All mines are unique, but some are more unique than others… This abandoned silver mine is one that falls into the “more unique” category - and I’m not just saying that because of the underground library. And, truth be told, I often enjoy these memorable, but smaller mines more than some of the much larger mines that lack the “personality” of these mines.
That was quite the collection of reading material from the 1930s, no? It may have been hard to tell in the video, but there was a thin layer of dried mud over the magazines on the ground. So, there were actually MANY more there than it initially seemed. I didn’t notice it either until I started peeling back the layers and was then quite impressed. This is a rough estimate, but there were probably at least a couple of hundred magazines scattered about in that unusual square room. It really was an underground library and I’d love to know the story behind it.
Yes, obviously, someone was working this mine more recently than the 1930s... However, I checked and it is not presently claimed. That’s very common. These abandoned mines see bursts of interest when commodity prices increase or technology improves. This often produces some surveying or prospecting activity and then the mine is abandoned again, awaiting the next upcycle. I don’t know how old this mine is, but, given the history of the area, it almost certainly dates back to the 1800s and that date we saw underground from the miner’s graffiti written in carbide may be accurate. So, this mine has seen many cycles.
A report I saw indicated that this mine produced almost $2,000,000 worth of silver. Considering the historical price of silver, that is a staggering amount of silver…
*****
All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD
As well as a small gear update here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
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!
*****
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. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand - bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.
So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
28 авг 2024
