Maritimes - Summer 2008

July 5 - 25, 2008

Day 11 - July 15: Five Islands, Springhill, Joggins, & Parrsboro: Springill and Area

Before we headed to Joggins, we went to Springhill for the Warm Earth 2 earthcache and we also stopped briefly at a cache by the Hebert River.

Warm Earth 2 Earthcache:
Springhill has a long and storied history of mining. One of the lasting remnants of the mining history is the current usage of geothermal heat. A manufacturer of plastic packaging products, is using geothermal energy from floodwater in abandoned mines to provide heating and cooling at the company's facility in Springhill.

Although the use of mine water as a heat source is not a new concept in other parts of the world, there were no similar installations in Canada. The system was therefore intended to demonstrate the application of a mine water heat pump system.

Over 200 years of sub surface coal mining in Nova Scotia has left many square kilometres of old workings, often located directly beneath the towns that grew at the pitheads. Over the years, these workings have gradually filled with water. The mine water can provide an inexpensive energy supply. The old workings are a particularly effective means for transferring geothermal heat, at great depths, to mine water. Gravity circulation within the workings then brings this heated water up closer to the surface where it is accessible through short drilled wells, thus providing a suitable energy source for ground source heat pumps.

Environmental problems with this system are minimal. Water is pumped from the workings in a closed loop system, and is returned to the mines via injection wells. As a result, aquifer integrity is preserved. Since the success of the first venture of local geothermal heating, other local businesses have begun to utilise this energy source as well.

Samantha, Rubby and Christopher at the cache site with the 'slag' behind them.

This is the first time we have seen "slag"... very weird... it's like being on another planet.

There are mountains of this leftover stuff from the mining.

Samantha at some roadside interpretive panels at the Hebert River.

A heron in the water at low tide.

It feels good to stretch our legs... even for those who haven't mastered walking yet!

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