Abandoned Tomsich Butte Uranium Mine 

Thank you Drew!! Your work is beautiful and your photography amazing!! I truly envy you for being able to do this, and Thank You for sharing it with us! Have a safe trip!

I think you missed the blocked up mines by a lot more time than you think. When I graduated from high school (1973) I spent a summer working with the BLM. We were going around Southern Nevada sealing up mine shafts. We mostly did it by blowing up the entrance, but some were just fenced off. They started with the easiest to reach mines and did progressively harder ones as the years went by. I know the summer I worked with the the program was at least in its forth year, as I worked with a guy that had been working there for four years at that time. I never got to blow up the mines, I was just the dumb end of the shovel. The good news for you is that they only did ones with expired mining claims (at least at that time) and on public lands.

I live about 25 miles from Portugal's last uranium mine. No longer in operation, but not abandoned. Currently undergoing a major cleanup.

Enjoyed the video.

Your drone video brings to mind what Buzz Aldrin said when asked to describe the surface of the moon: Magnificent desolation.

Fond this interesting since for the last 8 yrs I've lived in the very NW corner of Nebraska. We have some uranium mines up in the Crawford area but they are all just wells where they pump water down to extract it.

Drew, your drone footage clearly shows there is more to this site than meets the eye initially. Be safe out there!

Thanks for the video. Typo in the title "Mline".

Hey Drew, could you do a video reviewing radiation detectors? Especially budget models? Don't go buy a bunch of them obviously, but if you could look at what's out there and suggest one to try, or suggest features that are necessary or good to have, that would be fantastic. I remember you mentioned that your RadEye will show when radiation is higher than it's detection range, while many detectors will just show a low number, that kind of thing. I'd love a detector, but prices I'm seeing for your RadEye20 are $2400-4300, which means there are other toys I'd rather have in that price range. A couple hundred bucks, and now you're talking. Don't forget the Amazon affiliate links, so you get a piece of the pie.

Stumbled upon this channel a few days ago and can't stop. Great work Drew. Keep it up and stay safe.

The reason you see so many abandoned cars around mines is they would use the engines to run the equipment for the mine. They loved the old inline V6 and V8s for their easy of use and the ability to be repaired fairly easily. They'd run everything from the hoists to the ventilation to on-site milling.

That spot at the end looked like a old home site.

I''m glad this came up in my feed! This part of Utah is one of my favorite places to explore, so much to find and see! I was lucky enough to explore some of that mine with the huge metal chute about 20 years ago. It's a real shame that they are destroying history in the name of "safety". I look forward to see your future explorations.

Looks like the algorithm has found you! I've watched a few of your videos over the last couple of days, subbed and noticed your subscriber count start climbing rapidly - well deserved!

Stunning drew thanks...

You should come to the Galena, Illinois area. It's my understanding that all the lead is from uranium decaying. My grandfather, who mined lead, said that all the lead is in seams that run North-South or East-West only, I forget which. It melted the last glaciers-ice age event.

I didn't realise the deserts are so beautiful. You've really brought it home with your fantastic camera work. I guess living in the cities we yearn for the open spaces and places. The tune of the geiger counter somehow adds a certain element of menace to the proceedings!

I'm so glad to see you're channel just explode with popularity! Been watching for months and you definently deserve it, great work!!

Hi Drew! I subscribed today. Your commentary is fascinating and the visuals, especially in this episode are positively stunning. I’m not ashamed to say my eyes were tearing up- the beauty is overwhelming.

This channel is AMAZING!!! Very well deserved channel growth coming your way

Stumbled on your Temple Mountain video and have been going through them all. I had the great fortune of being able to live in that area for a couple years as a child back in the 60's. My dad loved exploring and we would go out there and explore those mines quite often. There were a couple big enough to drive a 68 volkswagen square back into. At the time the area was amazingly remote, I-70 wasn't in yet, and hwy 24 had bridges that couldn't handle heavy trucks so they would have to buldoze fresh roads through the washes every time they needed to get through with anything heavy. I was alway amazed at what they accomplished given the equipment and infrastructure available back then.

Hope your channel blows up. Cool videos. I am hooked.

You have quickly become my favorite creator here on RU-vid! Awesome work, amazing videography and super cool information! Thank you for exposing me to a new interest!

I often watch American films for the landscapes. You scratch that itch. It looks fantastic. Here in Europe there are a lot of centuries or even millennia old sandstone mines. They go on for miles and miles. These are all bricked up. Quite a lot of "explorers" died in there. Besides the usual hazards one can get utterly lost. Some among us are very irresponsible. The coolest I've been in was a basalt mine. The black hexagon structures, pillars, the floor and ceiling, make it surreal. If you have the opportunity...

Just discovered this channel recently and i'm hooked, KEEP IT UP!

Thanks Drew ‼️another great video 👍 Glad to see all the new subscribers ‼️its about time ✌🏽

Hello... Greetings from New Zealand. I follow your videos and must say your filmography and drone work is amazing.

Thank you! Super interesting, excellent photography and views!

Love this channel definitely a diamond in the rough keep up the great work drew

congratulations Drew! job well done ! many subscribers and views!

Just stumbled across your channel and already watched 4 or 5 videos. Keep up the good work.

Enjoy it while you can! Once you get into a bunch of mines, or even just a couple great ones, just looking around outside stops being enough 😅

I find nuclear energy fascinating. Thank you for this channel. You kinda remind me of the PC version of David Hahn, the radioactive boy-scout.

I learn more from people who go out there and explain us. Love your channel. Also I love the audio tracks in the video. Can share the audio titles, if you don't mind?

Nice to see you're on the move. I checked out the Section 9 (459C and 459 B) areas out near Cameron. It is quite desolate out there. I only found one of the main waste piles but that was it. Realized I'd missed the main mine site and lots of other areas. Very disorienting out there. You make it look way too easy!

You tube sent me here and I have to say what are gem of a channel unique and interesting thank you

I was exploring the Tomsich Butte area in 1991. At that time the yellow truck was there, still completely intact and in restorable condition. It had heavy-duty tandem rear axles with all-wheel drive including front wheels. As I remember it had some type of box bed or stake bed. 0:34

I absolutely adore what you are able to do here, this is both so neat and interesting. You really have a niche here on youtube and i wish you nothing but the best, i bet you are going to blow up (in a good way). :D

Just found this channel, love it. Don't know why it's not bigger, it's so interesting. Love learning about nuclear power and radiation. I've watched all the documentaries about 3mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Fukushima meltdown. Well 3 mile didn't melt down but still interesting. Be neat to see your take on those 3

Hey Drew, just followed a recommendation to check you out! Subscribed & raring to go lol. Stay safe.

About 100 yards to the north of the "portal" there is another spot you should investigate. :) It was cool in 2005 or so there is a circular connecting tunnel inside several of the first ones you visited, and a bunch of old mining carts, drills, compressors and other stuff left inside them.

Just ordered some uranium ore off your website very excited for it to come in

Thanks for sharing.

Stumbled onto your video on San Onofre and have been going through the rest. You have some great content! Both my wife and I are employed at the Hanford Site and find this type of stuff fascinating. There is so much to see on site but unfortunately it's not exactly accessible, even to workers out there. I'm coming up on four years out there but my wife is nearing 30 years and in the line of work she does she has seen a lot of the site. Keep up the content, it's great!

Love your videos, fellow explorer, comfortable in your own company.

There is an old uranium mine just north of Yosemite in Tuolumne County near Kennedy Meadows.

Hey rad Drew. I have a video request / suggestion. Can maybe you do a quick rundown on Geiger counters? like a small guide for a first buy Geiger counter. What to look for, what to avoid etc. Since almost none of them are cheap it would be a big help to guys like me who are thinking of getting one, and exploring the radiation around us. Also if you want to explore an old mine there is an old ghost town called Cerro Gordo in death valley near Keeler run by a youtuber Brent Underwood (Ghost town living). Its an old silver mine but the main elevator still works down to 900ft level, and Brent gives tours to fellow youtubers and visitors.

Yea dude there’s a buddy system unique to radiology use it. Gas and Geiger and more cameras haha. Love how your passionate about exporting yet you can see through the landscape and break down the layers and the engineering all in the same stride

Ah mate, I would have LOVED to have gone on this trip with you. Quite a few of your trips atually. Keep up the goo work and, I really appreciate it.

Drew you should reach out to Gly Coolness his channel is Abandoned and Forgotten Places. He may help ya navigate to find some mines that you are able to access.

0:34 not only did it presumably stall out and get abandoned probably 20+ years ago, but someone also came and stripped it for parts/scrap. I wonder if it was to owner or just some random dude?

Great videos. Very informative. Really love the music with your videos. Who does the music?

Thanks for great videos man! I like them even more after finding out you're also in MT! Just an idea for a video maybe, are there any affordable meters that you would recommend? Even for checking things out at antique shops and stuff? The one you have is nice, but $2200+ is a bit pricey! Hope you and your family are well and keep up the good work!

I was on the crew that closed that portal. The pipe is to prevent gas build up and flooding. You can still access the mine from higher up

Hi Drew, just discovered your channel. Your photography and presentation are great. I have been interested in uranium mining and radiation for some time. In the area where I lived when uranium became a big deal gold prospectors threw away their gold pans and grabbed radiation detectors and headed out. I look forward to more of your postings.

enjoyed 🤠

Hey Drew, have you ever checked out Uranium Lake, Texas ? It's a huge pile of uranium tailings you can see from Google Earth. This site one of the first uranium mines from the 1950's.

Should head out to Missouri and the Coldwater Creek. Dumping ground for the Manhattan project. Recent documentary about it called Atomic Homefront. Would make an excellent video and be more contemporary in terms of contamination.

Nice truck! Your videos are pretty good too. 😜

Drew, it would be interesting to see a video with a cloud chamber and one of your hotter sources.

Cool videos! When will you hit Arco, Idaho?

Awesome content I wish I could explore with you. Stay safe.

hey drew since you seem to know alot about this stuff i was wondering how many CPM would you say is dangerous too be around?

I've really enjoyed your videos, I noticed you go to the Los Angeles area often , have you gone to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site? You can get pretty close just in public trails and it's the highest background levels I've seen

I would like you to investigate Radioactive Knoxville Tennessee. It's not far from Oakridge Tennessee. I know of one place where Radioactive waste was stored for many years, very close to people and there houses. It was cleaned up and swept under the rug. It would be interesting to find out how Hot the surrounding area is. Any way love your content. Have a good night

Have you been to the old Trojan power plant site on the Columbia River in Washington state yet? They still have spent rods cooling on site and the cooling tower was imploded in 2001. Theyre just sitting behind a chain link fence in concrete encasment, and it's believed they're unguarded. Some are cracked, and someone should take some measurements of the area because they turned it into a park! Also, Hanford is upriver from there if you haven't done anything on that. I'd be glad to show you the Trojan site. It's close by.

Why is the Thermo Scientific™ RadEye™ B20 SO expensive? Over $2000.00, Is it cost to manufacture or heavy markup? Thanks & keep up the fascinating work.

Great intro, to another great video. Do you think those mines utilized traditional ore carts on a rail type system?

Drew, you need to check out The Hanford Site.

Those pipes were probably leftovers from the pneumatic and water lines the miners used for their drills. Typically the airlines are larger than the water because they would use the extra volume as a buffer against rapid pressure drops when you first start up your drills. The deeper in you get and they start adding old repurposed boilers as air tanks which created the same thing. Kinda cool to see an old late 1800's riveted boiler several thousand feet in and hundreds of feet up or down a shaft, only to be another thousand along a drift and there it is, a couple tons of iron that someone _riveted together_ a hundred and fifty years ago. And then sometime during it's life a couple crazy miners drug it deep underground and gave it a second life. Lots of cool history in those mines. But some do deserve getting bricked up. Not all, but some do for reasons not at first obvious to the eye. Main thing to remember when mine exploring, if you think you have enough batteries you probably don't. And safety third on the light itself. Bring a backup for your backup. If the mine has open winzes or stopes you can slid into you'll probably never make it out alive. The dark you'll find yourself in is really hard to replicate today. Then a brain bucket and an O2 sensor at a minimum for your other gear. Be safe out there! So much cool stuff to find and document is still left underground!

Hi Drew, thanks for your videos. They are bingewatch-worthy :D I was looking for a RadEye B20 myself after I saw your videos, but could find no webshop that sells them. Where can you buy one and what is the approximate price for a RadEye B20?

It is pronounced tom-sick. I think one of the information signs mentions that.

These videos are very impressive, what does your geiger counter overload at, and what CPM are you comfortable being around?

Please tell us the levels as we hear it sounding, preferably in micro seiverts.

Have you thought about checking out the Hanford Washington area?

Iam surprised the doj and homeland doesn't make those areas off limits id feel lucky saying how much of are autonomy has been striped away already.

@MattsOffRoadRecovery looks like a fixer upper! 0:42

Great video production and storytelling. I would love to journey to these sites but time and geography make it impossible. Thank you for making it possible for me to see and understand this bit of our history.

what slider do you use for time lapse?

Drew! Hoping you find this comment as I can’t find a way to DM you. Please consider exploring the Project Rulison and Project Rio Blanco sites. Also as a result of these…I would welcome a discussion regarding any presence of radioactivity (natural or otherwise) in the natural gas/oil supply. (I believe in spite of earlier restrictions, there appear to be shale operations near these sites) Just an idea. Keep up the good work!

No Drew, you got into this Radiation/Uranium exploration at the perfect time. Uranium is about to explode as critical power generation, and maybe bombs too.

Maybe do a video of radiation levels in strange objects in the home, or even better, certain foods like nuts or bananas. I think that might get you a viral vid

My God I had no idea this was so close to my house I live a little under an hour away and less than that to the Swell it self

Oooh I want to analyze those tailings.

What’s safest way to keep my finds at home

Have you ever explored SL-1 Nuclear Meltdown in Idaho?

Drew, this isn't any of my business but... How tall are you? I would help with figuring out perspective at times. Love the videos. Your drone pieces are absolutely amazing! J

Using these instruments almost daily (the radeye) I am very familiar with their sound. I could hear yours making some good noise due to the background. Why did you not show the levels you encountered?

That shirt is 🔥

Do you live in Montana? If so you should check out abandoned mines in the Pryors.

Probably the most interesting nuclear subject videos here since Bionerd23. Shame things being what they are you couldn't visit Chernobyl. Plenty of Very hot spots and particles to find there if you know where to look. Get all the Sieverts you ever wanted, the more the better.

Hey man, i just found something in my parents old stuff maybe you know something about. Its an old analog mini conrad 2 dosimeter. I know they bought it before they went to Europe in 1986. Anyway it seems to be in perfect working condition. In fact, its all solid state solid steel construction. Damn thing actually looks made to survive a nuclear blast lol. Do these things deteriorate over time? Is this model any good? Can i have confidence it works? I put it next to a smoke detector and i got a few ticks but nothing crazy.

Love this mine, explored it a few months back. You can squeeze in through the left side of the rebar if you want to explore, but I do not condone it at all. It’s barred for a reason, remember that if you decide to risk it. The sandstone I’m these areas is extremely unstable

im quite upset that they block off all these mines.

After exploring a mine, isn't your clothing and skin covered with radioactive dust? Which is then transferred to your vehicle, etc.? While low level, does it become a concern over time?

Why are they sealing up the old mines? I think I can guess why, but not sure if anyone knows why specifically?

You could put a little robot through those gates and at least get video inside.

Radioactive drew have you seen the RU-vid clip from the 90’s a bizarre story of ‘Galen Winsor the nuclear scare scam’ It’s bizarre do know anything about this?? Thank you

Just had a look at the rad eye g20, the red one that does gamma, $5300 here in Australia 🤢

super interesting videos, I saw the trinity site one and I got hooked.. I read an article today that any cell phone can be used as a detector. The chip itself gets hit with radiation, and by applying black tape on the lens the image itself can be calculated to represent radiation. Im from Norway, a software developer for apps, and this got me thinking, hmm. most phones they take the sensor image and process it to a jpeg, where the software/app will loose resolution, but now with iPhone 14 pro has raw image processing, every pixel hit on the sensor will be recorded. Drew, do you know about this ?