1. The History
Good Luck mine is located in a dry valley of Derbyshire’s Peak District, near to Cromford. On the south side of the wooded Via Gellia, named after Phillip Eyre Gell who was responsible for building the road in 1790, it was built to connect the lead-mines of the Gell family around the Wirksworth locality with a new smelter at Cromford. The mine was primarily mined for lead (but also barites) had its main adit opened in October 1830, with an 11-inch gauge tramway following shortly afterwards. However, mining in the area dates back much further and may have even started as early as Roman times. Before the adit was completed, a number smaller mines were in operation, using vertical shafts to access their levels. Hence Goodluck mine is effectively a consolidation of several of these early 19th century setts originally started by John Alsop. The adit was driven for 90 metres through limestone before the Silver Eye vein was reached. A year later, in 1831, the Good Luck vein of galena in a barite gangue (the commercially valueless material in which ore is found) was struck. A number of crosscuts were also made in the early 1830s to exploit several scrins (smaller subsidiary veins).
Old map of the mine:
By 1840, however, the mine was largely exhausted. Between 1872-1882, though, another seam was discovered and mined, along with baryte and fluorite. Copper minerals Azurite and Malachite were also detected but not in sufficient quatities to make their mining profitable. In the 1920s, the mine's spoil dumps were re-processed and in the early 1950s the mine yielded some Gelina. However, in 1952, the mine finally closed and the adit was blown in.
This was not the end of the mine though. In 1972 the collapsed entrance was reopened by Ron Amner and friends and since then the mine has been operated by a group of enthusiasts who open it up for guests on the first Sunday of the month. The mine retains an authentic feel to it akin to a mine under care and maintenance and has no electric light installed.
2. The Explore
So, this was a permission visit. Myself and my non-forum member exploring mate had just come back from a recce of Groaning Tor mine and were in the process of grabbing a coffee at the nearby café on Via Gelina. As we walked across the carpark to the café a voice came up from a group of gents our senior enquiring “Where you lads been, then?”. We struck up a conversation and we asked if they were mine/cave explorers. “We’re mine owners!” came the reply. As it transpired, they were members of the Goodluck Mine Preservation (GMP) society. They were off to the mine to work on it and, as it was the first Sunday of the Month, show any visitors round. They cordially invited us up to the mine, so we weren’t going to refuse, and we followed them over to the mine.
They turned out to be a truly fantastic bunch. Enthusiasts doing it for the love of the mine and to preserve it for future generations. There were also a really good laugh. One of their members, Alan, had even made the effort to turn up dressed as an 19th century miner along with a stick on tash! We were treated to an hour-and-a-half private tour by one of their members along with another person. They operate the mine as a working mine and are subject to visits by the mining inspector. And while lead is no longer extracted, they are constantly restoring and extending the mine including opening up back-filled parts of the mine. The mine itself has the feel of a working mine and is a really full-on experience. The only way to see the mine is via a permission visit on the first Sunday of the month. It’s well worth the effort. You can find the details at their website HERE.
3. The Pictures
Some externals. The adit entrance:
Date stone:
The 11-inch gauge tramway:
The rails on at the waste tip:
A few other surface features:
Heading up the main adit:
Some old artifacts:
Including this miner’s bucket:
Interesting side passage:
One of the old miner’s wagons:
Good Luck mine is located in a dry valley of Derbyshire’s Peak District, near to Cromford. On the south side of the wooded Via Gellia, named after Phillip Eyre Gell who was responsible for building the road in 1790, it was built to connect the lead-mines of the Gell family around the Wirksworth locality with a new smelter at Cromford. The mine was primarily mined for lead (but also barites) had its main adit opened in October 1830, with an 11-inch gauge tramway following shortly afterwards. However, mining in the area dates back much further and may have even started as early as Roman times. Before the adit was completed, a number smaller mines were in operation, using vertical shafts to access their levels. Hence Goodluck mine is effectively a consolidation of several of these early 19th century setts originally started by John Alsop. The adit was driven for 90 metres through limestone before the Silver Eye vein was reached. A year later, in 1831, the Good Luck vein of galena in a barite gangue (the commercially valueless material in which ore is found) was struck. A number of crosscuts were also made in the early 1830s to exploit several scrins (smaller subsidiary veins).
Old map of the mine:
By 1840, however, the mine was largely exhausted. Between 1872-1882, though, another seam was discovered and mined, along with baryte and fluorite. Copper minerals Azurite and Malachite were also detected but not in sufficient quatities to make their mining profitable. In the 1920s, the mine's spoil dumps were re-processed and in the early 1950s the mine yielded some Gelina. However, in 1952, the mine finally closed and the adit was blown in.
This was not the end of the mine though. In 1972 the collapsed entrance was reopened by Ron Amner and friends and since then the mine has been operated by a group of enthusiasts who open it up for guests on the first Sunday of the month. The mine retains an authentic feel to it akin to a mine under care and maintenance and has no electric light installed.
2. The Explore
So, this was a permission visit. Myself and my non-forum member exploring mate had just come back from a recce of Groaning Tor mine and were in the process of grabbing a coffee at the nearby café on Via Gelina. As we walked across the carpark to the café a voice came up from a group of gents our senior enquiring “Where you lads been, then?”. We struck up a conversation and we asked if they were mine/cave explorers. “We’re mine owners!” came the reply. As it transpired, they were members of the Goodluck Mine Preservation (GMP) society. They were off to the mine to work on it and, as it was the first Sunday of the Month, show any visitors round. They cordially invited us up to the mine, so we weren’t going to refuse, and we followed them over to the mine.
They turned out to be a truly fantastic bunch. Enthusiasts doing it for the love of the mine and to preserve it for future generations. There were also a really good laugh. One of their members, Alan, had even made the effort to turn up dressed as an 19th century miner along with a stick on tash! We were treated to an hour-and-a-half private tour by one of their members along with another person. They operate the mine as a working mine and are subject to visits by the mining inspector. And while lead is no longer extracted, they are constantly restoring and extending the mine including opening up back-filled parts of the mine. The mine itself has the feel of a working mine and is a really full-on experience. The only way to see the mine is via a permission visit on the first Sunday of the month. It’s well worth the effort. You can find the details at their website HERE.
3. The Pictures
Some externals. The adit entrance:
Date stone:
The 11-inch gauge tramway:
The rails on at the waste tip:
A few other surface features:
Heading up the main adit:
Some old artifacts:
Including this miner’s bucket:
Interesting side passage:
One of the old miner’s wagons:
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