Sloss : Redux #2

Get some shots.

Sloss

Sloss operated from 1882 to 1971 as a pig iron producing blast furnace. The massive furnaces were fed by iron ore from Red Mountain and Ruffner Mountain mines.
Today, the equipment is disused and rusting.

Oh, and it is open for tours. No trespassing necessary.

Ruffner Mine No.1

Ruffner No.1 started off as a drift mining site, and later was upgraded to slope mining. These mines produced huge amounts of iron ore for the Sloss blast furnaces.
Today, the mines are abandoned, and partially flooded. It is quite large inside, and there are bats sleeping on the ceiling of the lower levels.


The entrance to the mine is a simple hole in the ground.






Fun with light painting.










The Ice Lake.


There were dozens of sleeping bats in the mine, clinging to the ceilings. They didn't seem to mind our lights. If you find yourself visiting a mine or cave and find bats, please do not disturb them. The bat in this picture is a Gray Bat, a species native to the south which is nearly endangered.

Ruffner No. 3 Mine

The Ruffner No. 3 mine slope began producing iron ore in 1908. The site closed years before Ruffner No. 2 was modernized in 1939. Today, the mine is flooded only a short way down.