Last Friday, 6 June, 3 groups of intrepid explorers took to the public can’t access mine drift as they made their way 140 metres underground below Caphouse Colliery, more commonly known as the National Coal Mining Museum chaperoned by an enthusiastic and very passionate Yorkshire miner.  
 
They reviewed the geology found below ground, alongside learning about how coal mining was undertaken and then how to mitigate, remediate, and stabilise building developments above ground. 

The unseen mining legacy presents a big challenge to development. The need to record where mining has taken place only became a legal requirement in 1872 – so the vast majority of mineworking’s are unrecorded. There are 173,500 recorded mine entries but it is thought more than 5 times this number are unrecorded. 

 
If you’re interested in learning more, or would like to be invited to our next session in November 2025, please email drilling@thesiriusgroup.com.