Ridsdale ironstone mining

3D Model

Distinct hand-shaped spoil-heaps of the Ridsdale Ironstone Workings. The Redesdale Ironstone Shale was dug for the ironstone nodules it contained. The spoil heaps are shale which remained after the ironstones had been removed.

The Ridsdale Iron Works was established in 1836, but were in difficulty by 1857.

The mines at Broomhope closed in 1879 when cheap Spanish imports of iron ore made them uneconomic. The spoil heaps are thought to be the finest examples of 19th century spoil heaps remaining.

British Geological Survey (P222342)

3D model from enhanced LIDAR (DSM FZ 1m © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2022. All rights reserved.)

Enhancement of the LIDAR was carried out using tools made available in the QGIS plugin, Relief Visualization Toolbox. Kokalj, Žiga & Hesse, Ralf. (2017). Airborne laser scanning raster data visualization: A Guide to Good Practice.