Bonne Terre Mine Father's Day Trip

I recently went home to St. Louis, Missouri to surprise my dad for Father's Day. I took him and my mom to spend the day in the old mining town of Bonne Terre, Missouri which is part of the Old Lead Belt. The highlight of the day was our tour of Bonne Terre Mine. The mine was the first in the network of St. Joe Minerals lead mines that led to Missouri producing 70 percent of the United States' lead. Neither of my parents had been to a mine and I wanted to them to have an understanding of the environment I spend a lot of my time in. One of the neatest things about Bonne Terre Mine is that three levels are underwater which is used for scuba diving. We did the combination walking and boating tour. The method of mining used at Bonne Terre was room and pillar which is essentially a large cave like room with pillars of rock left to prevent the mine from caving in. The tour took us to a portion of the mine where we were able to see old remanants of mining equipment and natually occuring rock formations caused by dripping water. My favorite part of the tour is the boating part. There is one fish in the mine that was the result of an experiment to see if fish could survive in the mine. Only one survived and being able to throw him a worm is always the highlight of my visit. The boat tour takes you through part of the flooded section of the mine. The water is crystal clear and there is a great view of old mining carts buried deep below. It's definitely worth a stop if you are in the area. It was great to be able to see my parents enjoying the experience and maybe understanding why I am so passionate about mining. To learn more about Bonne Terre Mine visit The Bonne Terre Mine Website. I plan on getting my scuba certification and posting more on this location later on.


Location: Bonne Terre, MO 63628, USA

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