I noticed that all the mine shafts up my way here in Far North Qld seem to all have a mound of dirt circling around the entrance of the shaft. I can only presume that there was once a box timber frame of some sorts originally at the entrance? I have seen pictures of other shaft entrances on the net with no mound of dirt around them and the entrance seems flat level with the ground.
Was there different methods adopted by different areas for a specific reason or is there just local styles in entrances? Is the dirt mound i see around these shafts the original dirt that was on the surface that they dug out?
Just curious because no one has ever touched these mounds around the entrances and i have never test panned these mounds my self. If the mound come from close to the surface originally then its possible a lot of these mound could contain gold?
To be honest i wouldn't know how to start a shaft myself, so thought some one on here could shed some more light on it.
Was there different methods adopted by different areas for a specific reason or is there just local styles in entrances? Is the dirt mound i see around these shafts the original dirt that was on the surface that they dug out?
Just curious because no one has ever touched these mounds around the entrances and i have never test panned these mounds my self. If the mound come from close to the surface originally then its possible a lot of these mound could contain gold?
To be honest i wouldn't know how to start a shaft myself, so thought some one on here could shed some more light on it.