A sizable Centre County cave dubbed J-4 has recently been closed to local cavers because of its potential risk of injury to those who would venture inside.

Graymont (PA) Inc., which has rehabilitated the old Bellefonte Lime mines in Pleasant Gap, has officially closed J-4.

Although Paul Gori, vice president of operations at Graymont, said he did not know of anyone getting injured at J-4, he and the other officials are playing it safe. "There are 'No Trespassing' signs posted, and there is a gate as well," Gori said. "It is closed because it is in a mine area, and we have liability for what goes on down there. We have talked to local law enforcement officials, and they are patrolling the area."

Graymont has the ability to mine 680,000 tons of high-calcium quicklime per year, 130,000 tons per year of high-calcium hydrated lime, and 145,000 tons of finely ground, high-calcium limestone products annually. But there is currently no quarrying occurring near the cave.

Graymont has officially asked that local spelunkers, including those from Nittany Grotto, an extracurricular caving club composed of Penn State students and other area caving enthusiasts, stop visiting the cave.

State College resident Keith Wheeland, one of the "elders" of the club, said Nittany Grotto has been attempting to negotiate with Graymont concerning the status of this subterranean cavern.

"I have written them letters and called them on the phone," Wheeland said. "But they never answer. They have refused to speak with us."

Gori did not say why Graymont has not spoken with the club. "At this point, we haven't been in contact with anyone about this issue."

According to Wheeland, there are about 90 caves in Centre County. Wheeland said J-4 covered about 4,350 feet the last time it was surveyed, but more passages have been discovered since then.

Gary Dunmire (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said J-4 was named after the four "Johns" who first found and surveyed it. Dunmire said the next best cave in the area is only one-tenth the size of J-4.

He added that the number of inexperienced people who have gone into the cave has probably contributed to its closing.

"There have been rescues in the caves," Dunmire said. "The last one was in November of 2000, to the best of my knowledge."

Wheeland, who has personally been in the cave six times, said he is frustrated that Nittany Grotto cannot get into the cave to retrieve its visitation log, which is used to relay information to the National Speleological Society for its usage studies. Wheeland also said he has received many e-mail messages and phone calls from all over the Northeast about the closure of J-4.

"It is unlikely that the status of J-4 will open up to cavers again. They are mining it for limestone, and they want to protect their assets," Wheeland said.