The Bingham Oil boreholes - a journey back in time to Bingham's ancient landscapes

Drilled in the early 1960s on farmland immediately to the east of the town, these boreholes penetrated nearly 1 kilometre below the surface in the search for oil and gas. Neither resource was found in economic quantities, but the boreholes did yield a huge amount of data on Bingham's geological past.

Depth below ground (in metres) surface       210m         330m             830m       940m 950m

How old? (millions of years) Geological Period Rock formations 220     240 TRIASSIC MERCIA MUDSTONE Reddish brown mudstone with thin beds of greenish grey siltstone and nodules of gypsum (calcium sulphate) 250 260 SHERWOOD SANDSTONE Brown and red sandstone with pebbles PERMIAN 310 CARBONIFEROUS COAL MEASURES Grey mudstone and sandstone with seams of coal and beds of volcanic lava and ash 320 MILLSTONE GRIT 'Gritty' sandstone and grey mudstone 330 CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE pale grey limestone