Deep Dive On The Biggest Gold Mine In This Area - Part 2 of 2
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- Опубликовано: 16 апр 2024
- Every report that we read stated that this gold mine had closed down and been abandoned in the early 1900s and that this bottom level was simply a drain adit that connected to the main shaft after running straight in for approximately one thousand feet. Our intent was to follow the drain tunnel to the shaft and see if we could come up the shaft from the bottom (the mine shaft was inclined rather than vertical) since the top of the shaft had been filled in or caved long ago. We figured that it was a long shot, but worth the effort because these long shots sometimes pay off hugely - particularly with a large, historic mine. The “Lost Worlds Project” is a good example of that, to be sure!
This is why, in the video, we seemed bewildered to have reached the shaft and then kept right on going past it. Those workings beyond the shaft were simply not supposed to be there. This was why we weren’t 100% certain that we’d passed the shaft until reaching the very end of the workings and confirmed that there was nothing else that it could have been (hence my relief at not hitting a caved section that would have denied us the answer to that question).
The question, of course, is then raised as to when that “secret” work took place and by whom? Was the carbide graffiti from the 1930s and 1950s from miners or mine explorers? The graffiti from the 1950s seemed like it might have been a woman’s name. Were they mine explorers? Was this work done by a leaseholder during the Great Depression? Was this work done quietly after the mine officially closed to avoid oversight and taxes? Unfortunately, none of the records we located answers these questions. And such mysteries only get harder to solve with time as all of these involved pass away.
We know that some survey work was done at this mine in the 1980s/early 1990s, which possibly included some core drilling. However, there is no sign of any new workings connected to this brief effort and, certainly, no production.
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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!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
_"As top tier mine explorers we only use the best equipment"_
...
Bust out a pool floaty 😂
Dudes rock.
All those years playing in the creek as a kid finally pays off.
It's good practice!
Wednesday treat. Drop everything to watch.
And that's why even if you think it's a plain drainage tunnel, it's still worth exploring!!!
Really appreciate the effort you put into these explorations, the explanations and the videos.
Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦
Your little swirly whirly has got Bilnded by the light stuck in my head now
Great explore. Thanks for taking us along.
I love the swirly whirly, well done guys!
That was an awesome mine. Still can't get over how white that quartz vein was. Amazing video as always. Exited for the next upload.
Excellent job guys. Love these type of mines.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Exciting surprise! Thank you
This reminds me of a couple videos that crazy Canadian Frank made where they used inflatable boats to explore some mines. I love it!! Shows your love for checking out these places!
We've done it a few times to get to mines... We have a raft that we need to use to finish a couple of mines.
if you havent seen the adventure twins go in some massive caves and places floating in huge rooms... you should.
We use inflatable boats in mines in the UK also, pink flamingos are very popular! 😊
Great explore thanks for sharing love em all.
13:42 Huston Smith 1939 maybe 1934
Interesting mask-like structure above the name 'smith' too.
Another great video. Thank you
Another awesome explore!
A nice piece off equipment that swirly whirly lol and a fantastic explore wow a very nice find indeed.
Only the most high-end, professional mine exploring equipment will do for us...
Great explore - Big adit for a drain...
Thank you for this Video.
A great mine well done
Greetings from Germany
Yours Frank Galetzka
Very cool. Thank you.
I imagine the surprises like that are always the best ones. Where it seems like there's nothing, or you're expecting nothing, and find far more than you anticipated. The rock overall also seems really solid compared to some mines you've gone into (barring the serpentine pockets, of course). It's too bad we'll never know for sure exactly how old the workings actually were.
Thanks for sharing the exploration!
Thank you. Yes, it's wonderful to encounter rock like this in a mine... It's a regrettably rare experience. Oh, and, yes, it is also regrettable that we'll never know the truth to the mystery behind the "secret" workings behind the mine shaft. Unfortunately, everyone involved left us a long time ago.
Definitely a Gold Mine ✨️ 👌
The bonus mine was awesome.
Very cool mine!
What mine / district is this if you dont mind sharing?
Serpentine is cool for what it represents, but yeah I hate it too when it comes to dealing with it for mining / practical purposes.
That vein cross section about 32 mins in at the top of the stope was beautiful, looked like a painting with all the internal fractures and the way it pinched or feathered out. Ive seen that type of vein in other CA locales, and when the vein is narrower, it can make some stunning material for cabachons.
Cool vid thanks for posting, now lets see the veins in your mine!
Love you're channel! Here's something for you're bucket list - Volcano Mining ... saw this article on FoxNews - "An active volcano in Antarctica is spewing $6,000 in gold dust every day" Maybe some fireproof waders? :)
that rubber ring moment made me spit out some of my coffee 😂
The amout of times you're proven wrong in little ways always kills me
about 20:00 "we're following the vein, but it must have not been that good, because there's no stopes"
approximately 40 feet later... _massive_ stope
I had to pause I was laughing so hard
Swirly Whirly is absolutely MSHA approved.
100%
Hi Justin, I'm thinking it was a drain tunnel then they or someone else decided to continue to see what was further on ? at 13:50 that's not an @ sign is it next to Sac ?????. At 22:26 I heard a whisper straight after you said "Forward" was it your buddy or a spirit ????. A shame the stope or the shaft didn't go anywhere but you still had the whole bonus thing, all in all a great explore. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx
Hell yeah. Top exploration Justin. I have questions though. The tunnel looks to be from the 1980s given the size of the drifts, yet there's carbide from the 1950s on the ribs.. I'd say time traveler?
Indeed, very large drifts... The original was a drain tunnel and those are typically larger. Perhaps the miners wanted to maintain the aesthetics of the mine by having a consistent size? Ha, I really don't know. That stood out to us as well. The graffiti from the 1950s was from a woman and from that era, she almost certainly was not a miner. The other graffiti was from the 1930s and the drifts tended to be smaller then. So, the time travel scenario is probably the most plausible.
Wow!
Very colorful and interesting formations. So makes me wonder how many mines are lost to landslides before accurate records
The overwhelming majority of mines erode shut. A tiny percentage of old mines are still accessible.
you can see it getting shallower by the swirly whirly level lol. advert Intex swirly whirlys as used by mine explorers ..... cool safety gear guys
from the Huston graffiti on looks like they were following a fault line
interesting to hear the back and forth between you two, its obvious you both researched very well but we don't get to hear thoughts between you very often
around 26.00 there are some lovely examples of sulphides
Yay for bonus mine workings
Yes, we absolutely only use the most high-end, professional mine exploring equipment that exists... The Swirly Whirlys are a prime example of that. We aren't always able to find information on the mines we visit, but when we're able to, we dig very deep and try to learn as much as we can about the history, the workings, production, geology, etc.
@@TVRExploring it was a great episode, will there be more on this one, it looks like you didnt get very far into the upper workings
Jake invents new float tube for fishing/mine exploration.
Mine exploring requires one to be fairly resourceful. I know a guy that tied plastic bags around his boots in order to get through the water to a mine that we ended up not being able to explore anyway! Of course, that was in the early days before we fully appreciated the need for waders.
@@TVRExploring man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, ya know?
@@ADITADDICTS It worked!
Lots of modern sampling flags.
29:27 Oh you know @AskJeffWilliams would be sampling that sunny Jim
From the late 80s/early 90s. I talk about it in the description...
Really striking how the echo changes based on the rock in this one. Pop into the serpentine pocket and it sounds like a recording studio!
Absolutely. I thought miners were exaggerating about how dramatic that effect was when I first started going into old mines, but it is absolutely like teleporting in and out of a recording studio when you walk through the different types of rock.
Yeah when he came out in that purple suit and tube around I busted out lmao and said hell he's done brought in `BARNEY' the dinosaur to help him out that day. Still LMAO 😂
Those big timbers from about 8mins could be pump rods from the shaft perhaps?
They could well be...
Pretty impressive for a drainage adit. :)
Ha, yes, exactly!
🤩
That shaft must have serviced that level and then the drain tunnel was driven to meet it so technically the drain tunnel did stop at the shaft
That floatation device incase he steps into a deep hole while walking through the water?
You gotta also becarfule because their might be a shaft going down on one of the sides that you cant see in the muddy water
cool explore, but what happened to the swirly whirly?
It got a leak and deflated... RIP Swirly Whirly. It performed its noble duty and then succumbed to its injuries.
@@TVRExploring hahaha! perhaps a respectful vid of it being properly disposed? unlike all the other trash you often find...😉
Is that a 2 man handsaw on the right? (11:14)
a sluice box on the output of the waste water might be a good idea ;)
People are addicted to these crystals 😆
The post10 x TVR crossover episode :)
If you didn't know better, by sizes of the passages you'd think that was a modern mine, rather than one of the 1900's/1930's era.
Interesting! 20:39 - 20:42 ..... you can see a spirit orb appear
did anyone else see the face in the rock when they were looking at the 300 number by the 1939 date
Yes i did, very prominent suprised they didnt see it.
Yeah. Kinda mask-like stucture just above the 'Smith'
Yeah it look like Optimus Prime
You only see it in two dimensions. It didn't look like that in person...
Wild that more then one person saw it
ghuys guys guys you have to research petrification and the timelines the petrification process is way more quicker than you would expect.
What's the environmental impact of draining all that mine water? As I understand it it can have all sorts of heavy metals etc which presumably has to go somewhere. How do you account for all this additional water potentially overwhelming local water ways and causes (albeit minor) flooding and/or ecological damage?
In this case, none. There is no acid rock drainage present (characterized by the orange mud) and the nasties like mercury, cyanide, etc. are a part of the milling process, which took place on the surface and not underground. If you think about it, a mine is essentially just a large well. In both cases, people drive holes into the ground to bring water out. This water is simply part of the broader water table. You could safely drink this water right in the mine (not in every mine, but in this one you could). The water flows in most regions can fluctuate by a factor of over one hundred during periods of intense storm activity. This area is no exception. Massive flooding routinely takes place here. The miniscule amount of water we let out of the mine would be imperceptible downstream. Also, bear in mind that water already flows continuously out of this mine. And at times - as can be seen by the waterline underground - it pours out at a massive flow nearly to the top of the adit. The flow of water that we briefly created was perhaps 1% of that. There are other factors as well, but those are the primary reasons that slightly lowering the water level in the mine had zero impact.
@@TVRExploring OK, So no adverse weather effects from climate change then. That's a relief.
At around nine minutes you stated " not a lot of water considering whats above". Please expand for our enlightenment.
Thousands of feet of dirt and rock as well as a couple of creeks were over our heads... I was surprised that more water was not percolating down.
13:51 Huston Smith - A little digging reveals this could be someone who ended up being a religious scholar who advocated for the use of psychedelics to enhance spirituality. Maybe not so interesting, but apparently in one of his works, he compares secularism to being in a tunnel underneath a beautiful alpine meadow. Those in the tunnel don't see the beauty around them.
An d a really interesting life !. Interesting to note that one university forbade him to teach graduate students because of his religious beliefs. Even Back then the athiests were moving to take control.
He was basically a hippie who liked the effects of LSD and magic mushrooms.....man
Those black minerals in the quartz look like sulphides like marcasite or sphalerite
The face in the rock at 13:57 is crazy.
You can actually only see it in two dimensions. It looked very different in person...
I'd have brought a couple vintage US military folding military shovels . Two of you guys using two shovels would make it alot easier
We actually had exactly that. I try not to bore the audience showing them everything...
In the big open area, I assume the solid yellow on the ceiling was pyrite and not gold, since I don't imagine the miners would've left any gold. Though it looked very much like gold.
No, the miners wouldn't leave visible gold...
You know I'm 68 years old you can do a lot with a hewing ax it would be nothing to whip out some real ties in short order
Some villages down stream are being flooded now 😂
yeah, Huston Smith at 13:55 where the roman soldier has a hand on his head pushing him down into the mine.
If it's the Same Huston Smith, he would have been around 20 years old in 1939 and already a University graduate when that meant something.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Smith#Early_life
Huston Smith
Looks like yu need someone with a 4-5" Gold dredge to really open that adit up
Unrapping the cellophane on a new world is not unlike finding things you thought weren't there.
Turns out, when you try and hide me from the world, the rest of the world follows suit. Based on what I can perceive at least.
Ironically enough, I know why fossils continue to be found, and the reason we haven't actually yet exhausted all of those oil reserves that we were told about.
Is it a game fellas, or is it Memorex? :P
As a bottom tier mine explorer, I just get wet and hope for the best. Lol 😆
Nah, that's a sign of top tier status if you don't let a little thing like water or mud deter you.
@@TVRExploring I dig open adits... I swim when I have to... anything to see what could lie ahead!
@@matthewtracy8744 Swimming in the adits? Impressive. Even I draw the line there...
@TVRExploring I swam to get to an adit, but not inside... yet. Lol 😆 I don't think the deep spot in the river was there when they were mining, I think it was done intentionally to keep people out. Lol but I'm like a pack rat. If I can fit, I'm in!
That was a big Suprise, they must have hit the mother lode in that one area.
It looks like an old and odd mine.
Definitely...
Why didn't you have the swirly wirly at the end, did you leave it inside?
The Swirly Whirly suffered a leak and deflated after performing its noble duty...
@@TVRExploring Glad to hear you didn't leave a brother behind
Kayaks 😁
Not with the hike in that's involved...
😂😂😂exploring a mine wearing a floaty. You guys are epic⛏️🏔️
Inflatable pack raft
Ah, that's no fun...
@@TVRExploring my mine needs a Fifish Evo 😉
Is it possible that by undaming a mine it could wash out a lot of toxic chemicals settled in the bottom??? I honestly am not bitching or accusing..just crossed my mind the idea of settling ponds to filter heavy metals, and other toxic chemicals.
Thank you for your civility. The nasty stuff like cyanide, mercury, etc. are part of the milling process where the gold is separated from the rock. And, yes, one can find some toxic remnants in such places. However, the mills were on the surface rather than underground. Some mines experience a phenomenon known as acid rock drainage, which you wouldn't want spreading into area waterways either. However, that was not the case with this mine. The water coming out of this mine was very clean and pure. You could safely drink it without a filter.
@@TVRExploring that's what I thought but I'm a mechanic and remodel guy so way outta my knowledge range..I always thought that most but definitely not all mine water looked like spring water out hill sides but redirected by mining.
@@Boga217 Yes, if you think about it, an underground mine is essentially a giant well dug into the ground. In many cases, the water coming out will be perfectly fine. That nasty, orange mine mud that you occasionally see is acid rock drainage in action and that is bad.
You don't run into the asbestos serpentine? I'd take clay over that.
Yes, there were a couple of sections of serpentine in there, but not very much. If there had been more, those workings would have been caved.
I wonder how much arsenic is in that water.
Why dont you just spend a little more time digging a trench at the mouth to see if you can get all the water out. I would have a pick-ax, shovel and a garden rake.
We spent two hours digging that. Did you really want to watch two guys digging for hours on video? Also, you would not have brought all of those tools in. The hike in is strenuous and requires one to make their way through thick brush and over or under many downed trees. Very, very few of the mines that we visit are mines where one can simply ride up to the entrance in their Jeep.
I love how every time you guys are clearing out the entry to an adit whether it's water or rocks it's always
"We've been working on clearing the adit..."
But what we see is you standing there filming while your buddy clears it 😂😂😂😂
The yellow "bad looking" ore is limonite and quartz, I think. It doesn't rust like pyrites (slower?), but its another iron horse. The two are often together coating one another or pyrite blocks sit on it in mineral specimens.
Awesome mine explore video! I continue to look forward to everyone of your posts. Keep making more please!
almost looks like the water drain came after the fact and it also suggest, a mini train was used at the entrance, if the rail was heacy dury enough, which makes sense with the huge opening and the amount of work inside there, but i will say its good looking stuff and for the prices of gold today, for a small crew this is tasty, but alot of rehab needs to be done, what an awesome find
I love how you always send one of your pals in first Justin. 😂Jake is creasing me up with the rubber ring on. Beautiful huge mine this great explore once again. 😊👍
They take it in turns from what I have seen and what Justin has said. Although if Jeremy is part of the group, he seems to do a lot of the really tricky climbing. Justin has done some epic solo explores in the past.
@@daveg2104 oh yes I've seen Justin do solo explores, the ones in Italy were awesome. I was only joking! 😆👍
Thanks!
Awesome. Thank you, Bryan. Ha, see, you don't have to swim to see what's inside this adit. You can just wait and see the video.
At the 11:50 mark wasn't there a option to go left?
Probably a short dead end. Or that's where all the gold is and Justin didn't want to show us. /s
No, the adit just split and went around both sides of that pillar.
@@TVRExploring Not saying you are wrong, because you were there, but It looked like there was a dark passage to the left. A trick of the light and angles, I suppose.
Noice explore Guys! loved the swirly whirly part .... R.I.P... S.W. 😆😅🤣Till the next, take care and stay safe. ⛏⚒⛏
Brenda Sue Stapleton 55
Hmmm. Almost certainly not a miner...
Okay then. Be like that. Unsubscribed.