It's all in the Mine'd -Sulpher Multi-Cache
It's all in the Mine'd -Sulpher
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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One of a series of caches visiting old mine working around Gwydyr Forest. Suitable footwear and clothing for time of year are required and the essential Camera and picnic.
The walk to the caches is along forest footpath, which is a bit vague at times and is Very steep and may get slippery.
There is NO need to go off the path into area that are fenced off or look unsafe.
Mining has been going on the area for hundreds if not thousands of years and there is alot of evidence if you care to look.
Cae Coch Sulphur Mine
The Cae Coch ore body, a two metre thick bed of massive quartzitic pyrites is a major source of pyrites in Wales. The workings were accessed by four main adits; No. 1 accessed the northern ore body at the top of the hill whilst Nos. 2, 3 & 4 accessed the lower main southern ore body (No.2 adit accessed the extensive pillar and stall workings of the main mine whilst Nos. 3 & 4 were principally driven to drain the workings at depth).
This deposit is a major source of pyrites in Wales. Pyrites in its pure form contains 46.6% iron and 53.4% sulphur
There are still many surface remains at this site including the inclines, drum house, storage bins, mill foundations and other buildings..
No. 2 adit is obscured by bushes but resembles a huge cave entrance thirty feet in height and as many wide. The adit opens immediately onto the steeply upward dipping pillar and stall workings in the lower ore body.
The pyrites bed was worked by leaving pillars from two to three yards in diameter, at approximately eight to ten yard intervals. The pillars are irregular in shape and spacing, where the roof is stable a greater distance between pillars can be achieved without support. Where the roof is weaker the pillars are left closer together and are supplemented in some areas by a large timber pit props which are now doing little to support the roof, there are numerous roof falls, some apparently quite recent. In one area, up dip from the entrance the roof has fallen away around timber arching which is still left standing. Small electrical insulators fixed to the walls indicate that an electrical supply was taken deep into the mine.
There are many calcite formations and some spectacular colouring in the rock and in several places there are acid pools that leave permanent stains on boots and clothing..
In 1889 ownership passed to the North Wales Sulphur Mining Company, After this there were was little sustained production until the First World War when the Ministry of Munitions under the Defence of the Realm Act acquired the mine.
Between May and December 1918, 15,951 tons of pyrite was sent from the mine, just over half the total output from all UK mines. Production ceased in January 1919 and the mine then remained idle until the build up to the Second World War in 1939 when Cae Coch was again considered a potential source of sulphur.
It you get a funny smell like a rotten eggs, it's not your geo buddy !!
Limited parking is available at N53*10.394 W3*49.827
From car park walk up foresty track and zig then zag to arrive at first location.
The footpath can be found 30 meters north from the bridge over the stream, with new step at N53*10.154 W3*49.802
N53*10.184 W3*49.839
The transformer House
After leaving this location the path goes north.
Not up the incline
N53*10.231 W3*49.992
Iron thing
Mirco cache – You need info and sign log
Answer A
Final cache location
N53*10. 3 (A + 1) 2 W3*49. A 07
With the possiblity of GPS signal being poor with tree cover, suggest you retracy your steps back to car park and maybe find cache along this route? (hint)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1. Erirefr: yrruj sb regarp av
2. Onfr bs gerr ol genpx, ABG FVQR BS EBNQ, pbirerq ol fznyy ebpx
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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