Exploring Italy’s Monte Arsiccio Mine: Part 2 - Surprises On The Surface & Underground
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- This sprawling abandoned mine kept giving as I went along, coming across another adit, a funicular, more mining equipment and more buildings to explore... Unfortunately, I also came across some pictures online that seemed to confirm my concern that I missed something at this mine due to the tangle of blackberry bushes. It wasn’t entirely clear since they mixed several mine sites together, but I came across a blog post from some Italian explorers that seemed to show an adit - with some ore carts inside - to the left of the upper and lower adits that I located and explored. The Italians indicated that it was not large and it may have been less overgrown when they visited, but I am still kicking myself for missing it (if I understood their material correctly).
I would imagine that the lower adit I explore in this video connects somewhere to the workings accessed from the upper adit, but I was not able to confirm that as sections in both adits were inaccessible. The upper adit obviously utilized the LHD that we located and so, I suspect, that was where the most recent work took place. However, given the green plastic roofing inside of this lower adit, it can’t be THAT old.
Really, given the evolution of this mine and its long life, it is difficult to tell when they worked certain parts of it and when they used some of the equipment as well as how everything worked together.
For example, although rail led out from that upper adit, there was no rail inside of it. There are older and newer workings in the upper adit and they must have, at least, used rail when they were extracting minerals in the older workings. So, it seems that they removed the rail inside in favor of the LHD. So, did the LHD come out and load ore directly into carts outside? That doesn’t seem particularly efficient if that is the case. It might be that they dropped everything down to the lower haulage adit given the large waste rock pile and the ore bin down there. However, there was also an ore bin and tram station connected to the upper adit. Perhaps these were connected to the older workings in the upper adit?
It is tough to determine the answers to these types of questions at times.
*****
All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so adjust those settings to ramp up the quality! It really does make a difference…
You can click here for the full playlist of abandoned mines: goo.gl/TEKq9L
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 niche of our history is gone forever. But, you know what? We have fun 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
I don't regret the googling for Garfield Wood! For those who see the video now and can't be bothered, the man literally invented modern garbage trucks in 1938, and was also the first man to go over 100mph/160kph over water in a speedboat of his own design. His winches equipped many US trucks in WWII, and were basically a side business to speedboat building to earn some easy cash. He died in the early seventies after having worked for a few year on innovative electric vehicle technology. A man ahead of his time.
Thanks for digging that information up.
Rotten Egg smell? H2s gas, when you do not smell it is when it will kill you in a millisecond. Also that gas will lay in water until it is disturbed and then form back into a gas. Take an H2s detector and an oxygen detectors with you. Also radiation could be a problem in that mine with many other gasses. I work in the petroleum industry and have to keep up on my certificates every year. Be safe but have fun is my motto.
Yes, I always carry gas meters with me... I have hit low oxygen, but never have had the H2s alarm go off yet. I hope it stays that way! The risk of gas in the water is one reason I did not cross that stagnant black water. Thank you for the comment.
been waiting on this one and yes that is a ventilator for the mine.....wow ...barefoot are you kidding me....never could ever do that ...you my friend are a true explorer and we salute you. The tree branches are for filling for the cut and fill stope that they nevercontinued. Can't imagine they would use small tree timbers in a mine that big
Ask Jeff Williams One day your's will be this big Jeff
Haha, well, it was cold, muddy feet or destroying my beloved boots, Jeff... I was not enthusiastic about the bare feet, but, well, it is my favorite pair of boots! Thank you for solving the mystery of the tree branches. I was completely baffled by that one. The timber supports in the upper adit are absolutely enormous.
Ask Jeff Williams i reckon the branches are from a flash flood that gushed through there at some stage
les branches d'arbre au dessus du passage sont pour amortir des chutes de pierre
Yes Yes deffo
3:18 horizontal metal reciprocating saw. Like a huge hand saw, probably used to cut rail or pipe.
Thank you! I can definitely see where that would be used at a mine...
@@TVRExploring Power hacksaw, Before they had bandsaws.
Absolute mining madness!! At 28:40 as you narrate on not wanting to wade thru stagnant black water even if you had waders, your flashlight highlights a "cross" shape timber such as a crucifix. The devil's in the details. Glad you didn't press on and great effort on this one
Thank you. Yeah, I draw the line at swimming through water like that!
Jail?? Maybe tool locker. To keep tools from disappearing.
Yes, that makes the most sense to me of anything else that I can think of...
Cage for the guard dogs.
It’s neat to picture that rail line in action. Like a bloody cartoon!
I'd love to have seen it in action...
Definitely an air blower; the other piece of machinery below was the remains of an electric motor, probably from the blower above. The other item that you're not sure about I believe is the remains of a hacksaw machine. Great video as always.
Ian Darley yes, the second machine was a saw, used a strong, rigid blade in a see-saw motion. the ones I seen were used to cut metal, not sure if this type can be used on rocks from the mine
Stator windings from the blower motor appear to have been salvaged like the other motor(s) from the first part. I liked how one of the rings got stuck in the tree when someone threw the remains of the motor off the hill.
Thank you for the additional info...One of the benefits of having smart viewers is that I KNOW that any questions I have, you guys will know the answer!
I believe it's a generator, not the motor for the blower. The tools were electric yet the 'motor' has a huge 4 v belt pulley. It suggests to me that the power was put into the generator, probably a diesel engine.
Generators are always direct drive with the rotor driven directly from the end of the crankshaft, this allows more precise frequency control allaying belt slippage which would make this very difficult. Also there were electrical pylons (one connected directly to the top of the air blower room) indicating that electrical power was brought in externally from the grid, or a larger generating plant elsewhere within the facility.
I would enjoy looking over all that stuff, that is, the stuff ON THE SURFACE ! 😊
The other stuff......... I'll leave it up to you ! 😣
Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
dude, barefoot? any rusty nails or pieces of broken metal or even a sharp rock or a splinter could get all that gunk in your system, in your videos you always seem to practice safety, but shit man barefoot in a mine with all that rusty rail at your feet and whoknows what else, just crazy.
LOL, I could not destroy my beloved boots running them though muck like that... Much better to trash my feet than my boots. Feet will heal.
Yeah! And thats what they have tetnis shots for!
just how long do you plan on keeping those boots? well i hope your feet get you around for a lifetime
Real men take their shoes off when they see broken glass in the street.
@@TVRExploring Dude, boots can be replaced. Blood infections might be your undoing!
"I don't know. You guys tell me. I don't care that much..." I love your commentary, it's the best! Hats off to ya and take care of Mcbride.
Thank you. Haha, I do my best to take care of McBride, but he's a challenge...
A great tour thanks for risking life and limb for your fans, I have really enjoyed your videos. Thanks again.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying them...
The ‘jail’ is most likely a compressed gas locker to store oxygen and acetylene cylinders when not in use.
My thought was gas bottle storage. In the UK and other EU countries, flammable gas containers are usually kept in cages which satisfy both security and ventilation regulations.
This one is by far the most INTRESTING exploration so far the out side with all the trails is almost mystical.....I can only imange what is would be like cut back...but the water is everywhere...and flowing in large amounts.....for sure the first machine was a blower...and the strange machine the band saw was the old style powered hack saw.......those other things are the remnants of stripped electric motors....the were ribbed....thank you so very much for your dedication to your craft....
Thank you very much. I have been really, really impressed with the mines in Italy so far... I am glad you are finding it interesting too. Oh, and thank you for explaining the equipment too.
I'm glad you did not go in any further! but so much to see on this mine works!
Bare foot man you are bonkers. LOL That structure in the adit looks to me looks like some kind of cover for the area below, although the area above didn't appear to loose. For an old equipment nut like me this was one of the best.
LOL, as an equipment man, you should understand then that I did not want to ruin my beloved boots in that iron mud... Yes, for the most part, the area above seemed pretty stable in that section. And I really did not understand all of the little sticks!
Very cool. At 16:45, the 'big flywheels' room (with no remaining roof) in that lower building with the tower looks to contain a large single cylinder engine next to a large air compressor for delivering compressed air to the drills in that lower adit. At 11:32 you passed what looks to be part of either the engine or the compressor.
The machines that appear at the minute 16:48 covered by the bush, are compressors, from the characteristics they seem of the Ingersoll Rand Type 30 or 20 of the first decades of the 900 (see video ruclips.net/video/PSycpKznpWw/видео.html minute 2:06), the building that houses the compressors is the "historical part of the mine", you can see the electric cabin that housed, before converting to electricity, steam generators.
Thank you for the additional information, Alessio. You are really good at picking these things out.I had a difficult time to determine how the modern and the historical part of the mine worked together here.
Year it goes on what a sight
Bare foot in this mine Cold wet dangerous for your feet
Wow thats very much for my intension
Thanks for sharing
Yours Frank
Bravo 👏 I think mine was flooded out and built those branches up in the process something like the beavers would create.........................🇺🇸🇺🇸👍
You do a great job exploring and explaining as you go. Love your work and dedication.
Thank you. I appreciate hearing that and I'm glad you're enjoying these...
First was a vertical bandsaw 2nd is a horizontal band saw. And the "jailhouse" is most likely tool storage.
Thank you.
A cage to lock up Gas bottles for welding and cutting. And the machine was a reciprocating metal saw.
Wow these two videos are exciting. There must be lots of stuff hidden in the over growth. I bet this mine and workings looked a lot better during WW2. I find it crazy how overgrown some of the buildings are. It's like exploring some abandoned planet. Great videos!
Yes, it is insane how much stuff was covered up by the ivy and blackberry bushes... Imagine if I had visited in the summer! I'll bet they were running flat out in World War II to supply iron for the war effort.
It's a very well lubricated metal saw. We used them for cutting bar stock to smaller lathe size. Probably used on that "jail"
Thank you. Yes, that makes sense considering what they were doing there...
That ore chute going down to the road was huge!! Well worth checking them out thats for sure. Shame the older adit didn't go that far, but still interesting to look at, amazing how sound travels in some mines, that rush of water sounded like a big waterfall in the distance. Def take a air monitor in these kind of mines, bad air does lurk, especially down the ends where the collapses are. Look forward to seeing the other main adit :)
Haha, seriously, that little trickle of water sounded like Niagara Falls to me when I was making my way toward it and it ended up being nothing! It is a shame that I could not follow the lower adit in farther as I suspect that collapse cut off a lot of workings back there. Yes,I do take gas meters into these. Maybe not boots, but I do take gas meters. LOL. No problems yet in Italy... I think those lower ore chutes going down to the road were the biggest I have ever seen.
Another good vid can’t wait to see more of this place
Really cool to see all the old mining history!
Yes, I thought it was great to see so much stuff still there!
It looks like at the end where all those sticks and branches are from a flooded cave in I'd say... but has closed up again... but that could have also led outside
At 1:34 is the rest of the motor to the blower from just a few minutes before. You also had a great shot of the motor casing that was destroyed to recover the copper when you were showing the blower.
At 3:23, that looks to be a power hack saw, used to cut metal.
Thank you for explaining the equipment. I need to bring you on as a consultant for future videos...
Thanks! I love the videos, as I've always been enticed to go underground, but never had the equipment to do so. And you were spot on with the bandsaw (really a quite old version, but would have been great in its day).
Yes, it actually takes a fair amount of good equipment as I have learned by trial and error over the years... I would love to have seen that band saw operating!
I've actually got an Italian built large band saw, though not as large as that one. As for mines, I've been to quite a few, especially in the Death Valley area, but those have all been visited by folks quite concerned about bats and falling humans.....
While I don't have much expertise underground, I've spent a lot of time around old equipment!
Yes, it is a shame how many formerly great sites around Death Valley have been visited by those concerned about bats and falling humans...
Props to you for slogging through that thing without shoes! I once found bare footprints in a flooded mine...it was surprising to say the least lol. Awesome job as always!
Thank you! I would expect bear footprints inside of a mine would be far more likely than bare footprints... I figured I was the only one dumb enough to do that.
I believe the timbering sheeting and branches where not just for support but a primitively way to separate the upper and lower part of the tunnel for ventilation using the local materials
Yeah, that's certainly possible... I've never seen anything like it before.
1:35 is the electric motor for the blower above. Someone just threw it down the hill.
It is actually not much more than the armature assembly. Someone has ripped out the copper wire from both the stator and core coils. There where a bunch of the stator laminations in the blower house above, and one hanging in a tree.
GAR WOOD IS MY GREAT UNCLE...COOL FIND !!!
Ah, that's very cool. I'm glad I could show you that.
BARE FOOTED! OMG, your feet could rot off wading through that sludge! No one can say you don't go the extra mile and I love the way you examine the both the huge artifacts (ore bins) as well as the minutia (toilets)? I don't know if I missed it in the first episode but what was it they mined? I meant to mention it several videos ago but your stabilizer really makes for great videos. Thanks for another one.
Haha, I don't like unfinished business and hated the idea of presenting an incomplete video... The waders were WAY back in the car. Yes, I find it interesting to examine the little details (such as toilets) as well as the big stuff everyone likes such as mills, ore bins or LHDs. I think it gives a better picture of how life there really was. This was primarily an iron mine, although there were a couple of very rare minerals here as well (I talk about them in the description of the first video). Thank you, yes, I think the stabilizer makes a huge difference - probably one of the best purchases I have made.
Love your videos, keep up the good work
Thank you very much.
Pretty sure those toothed metal plates you see laying by the blower are the laminations to what was once upon a time the stator of an electric motor (the part with all the copper windings that stays still). I'd guess they stripped it for the copper. More than likely the remains of the motor that powered the blower.
Thank you. Yes, I believe you are 100% correct about that.
The piece of machinery you mentioned on the beginning seems the be the electric motor of the blower which was thrown down from the small hill
Yes, it likely was.
Awesome video. Can't wait to see the 3rd part.
Thank you. Glad you are enjoying this mine... All four videos in this series have been published. Here is the third video:
ruclips.net/video/Z6IQGEMuEOw/видео.html
And here is the fourth:
ruclips.net/video/HQCTsW9GdaY/видео.html
Appreciate your hard work, that too in jungle alone.... Keep rocking
Thank you!
the little branches are Blasting poles, for pushing the dynamite in the blasting hole,
The little jail looking thing is probably a tool storage cage. Locked up so people don’t just walk up and take. Pretty common.
Awesome explore. Really looks like Mother Nature is taking this place back. Looks like people at least hike along the cart tracks occasionally.
Yes, you saw how close this mine is to the road. So, I am sure a few locals have poked around in there. Mother Nature is definitely busy at this one!
Yikes. That lower mine was very wet. Very tenacious of you to go in without boots. I can't imagine what it would have been like if you stepped on a rusty nail.
I've found that the lower down the hill an adit is, the more wet it usually is... Those at the base of a hill or mountain are usually completely flooded. Haha, I really like those boots.
Sweet video kind of reminds me of US mines! I'm from Michigan and Gar Wood used to build race boats, I think he held the water speed record early 1900's, I'll have to look it up.
Thank you. Yes, I think you're right about Gar Wood. I Googled the name before I published the video and that rings a bell...
That one piece of machinery you didn't know may have been a grinder for drill bits and the "jail" may have been something to store things a value maybe?? Interesting video!
Thank you. Yes, I don't know what else it could have been...
@@TVRExploring thank you for making these videos, they are really neat!! Claustrophobic so there is NO WAY I could do what you and others here on RUclips have been doing so my 10 year old daughter and I enjoy them. Have you ever found anything of value exploring these??
Haha, yeah, there are a lot of unpleasant things underground... Sure, we find valuable things sometimes. It is not uncommon for us to see gold in the old placer mines, for example. And, of course, we see other valuable minerals on occasion. Sometimes, the antique equipment we find is valuable as well. Even things like old pairs of Levi's.
@@TVRExploring wow I'm sure. Are the mines you explore owned (I'm sure some are) or not not anymore. I know what abandoned means but some are abandoned but owned just never go back to visit or clean up. Know what I am trying to say?? I'm a Sheriff's Deputy and with us getting hit last night (01-18-19) with snow I worked 24 hours.....I'm tired lol
Some mines are patented and are clearly private property. One needs permission to visit those to avoid trespassing. Most mines, however, are on public land. A miner can file a claim on public land and therefore acquire the mineral rights to the property. They don't actually own the property though... They only have rights to the minerals and so anyone can hike there, camp there, park there, etc. Some miners hate this and will try to tell you otherwise, but it is public land. The only restriction you and I have on such a mining claim is that we cannot mine there. It gets tricky when you have patented and unpatented claims all mixed together as some will be private property and some will not be. This can be the case even in the middle of a National Forest. So, you can visit a mine and it will be fine, but if you check out the building right next to it twenty feet away, that is on a sliver of a patented claim, you could be trespassing. Sometimes you just don't know... It is more complex overseas as in places like Italy, going onto private property isn't necessarily trespassing as it depends upon your intent. 24 hours? That's a long shift! You earned a long nap.
The region of Italy you are in looks a lot like Western Oregon. Waitin for the next installment....
I hadn't thought about that before, but, yes, it does. It is the same latitude and is also next to the ocean, so that makes sense. Publishing the next installment in a few hours...
Awesome location. Maybe get a cheap pair of those light weight water/wading shoes or flip flops to put in your bag for when you don't want to lug the waders along. I would be so nervous about a broken glass bottle obscured in the mud. It only takes a shard to ruin your day and cripple you up from future exploring (tendon/ligament/joint). Glad you made it out unhurt. That corrugated plastic roofing inside may have also been the kind reinforced with fiberglass which can also cut/scratch or give you slivers! My arm was very itchy from it after cleaning some gutters out :)
You and I are very much on the same page... I bought a pair of imitation Converse in Eritrea for like $6 and I brought those on my most recent mine exploring trip since the waders were way too heavy to bother with on an airplane. Cheap flip flops would be an even better idea though and I'm not sure why I didn't think of that. Yet another top tip from you, Geiger Mouse. There are nasty surprises in the mud sometimes, but it is mostly just uncomfortable to walk on sharp rocks or to stub your toe on something hidden in the mud. The last mine I went in had stagnant water up to my ankles that was filled with bat shit. I was very glad to have the fake Converse then. Yes, I know the water that soaked through was the same water as on the outside, but, psychologically, it felt better to not have direct skin contact with the water.
yeah smart to keep the feet enclosed with converse at least to lessen the chance of cuts against sharp rocks - especially in nasty water. Harsh chemicals, acidic mine water... or even stuff you might catch from a festering rat corpse. I just did a search on acidic mine drainage and apparently there are some varieties which can burn skin "Because of concentration levels, AMD can be 20 to 300 times more acidic than acid rain and can burn human skin and kill fish and other aquatic life. " ................. so get out quick if your feet start burning however you may not know it right away if so cold they are numb! :)
Really cool. I think perhaps someone tried to rehab the mine because the tilework and the plastic sheeting looked newer. Looks like some nasty, crumbly material though. And those guys worked in there daily with carbide lighting.
Yes, this site has been mined off and on for literally thousands of years. So, there is a mishmash of new and old workings all throughout the mine. You'll really see them clash in the upper adit.
the collapsed section is in real bad shape that timber over your head has a major crack, could let go any time. Be safe, I wouldn't try to go further, you never know it might collapse behind you, than you would be trapped..You said you went barefoot, definitely clean your feet ASAP walking through that H2s can be produced by the breakdown of organic matter and human/ animal wastes (e.g. , sewage).
Nah, I wasn't going through that black water - especially considering what was beyond...
27:00 This is a really old mine, they would dig through a vein at the topmost part, then as time went on they would lower the floor to get more ore out, and then build that "second story" with the green corrugated plastic on it. That's why the ceiling is so high, because they actually lowered the floor. But think back before the green plastic was invented, what would they have used? Lumber, you say? Ahh... but what if it was WW2 and all the lumber was reserved for the military, what would they have used then? They would have cut small branches, and made a mesh of that, sort of like they do in Asia with bamboo. That would have been the floor of that second story area. So what you are seeing is the really old floor from that upper level, which eventually was probably rotting away, so they replaced it with the green plastic. That's my take anyway.
I like where you're going with that... That is the best explanation I've heard yet.
Good video !
Thank you!
Awesome explore
I've been really impressed by the mines in Italy so far.
Excellent explore as always ! Good documentation. And, thank you for providing scale (With your hand at least); Now we just need to know the size of your hand (Grin. Skip that part)
Cheers!, and be safe.
Haha, I'll bring a ruler next time! Thanks for the comment.
I would have ruined the boots. No way I would've walked barefoot in there, ever. Think about it, you're in a foreign country, in a sketchy mine, do you really want to take the risk of injuring yourself and getting a nightmare infection? Can't wait to see the next video. I look forward to these every week. Very interesting.
Ah, but if you had tried these wonderful boots on, I'm sure you would have been happy to sacrifice your feet... LOL. It's actually not a foreign country for me. I live in Italy. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. I've got quite a backlog of them and so I'll keep them coming for a while still. Thank you for the comment.
wait - I thought you lived in the NW... part of the time maybe?
The jail thingy was most likely for oxygen and acetylene bottles, or to inflate tires inside.
Yes, that makes a lot of sense... Thank you.
Great video, as always. Barefoot... that is determination.
Thank you. Haha, I hate unfinished business...
Would love to have seen these old mines when they were operating
Me too!
Those loos look like shower toilets. I may be wrong but last time I saw one in Italy was near Mt Etna, normally they have a grid on hinges which you can bring down over the foot plates /squatting zone to stand on whilst the shower is running. Or fold up whist you do your business. Not the most pleasant experience, but could explain the shower /loo room.
Ah, that makes sense now! That one really threw me for a loop... I did not even know they had shower-loo combos, so I appreciate you telling me.That must be what that was.
Probably one of the creepiest mines I've seen yet..
Wait until you see the upper levels!
TVR Exploring I'll keep my eye out... No pun I intended. ☺
given the way those small sticks are sitting, it reminds me of a flooded river bank. it's possible that the shaft had flooded and the sticks were brought in with the current. may have also been what caused the collapse.
I think the sticks on the floor of the adit look like they were washed up there because they fell down from above. The sticks above the large timbers didn't come in with a flood because they are carefully placed in a pattern and have coverings over them in some sections. So, I remain completely baffled as to why they were put there. We have never seen anything like it in any other mines.
TVR Exploring well it is Italian, perhaps it was done for style points. Haha
That's the best explanation I've heard yet.
The "jail" was likely for storing their tools. Dynamite would be stored away from a heavy traffic area like a workshop like that and in an enclosed structure where humidity could be more easily controlled.
Yes, that makes the most sense... Dynamite storage really didn't seem right. Thank you.
HI. I justvwant to say thank you for your videos they r amazing. They help pass my time overseas. Ive have 11 yrs with the Army. I have seen many Eastern Toilets as we call them. At 6:50 in the video u were double right. They area showers and toilets. They could have had a mainly asian or middle eastern crew as I dont believe they are common in Italy. It is common especially decades ago to have the shower with a floor stall. They are still used in asia like that. The middle east too but much more rare for water reasons.
Thank you. Glad I can help break up some of the down time for you... I actually asked around about those toilet/shower combos and, apparently, they were not uncommon in the past in industrial settings like this.
TVR Exploring sweet. Well im sure you are glad our style of showers are the norm now in Italy since you were visiting. Bybthe way I am extremely jealous as I am Italian and its my dream to go wonder arounf that country but havent had the chance yet. Why were you in Italy and Eritrea? Eritrea especially is random and not the most desirable location for vacation.
Italy is a great place... Every region is unique and once one has gotten the obligatory sites out of the way in places like Rome, there is SO much more to the country. I actually live in Italy for most of the year (only the summers are in the US). So, this was actually just a weekend trip for us. Haha, Eritrea is definitely a desirable location for a vacation for me. I love going to places like that! I work as a war reporter too and so I have spent a lot of time in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, etc. as well... I far prefer places like that to sitting on a beach sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it.
TVR Exploring Wow man. I didn't have a clue u lived there. Lucky! Yes Italy is very diverse. My family is a very famous and connected family from Sicily. It is very different from even main land or the other Islands. What u do is very honorable. I had a couple media personnel tide along in my gun truck in northeastern Afghan back in 2012. Ur from Northern Cal tho right. I have a god sis that is a professor and a god brother that goes to Butte up there in Chico.
Yes, Chiaramonte is certainly a famous name in Sicily... Connections are the lifeblood of Italy and so anyone with connections can go very far. Yes, I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains (not too far from Chico). My parents actually have a house in Chico now. I'm glad the journos that went with you in Afghanistan were cool. Some journalists can be pretentious pricks that are almost unbearable to be around. I suppose it is like any profession... Some people are cool and others are not. I spent a couple of months in Afghanistan as a tourist in 2008 and loved it. Of course, I didn't go to Helmand and Khandahar and some of the places I went - like Kunduz - are not possible to visit anymore. However, when I went, things weren't too bad yet.
Cage is a storage locker for tools since its an open air shop. The two machines, the yellow one is a vertical band saw not a press and the grey one is a horizontal band saw. Looks like a fabrication shop.
Thank you.
The jail looks like a storage for compressed gas cylinders, like acetylene, oxygen, welding gasses, etc!
Strange, huh?
@6:25 you cant go to italy without checking out shoes...yep Garwood was one of histories characters. We had a gar wood 25,000 lb winch on a WW2 military pattern Ford V8 truck. Around 1970 I saw a photo of him sitting in a race car so I dug into his history ... One of the folks who helped make America.
Haha, good point about the shoes... Garwood is one of those figures that history seems to have mostly forgotten, but, as you indicated, he deserves more respect than that.
The tool at 3:15 looks like a power hacksaw.
Tree branches are from a past flash flood and they usually stack up like this at a narrow point or get stuck around machinery
I'm familiar with the look of branches from a flood and this was different. They were quite deliberately stacked on the timbers above and the sticks on the bottom of the adit were simply a section that fell down. The whole thing was very strange. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else.
I bet those spikes in the tunnel wall was the trams power line
Yes, I agree with you. They likely carried cables/pipes for electricity and air.
Another awesome video cant wait to see part 3, please ware foot protection none of us here want to see you get hurt .
Thank you for your concern. Haha, I assure you, bare foot exploring is not a standard procedure for me.
I know a guy who never wears shoes either, heavy calloused feet. But stepping on broken glass and rusty metal could be an issue?
I am curious what is making the stream yellow. Sulfur? If the question has been asked and answered, sorry for not reading all the comments.
That is iron.
That bandsaw must be really old. Like pre 1945 old. It has a unique company name "Kirchner" which, since Leipzig was in the Soviet part could only have existed pre 1945 or post 1990
looks like they had a saw mill for tendering into the mine
probably full sized train rail for circular saw mill
What is the location of this mine, and do you have any other coal mines to visit in europe
Wow very cool, that is an impressive place. I am thinking chuck wishes he was there. and wow barefoot even? have you got a back pack you can put muck boots in?. all that rail is cool and even the motive power is there, the actual train rail being there has me as a rail fan stumped also being that i don't see any standard gauge rail bed near by. that motor that was near the upper adit clearly looks to be for the blower and yes i also think it was a ventilation blower. what you termed as a "jail" i also think it was storage for mining explosives. the shower/bathroom; the left was wash basins the right was a shower then two toilet areas. that lower tower does look to be of the same use as the first one you saw. i think it was a power station for the lifts. and that rail for the lifts is cool. it appears that the large cool ore chute next to the road is for loading trucks hence the road being next to it obviously. i can see that there is going to be another part of this series and i am looking forward to it. thanks for sharing.
The actual train rail surprised me too. There is no track like that laid down anywhere underground in the mine that I saw. I brought the waders with me, but I left them in the car while I was assessing the mine. It ended up going MUCH farther than I expected and I didn't feel like taking 45 minutes (Yes, the mine was that big) to go all of the way back to the car to retrieve them since I wasn't even sure how far back this adit ran. I did go back and get them for the upper adit though since I knew that one was big. Yes, I have two more videos of the upper adit for this mine... Thanks for the comment.
I did hear you say that about the waders being far away in the car and then your anticipation for the adventure of the mine and i can understand that hence the reason i was wondering if you had a back pack to fit some muck boots in. again barefoot wow. and very cool, i look forward to seeing the next videos, i understand the editing time so thank you.
I do have a backpack for that purpose, but it is back in the States. Most of my gear is actually in the States... So, I am working with an imperfect mix of mine exploring gear that is missing some key components.
Oh!, i thought maybe you were currently home. I understand, i am being pro-socially helpful. i and others here share the concern that you wont be able to do what you love (that we are sharing) if you hurt yourself. i understand that we are not always prepared for Every possible situation in this very dynamic world. ( i am a Psychology student) but there are some very common things that we learn to adapt to, am i correct?. again, i admire your courage, your bravery, especially your calmness in these situations and i like that you know your limits. i can very much see the motivation in your passion of interest for these mines. I also love our history being that i am one of the American originals, My family was here before this country started. Stay safe my Friend.
Ah, you're one of the rare breed that was here from the early days... You and I are probably related if one goes back a few generations. I had a lot of family come over before the country was formed. Anyway, no, I am actually only "home" in the summers as Italy is my home for most of the year now. It has been my observation that humans can adapt to just about anything, so, yes, I believe you are correct about that. Thank you for the comment and the support.
Nice work! Put me on edge. Yes tree branches are strange. Black water and bad smell. Anything hidding in there?
If there was anything hiding, I didn't see it.
Well at least we know the locker doors were ripped off to make up the walkway for the bridge at 8:50 into the video.
Ah, I hadn't thought about that. It did look like that, huh?
"bare foot" ? That's crazy! Lol. Exploring an unknown mine bare foot I can't even imagine all the ways you could lose a foot or some toes. I'd rather have grabbed the wellies left in the locker room. Glad you didn't though but shit man don't do it again I enjoy your videos to much haha!
Didn't even think about the wellies nearby... That would have been the smart play. Oh well.
Wow Justin nice mine complex & you are keen going into that adit bearfoot
Thank you! Haha, maybe a little too keen!
That place is massive, if the infrastructure above is any indication of what lies below you had a lot to document.
Yes, they were not messing around at this mine. I suspect the collapse that blocked me from proceeding probably covered up pretty extensive workings...
Looks as though that was a big operation it was an MSHA compliant mine
I'm not sure what Italy's equivalent to MSHA is.
Can’t be easy hauling all that stuff in. How do you think 🤔 they got it transported to that area? Pretty country side. Another great video.
Thank you... It is a small, twisty road, but this site does have a road leading to it. So, I imagine they drove some of the equipment here. Also, they had a tram system set up. So, a lot of equipment and/or material could have been trammed up.
Could it be that those small branches formed a working platform for miners to work on the ceiling?
I have no idea, but Jeff Williams just left a comment and suggested that the tree branches are for filling the cut and fill stope that they never continued... He knows a lot more about mining than me. A working platform would seem possible too though.
Noice is like water somewhere over there
3:20 in is a power hacksaw.
Thank you! I knew you guys would know what that was...
That jail looking thing, could that possibly be an elevator
It did kind of look like one... I really have no idea.
your crazy man barefoot . some cool stuff up there be safe
Gotta look out for my beloved boots, d pete! Haha, yes, there was some real interesting stuff here...
The jail was probably for holding long pieces of metal stock
Or perhaps tools.
Does any one else hear disembodied voice at 22.54 @tvrexploring
26:27 Tree branches carried down shaft by rain wAter and deposited right there
Yes that was a jail but for tools so they don't disappear.
I always don't understand how they can leave all this metal and equipment laying around, rotting away. I mean, yes, its a coolfind to make later, but from an ecological and economical standpoint, they should at least sell it to the scrappers.
We're frequently amazed by what gets left behind.
You need a small drone with a camera that you can fly inside the mines. Fly it to places you can't get to.
I tried that once, but it didn't go well. Drone technology needs to advance some more before that becomes viable...
That's a power saw at 3:20
Hello, you are so much more courageous than I could ever be. If I went into some of the places you investigate I'd be having nightmares for months. Back in 1980 or so a major sewer line collapsed near where I lived, the roads were closed so I rode my bike over early on a Sunday morning to see what the area looked like. (big depression in the road) The sewer was a 16ft or so dia pipe 60 or so feet below the surface. I had a nightmare after that in which the sewer was running right behind our home and I ventured down into it and It was a huge cavern with a river running through it with concrete walls, and stairs and all sorts of other creepy things.
Haha, I've always wanted to go down a large drain system. They actually do tours on some of the Victorian sewers in the UK.
reciprocating saw?
That's not a jail it is a lockable containment area for gas
Haha, I know it isn't a jail. I was just saying that it looked like one. I expect you are correct about the gas storage.
What kind of sniffer do you use?
Are you referring to the gas meter I use?
Bare foot?? you do know mines are wet..right??
Yes, which is why I talked about the waders and I why I didn't have them with me immediately before mentioning being barefoot. I've visited hundreds of abandoned mines now and it is far more likely for things to go awry than for everything to go smoothly. Therefore, improvisation is essential. And sometimes that takes the form of going barefoot into a mine...
Barefoot in Tenanus alley?
Some things can't be helped. Better than destroying a great pair of boots...