Sure, we’ve been inside of mines that no one has laid eyes on for more than a century, but this one had an extra level of satisfaction given the amount of work needed to open it up. Even a really dedicated mine explorer couldn’t have done it - it required an industrial-level effort and a committed crew to clear through the hundreds of feet of caved workings in this mine. Although we did not achieve all our goals and left some unfinished business at this mine (and you know how I feel about unfinished business), it is a great feeling to engage in an ambitious project regardless of the ultimate outcome. I suggest that everyone try it. If we had the budget for it, the TVR crew would be exploring outer space.
To further expand on the core drilling: One issue with mines in this region is that the gold is frequently in rich pockets rather than spread over a large area. That sounds ideal, right? You dig a little and then find a slab of almost solid gold… However, modern core drilling and mining economics introduces a counterintuitive “no” response on that question. Lower grade ore that is broadcast over a large area is actually far more valuable to a modern mining operation because it can be mapped out and the results can be extrapolated. Even though mines like the Oriental or 16-to-1 have fabulous pocket gold, it can’t be technically mapped out or found with core drilling. One has to get lucky or to have the gold be close enough to the workings to be picked up by a metal detector. If metal detecting technology were to make an improvement that allowed its reach to extend for several hundred feet through the rock, staggering amounts of gold would be pulled from these “pocket mines” that dot the region.
The majority of our time in this series was spent on level three, but the oldest level - level one - had some fantastically rich gold pockets discovered in the 1800s. Newspaper reports of the time are positively gushing with enthusiasm over the potential of this mine. Although we did not locate them with our core drilling, undoubtedly, such rich pockets still exist within the claimed boundaries of this mine. However, it is not possible to pinpoint them with today’s technology.
Again, thank you to all for the enthusiasm for this project.
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You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD and here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
Several kind viewers have asked about donating to help cover some of the many expenses associated with exploring these abandoned mines. Inspired by their generosity, I set up a Patreon account. So, if anyone would care to chip in, I’m under TVR Exploring on Patreon.
Thanks for watching!
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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them - nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.
These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever.
I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
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5 сен 2024
