Mine shaft collapse secured
Works to secure the Bishop Auckland shaft in County Durham, UK, began last week.
The collapse, measuring 7m in diameter and up to 50m deep, was secured and planning work to fill it began immediately, according to The Mining Remediation Authority.
Over 100t of aggregate and other material is estimated to be required to fill the shaft.
The Mining Remediation Authority's Public Safety and Subsidence team was made aware of the shaft collapse over a public bridleway in the Bishop Auckland area on 5 February.
The Authority's mining archives, of more than 120,000 mine abandonment plans, established that the shaft was recorded on Ordnance Survey maps as far back as 1884, known simply as Old Shaft.
The site will be monitored to ensure there are no further issues.
Project manager, Jordan Owens, says, ‘The scale of the collapse was certainly a surprise. It is unusual to see a shaft of this scale and that made it even more important to make the area safe as a priority. We are thankful to the landowner for his cooperation during this work.
'This is one of more than 600 incidents that our Public Safety and Subsidence team responds to every year.'
