Mystery Mine in Dorchester EarthCache
Mystery Mine in Dorchester
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This Earthcache will take you to one of the relics of the mining
history of Westmorland County. Because you can drive right to the
site of this copper mine it looks like a favorite scenic lookout
for the locals. The road is not plowed in winter.
This Copper mine is a bit of a mystery as I talked to people at the
local Municipal office and to a gentleman who lived in the area for
over seventy years and he knew little about this mine. It looks
like the mining activity ceased at least 25 years ago. I am sure
that if I dig deep enough someone could tell me the whole (hole)
story of this particular pit.
A trail winds from the left of the mine entrance up the mountain
and a short hike of 100 meters or less will bring you to a
breathtaking panoramic view of the valley below. There also is a
regular cache up there to find.'Mine with a View'
GC1Y804
Copper is a critical component of modern industry. In minute
quantities it is essential for proper health in both human and
plant life. But the worlds industry would soon come to a standstill
if it was not for Copper. Copper was one of the first metals
to be worked into implements and the first metal to be smelted from
ores.
Copper ore is found in Carboniferous sediments like those
abundant in the Dorchester area. An easily seen example of this can
be found just to the right of the mine opening. Some excavation
there revealed some interesting stratified layered rock with copper
ore easily seen in one of the layers. You will also see layers of
Grit stone which is a sedimentary rock composed of coarse
sand grains with inclusions of small pebbles. It is a coarser
version of sandstone. This type of rock is widely used in
construction. There is considerable erosion taking place at this
location so go there with caution.
Most modern copper mining is done with an open pit but the
smaller quantities of ore in this area and older mining techniques
required tunnel mining.
Canada is third in the world of copper mining behind Chile and the
USA. In 1997 Canada extracted 740,000 tons of copper. An
interesting ‘Report of Progress’ for a Geological Survey was done
in 1883 by Alfred Selwyn and reported to Sir John A MacDonald who
was then ‘Minister of the Interior for Canada’. It shows the
importance of copper mining way back then.
The USA is the largest consumer of copper using 850,000 tons per
year. The largest use of copper is for building wire, plumbing
and heating and the automotive industry. It of course is
widely used in the Electronic Industry as well in everything
from computers to clocks.
Copper has many properties that make it so valuable in industry:
Like gold and silver, copper is malleable. That is, it can
be bent and shaped without cracking, when either hot or cold. It
can be rolled into sheets as thin as 1/500 of an inch.
Copper also is ductile, that is, it can be drawn out into
thin wire. A copper bar 4 inches thick can be heated, rolled, then
drawn into a round wire so thin that it is thinner than a human
hair. This wire is 20 million times longer than the original
bar!
Copper is second only to silver in its ability to conduct
electricity, but silver is too expensive for this sort of use.
Bronze and brass, however, do not conduct electricity as well as
pure copper.
Besides electricity, copper also is an excellent conductor of
heat, making it an important metal in cookware, refrigerators,
and radiators.
Copper is resistant to corrosion, that is, it will not
rust. If the air around it is damp, it will change from its usual
reddish orange color to reddish-brown. Eventually, it is coated
with a green film called a "patina" that stops all further
corrosion.
As the world moves into the new millennium, the need for copper is
growing, rather than shrinking. Computers, like other electronics,
require copper. As it was at the dawn of civilization, copper will
continue to be crucial to the world's economy.
As with all mining areas, please be very careful and be aware that
there is no reason whatsoever to enter the mine shaft to claim this
earth cache.
In order to claim this Earthcache you MUST do the following three
tasks. Any submission that does not meet all requirements will be
deleted.
1) There are different ways of extracting copper from the ore.
Email me one type of extraction technique.
2) In the stratified rock face to the right of the mine pit, email
me your estimate of the distance the copper ore seam is from the
surface.
3) Take a picture of yourself with GPS in hand with the mine
entrance in the background and post it with your log.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
PNHGVBA! Ntnva gurer vf ab arrq gb ragre gur zvar gb pynvz guvf svaq.