[OL - ChIVC] Little Drake Iron Mine

[CapOnBOBS]

Those who support an agrarian focus in Westface believe that a truly honest living is a living made harvesting the resources the land provides, while those who profit from passing goods from one hand to another are not "creating" true value. So it is no surprise that prospecting has returned now that the fate of Westface has been determined. Which brings us to the claim recently struck out along one of half a dozen tributaries unofficially known as "Little Drake" because they each flow into the Drake River. 

Too busy panning for gold in the river, the team spent days hunched over their pans before recognizing the tell-tail rust color in the rock cliff behind them. 

Well, once the figurative (not literal) gold mine was recognized for what it truly was, the team wasted no (more) time. As the miners dug down alongside the river, following the rich seam of iron below ground, the shaft began to fill with water. 

A state of the art solution, a true modern marvel, was found to fix the problem. First, small dam held back the creek just enough to control a steady flow. Second, a waterwheel was built to turn the flow over the spillway into mechanical power. Third, a marvelous contraption was installed that used that mechanical energy to pump water out of the mine and dump it safely back into the creek. 

But, now that the shaft is safe (enough) and deep (enough), the team is having a difficult time bringing the rich iron ore back to Westface fast enough and demand for the raw ore far exceeds their capacity to mine. 

If you are going to have problems, these are good problems to have. 

 

[evancelt]

Nice work @CapOnBOBS! Your use of the 1x1 round plates for groundcover really works! I think I'm going to have to try that out

[caiman0637]

This is very nice!

[NOD]

Good construction. I like the mine entrance and the pump with the water wheel.