Many old strip mine pits are left with no reclamation work. Persons have drowned in
accumulated water, fallen to their death from the top of a pit, or been fatally struck by
falling rock when playing or exploring inside a pit.
Abandoned surface mines, quarries, sand pits and other sites present public safety
hazards at all times. Stay away from them!
The general public is often unaware of the dangers of mine openings.
Potential dangers are falling rock, loose and shifting dirt, and near-freezing water
temperatures. In the spring, unstable ground conditions maybe especially prevalent
due to thawing of frozen ground.
Old quarry and open pit banks or faces are hazardous, especially if they have not
been worked for several years and have gone unscaled and uninspected for possible
loose material. They become extremely dangerous during periods of alternate
freezing and thawing which widen seams and cracks in the rock and weaken the
banks to the point of failure.
The surface around abandoned mine openings, caves, and open pits can collapse
without warning. Overhanging ledges or rims of pits and caverns may fall with the
slightest increase in pressure. The danger is not only to those who walk too close to
the edge but also to anyone who happens to be below.
Quarries are often used as “swimming holes.” There is no way of knowing how deep
the water is, and swimming at these sites is especially dangerous. Abandoned strip
mines pose additional problems such as subsurface terrain, sharp changes in water
depth, and extremely cold water temperatures.
The very nature of quarries and quarrying operations rules them out as places to
play. Any child or adult can fall or be struck by falling rock. Deep pools may have
submerged rocks. On several occasions, people have broken their necks by diving
into these pools.
Stay away from:
The top of a mine shaft is especially dangerous. The rock at the surface is often decomposed and timbers may be decayed or missing. Do not walk anywhere near a shaft opening. The whole area is often ready and waiting to slide into the shaft which can be hundreds of feet deep.
The ground area around abandoned mine openings and open pits can be weak and
cave-in without warning. Cave-ins are obviously dangerous. Areas that are likely to
cave-in are often hard to detect. Minor disturbance, such as vibrations caused by
walking or speaking, may cause a cave-in. If a person survives a cave-in, he or she
may die from starvation, thirst, or suffocation.
Explosives (dynamite, black powder, blasting caps, etc.) deteriorate with age. They
can be detonated by the slightest movement. Never handle explosives or blasting
caps.
The mining property may have formed a small lake, but do not swim in it! You do not
know what is in the water! Water temperature could be extremely cold and there
could also be sharp rocks near the surface.
Many mine shafts also contain ponds of water at the bottom, and drowning is a
danger in such situations.
A shaft sunk from a tunnel is called a winze. In many old mines, winzes were sunk in
the floors of tunnels and then boarded over. If water is standing or flowing, then it is
usually impossible to see the bottom. There is always a danger of stepping into a
winze or other deep holes.
Never play on, under, or around machines.
