Speedwell Mine (Oakden Level), Castleton, High Peak, Derbyshire, England, UKi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Speedwell Mine (Oakden Level) | Mine |
| Castleton | Civil Parish |
| High Peak | Borough |
| Derbyshire | County |
| England | Constituent Country |
| UK | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
53° 20' 28'' North , 1° 47' 31'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
UK National Grid Reference:
SK139827
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hope | 900 (2018) | 3.0km |
| Hope Valley | 1,001 (2012) | 3.2km |
| High Peak | 92,600 (2012) | 4.6km |
| Bamford | 859 (2018) | 6.9km |
| Tideswell | 1,647 (2018) | 7.1km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Lapidary and Mineral Society | Bakewell, Derbyshire | 17km |
Mindat Locality ID:
5210
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:5210:1
GUID (UUID V4):
bdf37d7d-02a3-400c-b579-ebb3c9639171
While it was earlier believed that this level was driven to open up the veins on Long Cliff hill at depth (Carruthers & Strahan, 1923), there is now evidence that it was actually designed to intersect previously known stream caverns so as to develop a boat-haulage mining operation (Rieuwerts & Ford, 1985).
In 1771, a shaft was sunk to a depth of 72 feet at the foot of Long Cliff and in 1772, the level was started southwards from the shaft bottom at an average rate of 4 feet 6 inches per week. Around 1778-1779, it intersected Faucet Rake at 750 yards from its entrance, which was found completely hollowed out, leaving a deep but narrow cavern which extends more than 150 feet above the level and 50 feet below it and is now known as the Bottomless Pit. When the level was continued, the excavated rubbish was dumped in the chasm without any visible effect. At 270 feet south of the cavern, the level turns southwest and continues another 700 feet where it holed into the stream caverns along New Rake in 1781. A length of 350 feet of the natural passageways was then modified by the miners until 1782.
While the veins of New Rake are exposed in the caverns, they do not carry much ore and do not appear to have been worked. Most of the production of the mine obviously came from pipes that branch from the caverns at various places and some of them have been mined out. Operations ceased in 1794, presumably because the returns were disappointing, but the mine was reworked several times until the middle of the 19th century.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| β Baryte Formula: BaSO4 |
| β Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| β Fluorite Formula: CaF2 |
| β Galena Formula: PbS |
| β Wulfenite Formula: Pb(MoO4) |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| β | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| β | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| β | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
| β | Wulfenite | 7.GA.05 | Pb(MoO4) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | β Wulfenite | Pb(MoO4) |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | β Fluorite | CaF2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
| S | β Galena | PbS |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | β Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Mo | Molybdenum | |
| Mo | β Wulfenite | Pb(MoO4) |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | β Galena | PbS |
| Pb | β Wulfenite | Pb(MoO4) |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
UK
- England
- Peak District National ParkNational Park
- The PenninesRange of Mountains and Hills
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References
