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All Ireland Sligo Benbulben Barite Mine

Benbulben Barite Mine

The remains of this deep, dark mine have left behind a haunting rocky warren of tunnels.

Sligo, Ireland

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UrbexJunkie
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This photograph was taken from an open Stope which was one of four on this site. Under the wooden planks here there was a large opening where Ore once was many years ago. One fall down here and it is game over.   UrbexJunkie / Atlas Obscura User
The above photograph shows a ladder leading down to a Vein where the Ore was extracted. At the bottom of this shaft was deep water and you can see with the right lighting entrances to other tunnels.   UrbexJunkie / Atlas Obscura User
What remains of the old compressed air lines which would of fed the hand tools used to extract the Ore.   UrbexJunkie / Atlas Obscura User
This photograph shows one of the long Drifts which brings you deep into the mountain. This will always remain one of the coolest explores we have done to date and we always end up revisiting this every year.   UrbexJunkie / Atlas Obscura User
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In a beautiful, remote part of Ireland stands the remains of Benbulben Barite Mine.

The once industrious mine was used to unearth barite, a mineral used in cement as an aggregate, or ground down and used as a filler or extender. It's an agent in the sugar refining process, a white pigment in paint and paper, and used as a weighting agent in oil and gas exploration mining, among many other industrial-type things. Using a cable car system, the barite was brought down Benbulbin, a large rock formation that is a part of the Dartry Mountains. Starting in 1894, barite was pulled out of this limestone-rich monolith for more than 80 years before the well ran dry, so to speak. 

While the buildings are long gone and the equipment has groaned to a rusty halt, the mine leaves an incredibly large amount of decaying structure to be seen. A good portion of the 1940s turn-style remains, as well as pylons and wire ropes where the cable cars once ran line down the slope of the mountain. Wooden planks covering deep pits that once held ore are still present, along with the concrete structure that holds the rubble of what was once the rock crusher.

Geologically speaking, these mountains are mostly limestone, with the Benbulben formation transitioning into shale. There are fossilized seashells all throughout every layer, and even some coral in the lower sections. In the mines themselves you can still see calcite and quartz-lined cavities, and if you look up from the rocks and out into the landscape, Crockauns summit can be seen in the distance. 

The mine is a very unsafe location, and the access track is on private property. 

Related Tags

Abandoned Mines Industrial Geology Mines

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UrbexJunkie

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Rachel, hana

  • Rachel
  • hana

Published

November 5, 2015

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  • http://www.mindat.org/loc-187820.html
  • http://www.geograph.ie/photo/1955066
  • http://urbexjunkie.com
Benbulben Barite Mine
Unnamed Road
Sligo
Ireland
54.362222, -8.457923
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