Methods for Shaft Mining
Shaft Mining When gold became rare above the surface people started digging huge holes about 1 metre wide and up to 50 metres deep. The miners would prop timber along the sides of the shaft to stop it from collapsing and would use a windlass or winch to bring up buckets full of soil.
There would actually be 4 miners to 1 shaft mining site. One person would be digging, one woud be bring the bucket up and two would be panning or cradling the dirt.
There would actually be 4 miners to 1 shaft mining site. One person would be digging, one woud be bring the bucket up and two would be panning or cradling the dirt.
Pickaxe and Shovel
Pickaxe was used to break apart solid pieces of rock and dirt so it could be placed either straight into a cradle or in the case of shaft mining, in a bucket to be brought up from the shaft mine and then put through the cradle. The pick was also used to help dig shafts when the ground became too hard to dig with the shovel.
Shovel was used to dig up dirt and put it in a cradle or pan.
Shovel was used to dig up dirt and put it in a cradle or pan.