Mine exploration

Mine exploration is a hobby in which people visit abandoned mines, quarries, and sometimes operational mines. Enthusiasts usually engage in such activities for the purpose of exploration and documentation, sometimes through the use of surveying and photography. In this respect, mine exploration might be considered a type of amateur industrial archaeology. In many ways, however, it is closer to caving, with many participants actively interested in exploring both mines and caves. Mine exploration typically requires equipment such as helmets, head lamps, Wellington boots, and climbing gear.

Mine exploration typically involves less crawling and more walking than caving, since mines were purposefully excavated to allow human access. Some disused mines have been adapted for tourism, or use by organized outdoor recreation groups. Conversely, gaining access to other mines may require technical skills such as rappelling or single rope technique. Such techniques may also be used inside a mine to explore a winze, shaft, or steep incline. Similarly, some traverses and slopes may be roped for safety, particularly if organized groups are taken into the mine.

Mine exploration shares some interests with Urban Exploration, primarily that of gaining access to abandoned or sometimes restricted locations. Mine explorers share an unspoken code of ethics, that of leaving sites in the same condition as they were found. A common phrase illustrating this viewpoint is the Baltimore Grotto caving society's motto: "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." This is similar to the Leave No Trace ethos followed in much of modern outdoor recreation.

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