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Pedantry mode: That hole is drilled, not dug. The deepest hole we've dug is probably the Mir diamond mine in Siberia, at 525m [0] (A quick internet search wil
by lb1lf 7y ago
Pedantry mode: That hole is drilled, not dug.
The deepest hole we've dug is probably the Mir diamond mine in Siberia, at 525m [0]
(A quick internet search will probably say that the Bingham copper mine in the US is deeper, but that was dug at the bottom of an existing canyon, giving it a head start; the Mir mine started... Well, basically with a bunch of guys with shovels in the middle of the tundra.
[0] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mir-diamond-mine https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mir-diamond-mine
- growlist 7y agoWell ackshually... :) Shout out for the deepest hand dug well: https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/utilities/woodingdean-well/woodingdean-well https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/utilities/woodin...
- justinclift 7y agoThat page says the well was 1285 feet (~390 meters). So, the Mir mine (525 meters) does seem deeper.
- lb1lf 7y ago-True, but at some point I believe it is safe to say that the Soviets started using heavy machinery - an option denied the workhouse inmates who dug the well. (This is where the 'deepest hole dug' contest gets a whiff of 'No true Scotsman...') On some levels I find the well more impressive than the mine, though. A 4ft diameter hole dug 1285ft deep means some 400 cubic meters of dirt was removed. By hand. That's an awful lot of blisters by anyone's standards.
- growlist 7y agoSure - I did specify well.
- wrycoder 7y agoThe deepest open pit mine is the Bingham Canyon mine, at over 1200 m. The deepest mine is TauTona in South Africa, at 3900 m. These were done using power equipment, but they aren’t boreholes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining
- roenxi 7y agoWhat criteria are you using for that? I argue any excavation counts as a hole so my first instinct is that surely the Africans hold the title with their crazy mines. They go very deep looking for gold (& diamonds from what I recall). I doubt the borehole in the original article goes straight down. Boreholes tend to list left and right. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deepest_mines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deepest_mines
- lb1lf 7y agoWhile I am no authority on the subject of holes, I'd argue that a borehole is not dug as such, hence any borehole is disqualified from the 'deepest hole dug' contest. A mine of the crazy deep variety, then, in my book, is more of a tunnel than a hole in the strict sense - hence it, too, is disqualified. YMMV. :)
- DonHopkins 7y agoTIL there are reactionary hole digging experts. https://www.motor1.com/news/313750/top-gear-hole-digging-controversy/ https://www.motor1.com/news/313750/top-gear-hole-digging-con... >"I was almost physically sick watching this last night," said Mark Stevens, chartered safety and health practitioner at The Building Safety Group. "In fact, I had to turn over straight away I couldn’t watch it anymore."
- donavanm 7y agoI dont know the context where ‘reactionary’ is right here. Unsupported holes or trenches are crazy dangerous. Its been a while since ive done construction but 3-4’ deep is where you’ll kill someone. A partial collapse traps the victim and compresses/crushes the thorax or diaphragm. The victim will suffocate before you can extract them, even if theyre only partially buried. I ‘opt in’ to some dangerous activities. A wet 6’ hole is not one Id get in to.
- drharby 7y agoThis is a real example of what I was alluding to. Environmental impact isn't all polar ice caps and methane gas. An unprofessionally dug hole is a LIABILITY. But personally attacking strangers on the internet is acceptable too.