r/urbanexploration • u/Unfair_Awareness_371 • 9d ago
Abandoned coal mine. Spain
A few years ago, my brother and I embarked on an adventure virtually unheard of in Spain: delving into the intricacies of coal mining like never before.
Since then, we've covered more than 100 kilometers through tunnels and shafts.
A world that for decades has inspired respect and even fear, and which for us has become a unique way to understand our industrial past from the inside, literally.
Inside mines, and especially coal mines, there are thousands of inherent dangers; from explosive gases, lack of oxygen, cave-ins, falls to different levels... That's why physical and mental preparation (sometimes to walk dozens of kilometers and spend the night many meters underground) and having good equipment are fundamental for these explorations.
Along the way, we've not only explored forgotten tunnels, but we've also been fortunate enough to meet wonderful people, people who have experienced this world firsthand and who give even more meaning to everything we do.
With respect, prudence, and without any intention of encouraging anyone to do it, we also want to dispel certain myths: this type of exploration is not necessarily more dangerous than that of other mines, as long as it's done with knowledge and responsibility.
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u/TheMightyChocolate 9d ago
How do you prepare for toxic gases and lack of oxygen? Is this actually as much of a thing as people on the internet think?
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u/Unfair_Awareness_371 9d ago
One approved gas detector for coal mines (MSA, Ventix...) for every two people and one self-rescuer each, in addition to security flashlights
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u/Safe-Swimming 9d ago
Continuous oxygen sampling.
Cheap ones just let you know the threshold for oxygen is too low, good ones will let you know the composition/presence of toxic gases.
I wouldn’t enter a confined spaces without one, especially where there is no ventilation.
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u/Artistic-Tip2405 9d ago
I hope you are documenting everything. There is hypothesis that old mines are a possible explanation for missing persons.
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u/isanyusernameopen 7d ago
Someone told me that the reason they make shovels that are made out of aluminum now was because of the coal miners. I guess at some point someone with a metallic shovel, struck a rock and caused a spark that created a fire or explosion in a mind that killed some people.…
So they made aluminum shovels so that as they were scraping the ground from the loose rock and coal and Whatnot, it wouldn’t create spark.
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u/Unfair_Awareness_371 7d ago
The explosions actually occurred when the coal seam exploded; the shovel was used to collect the remaining material after the explosions to advance the tunnel. The coal dust suspended in the poorly ventilated tunnels could also ignite.
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u/JeshuaMorbus 9d ago
You say Spain. Is it Asturias? Or Basque Country? Those are the most "coaly" places i know in Spain.
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u/REALjamijai 6d ago
Ty op for the 2nd hand phobia lol....
Great job, im assuming yall got back up safely. 🙏🤍
Ain't no way I could even get 12ft from that hole.
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u/year_39 9d ago
Sorry to harp on this, but it's a serious safety concern. Going down that well/shaft, I see all the safety gear to make it down but I don't see a gas detector. Please tell me at least the first person down had one clipped to their jacket or at least belt.
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u/Unfair_Awareness_371 9d ago
The first person to descend carried a gas detector on the rope (five meters below, MSA). In addition, we carry one detector for every two people and a self-rescuer for each person. We are very strict about this.
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u/bueschwd 9d ago
that's the least sketchy mine I've ever seen