How do underground mines use horizontal adits for drainage?

An adit is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage driven into an underground mine. Historically, miners utilized these tunnels for drainage, ventilation, access, and mineral extraction at the lowest convenient level. Although most commonly associated with mining, similar passageways are also excavated for non-mining purposes like transit systems.

What we know

• An adit, also known as a drift, is a horizontal or nearly horizontal entrance shaft to an underground mine. [1, 2]
• Miners can use adits for drainage, access, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. [2]
• The term adit is also applied to non-mining underground excavations, such as pedestrian passageways in metro systems. [2]
• The Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry, Poland, is part of a historic silver mining site listed by UNESCO. [3]

Where to go next

• a case in pointWhat is the Black Trout Adit in Poland?
• how it workedHow do ventilation systems work in underground mines?
• the bigger pictureWhat are the engineering principles behind tunneling?
• compared withHow were Roman gold mines operated?
• what followedHow are former coal mining sites remediated today?
• an unexpected connectionHow can an old mining site become a botanical garden?Lands formerly disrupted by coal mining and requiring extensive remediation can be transformed into massive public botanical gardens.

Sources

• [1]adit (Wikidata Q58917) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Adit · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Dolaucothi Gold Mines · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Pittsburgh Botanic Garden · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. When did David Hume die?
2. /What museums are located on Exhibition Road?
3. /How was the Black Death transmitted in medieval Europe?
4. /How do underground mines use horizontal adits for drainage?