When Abandoned Mines Collapse
11 comments
·May 6, 2025varjag
tilt_error
I think that rocket still stands [0] :) [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxus_(rocket) [1]: http://www.astronautix.com/m/maxus.html
hermitcrab
I have been down the mine with my family. It was fascinating. I wish they would allow tourists into more big industrial facilities like this.
autoexec
I was surprised that insurance companies wouldn't cover damage from mine subsidence. I guess the lesson is to never buy property if you can't get insurance to cover something (wildfire, flood, hurricane, etc) at a reasonable rate since you're all but certain to encounter it eventually and be left on the hook for high costs.
cogman10
It's why programs like FEMA are so important.
The issue with private insurance when it comes to natural disasters is they don't like losing money (understandable) and the climate is changing.
Those two things together mean that this year you could have good insurance that covers freak accidents, but what about next year, or next decade? An area that may have only seen flooding once a century might be predicted to see it once a decade or even once a year.
People still live there. Some people lived there with the insurance coverage for those natural disasters only to see it slowly go away or to be outright cancelled. We can't expect that they all migrate.
bsder
In Pennsylvania, it's a sop to industry because they magically could find the owners of the mineral rights when fracking became profitable.
Those mines still have owners, and they can be found by the state if they really, really want to find them.
ChrisMarshallNY
There's also a couple of old mines that are permanently on fire.
Sort of an IRL Hell.
LeoPanthera
[Video]
schiffern
Direct link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZg1zOKm5wk
I do appreciate creators who give us a real website alternative, not just drop videos on <centralized platform>. Everyday Astronaut is another great one.
gruez
There's a transcript below?
tart-lemonade
True, but it references visuals only present in the video. It would be nice if there were stills from the video included for those who prefer to read.
I remember visiting LKAB in Kiruna, Sweden. Enormous iron ore mining operation and not abandoned at all. I believe it accounts for 10% of all concrete consumption in Sweden. The town in all its Scandinavian mid-century glory at the time was slowly collapsing with facilities and people being moved away a few km. Really hope they saved that erect rocket from the town square.