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Florence Mine, Egremont, Copeland, Cumbria, England, UKi
Regional Level Types
Florence MineMine (Inactive)
EgremontCivil Parish
CopelandDistrict
CumbriaCounty
EnglandConstituent Country
UKCountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
54° 28' 42'' North , 3° 31' 3'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
UK National Grid Reference:
NY017101
Type:
Mine (Inactive) - last checked 2020
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Egremont6,222 (2018)0.6km
Beckermet704 (2018)3.2km
Moor Row787 (2018)4.3km
Cleator Moor6,936 (2018)4.8km
Saint Bees1,644 (2018)4.9km
Mindat Locality ID:
1454
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:1454:3
GUID (UUID V4):
a2fb7224-d890-4bae-a9b8-97885d23610f


Located south of Whitehaven in Cumbria are the town of Egremont and the Florence Mine, which was the last deep working iron ore mine in Europe. It was first sunk in 1914 when this part of West Cumbria was rich with seams of haematite that ran for miles beneath the surface.

The mine was linked by underground tunnels to the nearby Ullcoats and Beckermet mines and drew in workers from across the county and beyond. The iron ore pigment, a deep red colour, was used in the manufacture of paints, dyes and cosmetics and the mine produced a never-ending supply until it was closed (for the first time) on 13th September 1968. A reprieve was on the horizon in the form of the newly nationalised British Steel Corporation who bought the mine in 1969, pumped water from the flooded tunnels, and restarted blasting the iron ore.Β They drew ore up Beckermet shaft for Workington steelworks.

Florence Mine’s second closure came on 3rd October 1980, when British Steel underwent severe cost-cutting and cut the mine from its holdings; the saviours this time around were the miners themselves using their redundancy money to purchase the property, as the Egremont Mining Co. In a deal with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (who owned and operated the nearby Sellafield nuclear plant) they kept the mine going - BNFL pumped the water out to use in their cooling systems, and the miners continued to provide the paint, dye, and cosmetics industry with pigment, although on a much smaller scale than before. Alongside the mining operation, the West Cumbria Mines Research Group (WCMRG) opened a Heritage Centre in 1992, run by volunteers. They also provided tours of the pit and underground workings.

Unfortunately, the Florence Mine was finally forced to close in 2007 due to the cost of pumping; British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, who had been paying the pumping costs as part of a deal whereby they were allowed to extract water lower down the river, no longer required the water and ceased their support. It is estimated that pumping costs amounted to about Β£2,000 per week at the time, a cost that the mine was not able to cover by selling iron ore, despite looking at alternative power sources (wind turbines) and the possibility of using the mine to store nuclear waste. The visitor centre was closed and the exhibits were put into storage prior to the closure of the mine.

Today the mine lives on as backdrop to a thriving arts centre, the Florence Arts Centre, which houses a venue for live music, theatre, and comedy, as well as an art gallery and workshop space. The disused mine is scattered with reminders of its past, not in the least the towering pit-head and a plethora of abandoned machinery and rusting mine carts.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


8 valid minerals.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 3 - Halides
β“˜Fluorite3.AB.25CaF2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
β“˜Hematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
β“˜var. Specularite4.CB.05Fe2O3
β“˜var. Kidney Ore4.CB.05Fe2O3
β“˜Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜var. Smoky Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜var. Eisenkiesel4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜Pyrolusite4.DB.05Mn4+O2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Calcite5.AB.05CaCO3
β“˜Dolomite5.AB.10CaMg(CO3)2
β“˜Aragonite5.AB.15CaCO3
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
β“˜Baryte7.AD.35BaSO4

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
UK

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

 
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