Question Unique dangers of mine diving (vs. caves) - any lessons learned?

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

In your experience, what are some unique issues of mine diving? Do you have any lessons learned?

Here’s something to start that I picked up along the way but looking for less obvious problems.

Dry section:

• Don’t touch the ceiling, stay away from walls, especially bulging stacked deads
• Access is usually physically demanding, muddy
• Assume that any airbells are toxic, preferably don’t surface at all outside of the dive base
• Sites require landowner permission
• Slate and mud get everywhere
• Helmet with a good torch really helps
• Higher CO2 levels?
• Floors might be false?

Flooded sections:

• Silt is everywhere, the entrance might be zero viz
• Viz might take days to weeks to clear as there is no flow
• Chemicals leaching into water (heavy metals for ore mines etc.), also agricultural runoff
• Potentially complex navigation, in some mines it’s better to bring clothing pegs rather than cookies, maps may be unreliable, lines unmaintained
• Cold water - thick dry gloves, thick undersuits, heating, thicker lines in general, cold also kills batteries faster
• The first dives are brutal for someone trained in warm water caves
• CCR is potentially safer than OC - no exhaust bubbles
• Don’t stay in one place for long on OC or stuff starts to fall down (percolation or worse)

What are other non-obvious things? Like avoiding mines during a freeze/thaw period when the entrances might be particularly unstable(r)? Disinfecting gear?

 

[Alekseolsen]

As always there will be lots of local variables, but what "scares me" the most would be the sheer size of some of the rooms in some mines. IE. If you would break the line, even with good vis, there's no chance too see where in/out of the room you are swimming in is. You would not see from one end of the room to the other, in any of the three axes.

 

[BoltSnap]

Sounds 1000 times scarier and more dangerous than caves. I am now not wanting to go anywhere near a submerged mine

 

[BoltSnap]

Slate gets everywhere

You mean "Silt"?

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

You mean "Silt"?

Slate . I couldn't believe how much of that stuff was stuck on my gear.