headframes
Shaft hoisting structures
Headframes are the tall structures built over mine shafts, supporting the pulleys and cables that raise and lower miners and ore.
They're among the most recognizable features of mining landscapes, often the only remnants left standing after operations cease.
Also called headgear or pit head frames.
The old headframes still dot the hillsides of Montana mining towns.
Narrow vertical passage
- hoistRaise with tackle
- oreMetal-bearing rock
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- skipTo deliberately exclude
pithead · colliery · mineshaft · cage · winder · banksman · hoistman · underground
Tall slender edifice
- steelCarbon-hardened iron alloy
- derrickMovable boom apparatus
- legsLocomotion appendages below torso
- sheaveChanneled wheel for rope
pulley · wheel · cables · reinforcement · bracing · girder · truss · beam
Raising with effort
- loweringMoving something downward
- ropeThick twisted fibers
- drumStruck percussion cylinder
- winchDrum-and-cable lifting mechanism
counterweight · signaling · banksman · ventilation · maintenance · inspection
Left behind completely
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- landmarkNotable point of reference
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- restorationReturning something to condition
museum · historic · monument · tourism · Johannesburg · Cornwall · photography · silhouette
Straps controlling an animal
- guardrailsProtective edge barriers
- signalsConveyed indications
- communicationExchanging ideas or information
- evacuationRemoval from danger
shaft
Narrow vertical passage
skip · pithead · colliery · mineshaft · cage · winder · banksman · hoistman · underground · adit
tower
Tall slender edifice
sheave · pulley · wheel · cables · reinforcement · bracing · girder · truss · beam · stanchion
hoisting
Raising with effort
winch · counterweight · signaling · banksman · ventilation · maintenance · inspection
abandoned
Left behind completely
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- landmarkNotable point of reference
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
restoration · museum · historic · monument · tourism · Johannesburg · Cornwall · photography · silhouette · skyline
harness
Straps controlling an animal
- guardrailsProtective edge barriers
- signalsConveyed indications
- communicationExchanging ideas or information