Visited with Dave a non member
Well what can I say about this place, the space below the kiln has seen Lime seepage through the ages and has resulted in the most amazing formations being produced, I was really thrilled to see this place that was at times just like the lazy river deep water and beautifully tranquil.
History
The Minera Limeworks were once the largest lime workings in the north of Wales. Limeburning at Minera is recorded from as early as 1620[2] but the Minera Lime Company was established in 1852. The total output from the Minera area quarries was estimated, in 1859, to be around 300,000 tons, with 200,000 tons of this converted to lime.
The Minera Lime Company became a limited company in 1865, and this prompted some heavy cash injection into the works. Using this money, the company erected a "Hoffmann kiln". Originally destined for brickmaking, it was soon converted to limeburning. This kiln still exists and is one of three that were purpose-built for lime burning left in the UK: another is located at Langcliffe in Yorkshire, another is located at Llanymynech Limeworks.
The first thing that strikes you when you get inside this place is the fantastic shelf of lime deposits, over the years Lime has seeped down from the hoffman kiln above and has been deposited on the clay which has eventually been washed away leaving the magnificent shelf, seen on the right of the picture.
another one of the shelf, notice the roof deposits
More gorgeous shelf formations and the water getting deeper
at some places it was pretty near wader breech, notice the calcite clouding the water
At the end of one passage we come to the sump that was dived in years past only to discover that about 50 metres further on is another chamber but unfortunately out of our reach
If you look closely you will see some fossillised worms in the rock
Thanks for looking
Well what can I say about this place, the space below the kiln has seen Lime seepage through the ages and has resulted in the most amazing formations being produced, I was really thrilled to see this place that was at times just like the lazy river deep water and beautifully tranquil.
History
The Minera Limeworks were once the largest lime workings in the north of Wales. Limeburning at Minera is recorded from as early as 1620[2] but the Minera Lime Company was established in 1852. The total output from the Minera area quarries was estimated, in 1859, to be around 300,000 tons, with 200,000 tons of this converted to lime.
The Minera Lime Company became a limited company in 1865, and this prompted some heavy cash injection into the works. Using this money, the company erected a "Hoffmann kiln". Originally destined for brickmaking, it was soon converted to limeburning. This kiln still exists and is one of three that were purpose-built for lime burning left in the UK: another is located at Langcliffe in Yorkshire, another is located at Llanymynech Limeworks.
The first thing that strikes you when you get inside this place is the fantastic shelf of lime deposits, over the years Lime has seeped down from the hoffman kiln above and has been deposited on the clay which has eventually been washed away leaving the magnificent shelf, seen on the right of the picture.
another one of the shelf, notice the roof deposits
More gorgeous shelf formations and the water getting deeper
at some places it was pretty near wader breech, notice the calcite clouding the water
At the end of one passage we come to the sump that was dived in years past only to discover that about 50 metres further on is another chamber but unfortunately out of our reach
If you look closely you will see some fossillised worms in the rock
Thanks for looking
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