Mining tourism


 * For the danger posed by landmines, see War zone safety.

This is a travel topic that deals with all man-made structures under and above ground whose primary purpose is or was the extraction of natural resources as well as their remains, associated culture and small scale resource gathering such as gold panning from rivers and creeks.

Understand
"if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."

- Unknown

Humans have dug more or less elaborate holes in the ground in order to extract resources since time immemorial. The oldest things archaeologists interpret as mines were found in modern day Egypt and were used to extract flint-stone some 30,000 years ago. Since then both the need for resources and the technology with which to extract them have experienced tremendous development. Modern-day open pit mines have transformed whole landscapes and once they are done removing all the desirable resources, they often leave man made lakes and ponds that can become a source of economic activity and tourism in themselves. While some active mines can be visited, most mines are closed to the general public with only a small visitor center if anything. However, some former mines have been converted into tourist attractions and you can learn a lot about the history of the region or of mining in general by taking a guided tour.

Some towns owe their existence or at least their current size to mining, be it Kiruna and Falun in Sweden, Norilsk, Nikel and Kostomuksha in Russia or continued human presence on Svalbard. On the other hand, many former mining communities have been deserted once resources run out, and bustling cities can become ghost towns overnight. In some cases a mine itself is the reason for the abandonment of settlements, either to make room for open-pit mining or due to environmental damage through mining.

Mining has also added its own rich character to the cultural heritage of many regions, from the vocal imagery of the powerful folk ballad to the literary works recording old miners' myths.

Mining and the associated culture – especially in the context of coal and steel – have also influenced things as seemingly unrelated or trivial as the names or nicknames of sports teams. Many areas that used to depend on mining have since entered a decline, and despite efforts to diversify the economy, many of those areas have become "rust belts". That said, people are often immensely proud of the mining heritage of their region and some even continue to live those traditions after having moved elsewhere for a job.

Besides mining sites, some of today's major cities trace their growth and development to wealth generated by gold rushes. Perhaps the most famous examples of these are San Francisco and Melbourne.

Open pit versus shafts and tunnels
Modern mining often involves open pits created by huge machines. Older mines dug by hand often involve deep shafts and adits (long narrow corridors) underground. For instance the silver mines at Kongsberg have their deepest point 1,000 m below the surface (several hundred meters below sea level). The intensive 1600s mining at Falun eventually resulted in a collapse of the underground sections, leaving a 100 m deep and 1 km wide crater. A major problem in (almost) all mining operations is water. In open pit mines groundwater has to be lowered, sometimes hundreds of meters, leading to ground movements that are still not entirely understood and that have in the past damaged houses and other structures several kilometers away from the mine. Once the mining is concluded, the rising groundwater also results in ground movements, which may further endanger property. In underground mines, water has to be pumped out and of course this water has to go somewhere. In some cases it is simply pumped into abandoned shafts, but elsewhere ponds have been created just from surplus mine water.

Salt mining
Salt was a valuable commodity for most of history and scarce in almost all inland regions. The very word "salary" is derived from the Latin word for salt. While sea salt played a role in some areas, it was then as it is now vastly overshadowed by mined salt. While the people in the North Frisian Islands burned the ground beneath their feet to access the salt contained in the peat, other regions had access to vast underground salt domes, which gave rise to fabulous wealth and to names often relating to former or current salt production, such as Bad Reichenhall with "hall" being a frequent component in city names in Central Europe related to salt mining.

Mothballed rock salt mines are considered among the safest options to get rid of radioactive waste through deep geological disposal of such materials. The crystalline salt is an excellent thermal conductor to keep the waste cool, and naturally seals cavities to prevent leakage of active materials into ground water. It is expected that at least some mines that are open to the public will be converted for such waste disposal purposes in the near future, making them inaccessible to mankind for the next 50,000 years. If you have an interest in visiting decommissioned salt mines, do it as soon as you can.

Quarries
Quarrying is open-pit extraction of bulk minerals such as granite, limestone and gravel. While toxic pollution is less of a concern, they can be enormous in size (even the pre-industrial ones) and cause landslides. As their products are expensive to transport, they tend to be near population centers. Historically stones were only transported long distances in exceptional circumstances or when a convenient water route was available. As such, the stones used in pre-industrial buildings often serve as a rough "geological map" of the area.

Talk
In many areas that have a long mining tradition a whole range of mining-related terms have been coined and in some cases entered the general vocabulary. They can be confusing even to native speakers of the respective languages.

Australia
Every state of Australia has a mining history, and in most states there are former mining sites that are considered vital heritage locations, and current active locations that have facilities for visitors and tourists to visit and view.

Germany

 * The whole Ruhr area was associated with coal mining and heavy industry for over a century. While most pits and cokeries are closed by now, you can still see impressive remains like the UNESCO world heritage Zeche Zollverein in Essen, as well as creatively re-used former mining and industrial sites that were transformed into parks, exhibition halls event locations or an amphitheatre. See also Industrial Heritage Trail.
 * Lüneburg owes much of its former wealth (still seen in old buildings) to its long history of salt mining; giving one of the resources needed for the Hanseatic cities to become major exporters of preserved fish.
 * The Central German Lake District is the result of open pit lignite mining and there are still a few operational mines in the area. Similar things can be said of the Lusatian Lake District
 * The whole Ruhr area was associated with coal mining and heavy industry for over a century. While most pits and cokeries are closed by now, you can still see impressive remains like the UNESCO world heritage Zeche Zollverein in Essen, as well as creatively re-used former mining and industrial sites that were transformed into parks, exhibition halls event locations or an amphitheatre. See also Industrial Heritage Trail.
 * Lüneburg owes much of its former wealth (still seen in old buildings) to its long history of salt mining; giving one of the resources needed for the Hanseatic cities to become major exporters of preserved fish.
 * The Central German Lake District is the result of open pit lignite mining and there are still a few operational mines in the area. Similar things can be said of the Lusatian Lake District

Mexico
The mining industry is very important in Mexico, which has been the world's top producer of silver for more than 400 years. The country has a number of operating mines as well as historic mines that are now open for tours.

Sweden




United Kingdom

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United States

 * The Industrialization of the United States was built on coal and steel. Most of what is now the "rust belt" was active in mining coal and the various ores needed to transform an agrarian backwater into the leading industrial power of the world. Some mines and related industries are on the American Industry Tour.
 * Similarly, many of the ghost towns of the American West were boomtowns that sprung up around gold and silver strikes, only to dwindle away once the mines were worked out. One of the best-preserved is near Yosemite National Park:
 * Similarly, many of the ghost towns of the American West were boomtowns that sprung up around gold and silver strikes, only to dwindle away once the mines were worked out. One of the best-preserved is near Yosemite National Park:

Do
One of the more obvious things often offered to tourists is gold panning, especially in areas where it has a tradition, like those invoking the Old West of the U.S.

The gold is by no means gone from the rivers and creeks of this world. While people believe it is possible to make a living by gold panning, chances are that the gold you find (if any) while panning in any river is not enough to pay for a first world lifestyle. However, gold panning is still practised especially in low income countries as an additional or only source of income.

At some destinations, a private company will maintain an active claim on a river where there's a little gold left so that visitors may try their hand at gold panning.



Rockhounds (amateur geologists) search for gemstones or fossils.

Stay safe
Before modern times, miners commonly died in accidents, if not from unhealthy conditions. Even today, mining is a hazardous industry.

If you are on a guided tour at a mining site, stay with the tour. Don't drift away or get diverted. If the tour is accredited and official, miners have specific guidelines of what not to do. Take careful note, and follow the rules.

Old, abandoned and unmaintained mine workings inherently pose more risk than those that are in active use. Exploring these as a lone traveller is inadvisable: consider joining an appropriate specialist group, instead. The small number of enthusiast and research groups that exist have built up appropriate procedures, expertise and trust with site owners over many years. Even when precautions are taken, those expeditions inherently pose some danger and thus people get stuck or injured in far reaches of underground structures, making it all the more imperative to have others know about your precise plans and whereabouts (see Caves).

Bad air is also a serious hazard in many abandoned mine workings, as exposed strata continue to oxidise. This creates lethal pockets of carbon dioxide or monoxide, amongst other toxic gases. It is not without reason that mining folklore talks about various forms of damp (such as blackdamp), or about the proverbial 'canary in a coal mine'. Weather and sub surface conditions may shift various damps into pools at the surface, which you'll notice when your dog (the modern canary) drops dead. Cave canem!

Respect
As mining can be both a vital part of a local economy, and a hazard for the environment and traditional lifestyle, it tends to be a sensitive political topic. Be aware that locals can have strong opinions on the issue.