, barytes),Watersaw Mine (Derbys., fluorspar),Middleton Mine (Derbys., limestone),Florence Mine (Cumbria, ironstone),Boulby Mine (Potash), WinsfordMine (Salt) and six gypsum mines(Barrow, Marblaegis, Fauld,Birkshead, Newbiggin andBrightling). A total of 12 mines. Othermethods of working are still in useincluding quarrying, open-pits ( ), opencasts (gypsum), andhydraulic mining (kaolin). Salt isproduced by pumping natural brine,by solution mining (injecting waterinto salt beds and pumping out) andat one site by evaporation of sea-water (Maldon in Essex). Note, thislist of mines does not include minesfor building stone (dimension andslate) silicon sand and honestone,about 10 in is mentioned only as arecent important producer of barytesand calcite (to 1981) and as aproducer of dolomite (extracted nearOswestry) and sold as Aglime (?)

9 Colliery to CloseUK Coal announced on Thursday10th February, 2005 that productionat Welbeck Colliery, Nottinghamshirewill be phased out over the next 12months because its remainingreserves cannot be mined pit employs 520 workers, some ofwhom could transfer to UK Coal snearby collieries of Harworth,Thoresby (Notts) or Daw Mill inWarwickshire. The closure had beenexpected because of geologicalproblems at the site near Ollerton andfalling 2003 UK Coal had announced itplanned to spend 18m on thecolliery to access new , the discovery of ageological fault led the company tolaunch a review of its plans. Chiefexecutive Gerry Spindler said: Despite the best endeavours of theworkforce at Welbeck, we have failedto secure ways of reducing the high-cost gaps in production which areforecast in the current mining plans.

10 Welbeck has been awarded ingovernment investment aid towardsprojects costing in recentyears to access costs of up to 12m willbe made in the company s accountsthis from BBC Newsreports, 10th Feb. 2005 Tunnel to end floodsA flood alleviation scheme toprotect 57 homes in a Dorset villageis close to completion. A tunnel-boring machine has cut its waythrough a hillside to the west ofPiddletrenthide, creating a route forfloodwater to bypass the tunnel will be used to directwater from a side weir on the RiverPiddle at the upstream end of thevillage before returning it to the riverdownstream. The work began inOctober and is now on track to becompleted in from BBC Newsreports, 19th Jan.