Roping down into a mine is always something I look forward to... All too often, mines that people can simply walk into have been looted and, therefore, relatively free of artifacts. Of course, I try to counter this by seeking out remote and obscure mines that one has to work to reach. However, that also has its downsides and limitations. Getting on rope and dropping down a shaft holds great promise as few people are able, willing and properly equipped to do so. Therefore, more often than not, we find some real treasures in these parts of abandoned mines that are more difficult to reach.
There was also a personal element in this one for both Mines of the West and me as we had explored the upper level of this gold mine previously, but were not properly equipped to explore those tantalizing lower levels… That was something that always bugged both of us and so we were happy to settle that unfinished business!
The video from our original visit is below and I’d suggest checking it out to familiarize yourself with what we’re exploring in this most recent video if you haven’t already seen it (I also show some interesting stuff on the surface):
• Chutes And Ladders Gam...
Credit must be given to the RU-vid channel “Exploring One Mine At A Time” for originally putting us on to this abandoned mine:
/ @desertdogexploring
And as long as we’re covering “thank yous” a thank you must be extended to Jeremy as well for sharing the video he shot of those two lower levels.
Having looked over the history of this mine again, I am fairly certain that those numbers in the 1800s on the second level down were related to distances or survey marks rather than dates. I have seen conflicting dates as to when the mineral deposits at this site were discovered, with dates ranging from 1908 to 1911. The last records of work that I could locate were from 1939. However, some of the carbide graffiti inside the top level of the mine had dates from the 1950s. So, I don’t know if that was additional work that was done that did not result in production (rehabbing the mine, for example) or if I simply did not locate the records. Another possibility, of course, is that those were pioneering mine explorers.
This was primarily a gold mine, but silver was also present and, interestingly, aluminum as well. And, given how many stopes and winzes were in this mine, it sure seems like they hollowed the whole mountain out!
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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
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. 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
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13 сен 2024
