Digging Open A Lost Gold Mine
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- The existence of this gold mine is not a secret. Knowing that something exists does not prevent it from being lost though - even if we’re talking about a gold mine! A vague location of this mine is known by a few people as it appears on a handful of old maps. However, the workings of the mine and the locations of the entrances are something that many people have hunted for and have failed to locate over the years. When I was hunting for it, I actually walked right past the portal the first time, although I thought it looked a little off (one does get an eye for such things after visiting hundreds of abandoned mines). On the way back, I climbed up the cliff to take a closer look and realized that I was looking at the top edge of a mine portal that had eroded shut. The dig was on!
Locating this portal was not sufficient though. After a considerable number of hours of digging, we broke through to see down to an adit that was completely full of very deep water that had built up behind the earthen dam created by the portal eroding shut. Given the way that bits of floating pine needles were slowly moving in the water, we concluded that another, lower portal had to exist. Sure enough, after further hunting (and aided by a better sense of where it should be), we located this lower portal.
We knew that the only way that we could get in to this gold mine would be if we could drain some of the considerable amount of water inside as the water level ran up to the top of the adit. So, we spent two days digging through the huge amount of rock and dirt blocking the lower entrance to the mine until we could begin releasing a sufficient amount of water. As the lower portal had even more (and deeper) water backed up behind it, we then trekked back to the portal I located and dropped inside from there.
The flooded false floors are a little sporty to cross because it is impossible to know how rotted the wooden supports are. Further, as soon as one approaches them, the silt that is churned up by walking clouds the water and one can see absolutely nothing. So, the technique we developed in that situation is to locate the rails with your feet and to then duck walk across the pits on the rails. Only one person at a time goes across and one does not step off of the rails until feeling around with their foot to make very sure that they are off of the false floor.
Toward the end of the section of the mine that we were able to access, it appeared that that branch off to the left had been badly caved for a long time. The branch going off to the right seemed newer and, I presume, it was intended to circumvent that ugly caved area. However, as you saw, this newer section caved as well! So, there is definitely some bad ground there. Serpentine is notorious for caving like that.
This underground lode gold mine dates back to the early 1880s and within its first year of production, it is estimated to have delivered in excess of 3,000 ounces of gold. Efforts to design and build a mill in the 1890s failed, leading the mine to be abandoned. Since that time, there have only been a few brief and half-hearted attempts at resuming the mining of gold.
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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
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
That opening shot took me back home to my stomping grounds as a kid! Its nice to see you reviewing some of the mines in that area! My family (Father, Grandfather and Uncles) worked some of those mines behind you and below you. The stories they would tell bring back memories. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for the Christmas Video and the hard Work that you three did getting the Mine open . The Images of the inside of the mine were Interesting . The View outside was stunning . That false floor got me . Somewhere up stairs is a Box with Swimmies in them . Unfortunately they are Child size . I would have been very cold standing in the water Waiting for your safe return . Stay healthy please .
I cannot believe you don’t have more viewers than you have. You are by far the best explorer of old mines on you tube.
Merry Christmas from one of your biggest fans!
Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you as well!
@@TVRExploring Would you be willing to possibly post some of those beautiful stills somewhere? They could totally be a desktop background... Thanks for all you do!
I paused this video right at the beginning so I could finish another -- then noticed the background on this video. Wow!!! What a beautiful view!!! I haven't even watched yet and am thinking of the logistics to mine up there!
Definitely a beautiful view... And, no, it is not easy to mine in such locations!
Hello from Texas! Thank you for the amazing videos. I agree, such beauty! Not wanting the location, but what state is this in? Such awesomeness. You have the best job!
Gods country once again by the looks of it. False floors covered in water and questionable wood work make me nervous just watching the vid. You've got my respect and have for many months. Gods speed throughout the holidays Justin.
This is the good stuff right here!!! The excitement of being there due to your efforts to record this history is much appreciated.
Absolutely mind blowing! It's so hard to explore while in such harsh conditions. But you still treck on.
You are a true explorer and I am very thankful for all your documentation. Im also thankful for all your guidance during RAD Adventures. Merry Christmas my friend.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Justin. Call that the rainbow layer mine. Neat colors. Stay cool in them wet mines, ha ha. Have a safe explore and thank goodness for waders.
Merry Christmas J, to you and your family.
This was a heck of a lot of work, really excited to see what you would find. The mineralization was stunning, there was one area where the wall actually looked a bit light purple/pink, my wife walked by when amazing flowstone ceiling was in view and she stopped, and said in the light it looked like something you would see in a Disneyland "Mine Ride"...proof that nature can put on a show like no other.
Sorry you were not more rewarded for your efforts to open this mine...but there is always the next one. That false floor crossing had me in alarm mode, LOL
Cool mine, glad you took the time to dig it out. Happy Holidays TVR and friends, look forward to your videos in the new year!
I went down in to a mine with my husky one time and about a quarter mile in he stopped dead in his tracks and the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he starts barking ahead of us in to the darkness. Needless to say, that was the point I walked backwards all the way back to the start and never went down there again. My dog had charged head first at bears, cougars and coyotes on more than one occasion in the Washington wilderness but whatever was jn that mine scared the the bejesus out of him and I both.
It was birdasaurus rex 🐔
Probably aliens
Oof, not sure I'd be able to get myself to move over that false floor, though I do wonder whats down there in all these flooded mines.
I would love to take an underwater drone and explore flooded areas like those
WHAT A COOL EXPLORE! This is the real Indiana Jones type deal right here. Digging into history which nobody has seen for who knows how long. Its like getting into the pyramids for the first time! Thank you for sharing this with us!
"Digging into history which nobody has seen for who knows how long."
My favorite kind of history to get into!
@@TVRExploring O G Mine exploring right thur!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!!! & Thanks for all the adventures > I didn’t even get my feet wet!!!
Jason, Is this mine in the Eastern Sierras ? A Very Majestic Beautiful Area!!! Just like up in the Rockies!
Next time bring a couple of truck inner tubes, rope and a paddle and make a raft !!! Also I have been in mines that were under water for years... all the wood was like petrified wood solid as a rock! When wood is fully submerged doesn’t rot it seems to get mineralized and it gets stronger!!!! metal crystallizes and gets brittle, so the wood is stronger but the nails are getting weaker!!! But above the water line wood rots fast in a damp environment !!!
What is a little scary is falling through a false floor is a lot like falling through the ice... adding to the danger you are much heavier when fully geared up > So, you will sink like a stone!!!! Add to that a set of waders filled up with water will make it near impossible to get out of the water (with them on! )
Be safe!
Thanks for the adventures !
My wife called this the "Candy Corn Mine" because of the multi-colored mineralization and the fact that it looked nice at first but, like candy corn, is full of disappointment. :P
Great video! Definitely had me clenching at the thought of crossing a chasm of unknown depth on a pair of rusted rails. Y'all should pack in kickboards or small innertubes to flooded mines. :)
Such an impressive mine! I loved how you could see the different water levels on the walls as well as that gorgeous flowstone! That false floor was terrifying though....
Edit: that thin flows flowstone is what I call thick-cut cave bacon!
They were prepping for the Roni rona with the toilet paper even then..lol. have to say this motivated me to think about digging up one I found near me. Merry Christmas sir!
Tell your friends about this channel and lets get them 100, 000 subscribers!! Love this channel!
Merry Christmas !!!!
You are awesome and your videos are incredible!!!!
Take care
Those flowstones are amazing. Very cool walls in this one in general. The lines from the changing water levels were incredible. That false floor though... I doubt I could bring myself to pass over something like that.
8:34 - yeah fk that noise, surprised it took you a while to figure out the only thing holding you above what appears to be a *huge* hole in the ground is the rails there. Even by your standards that's super sketch.
that mine was sooo colourful have a great xmas day from the uk..
Thank you! You too!
Wouldn't it be neat if someone were to open under that mine to always have it drained?
the Geology is amazing.
The inner tube Idea your partner came up with is a fantastic idea, just paddle to the end.
Very sketchy man!!! Glad yall made it thou. MERRY CHRISTMAS and may 2021 bring bigger and better things for all.
That water looked clear and cold. Brave fellows you are . Thank for sharing. Happy New Year.
Thank you, Katherine! I hope 2021 is a good year for you.
Nice discovery guys. Beautiful mine and geology. 👏👏👏
Glad you enjoyed it
Good find Justin! Thank you. Sorry the shaft didn’t play out better for you. Good work though.
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. We watched this for Christmas Eve. Thank you ever so much.
Thanks for digging this mine up for us 😂 Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Perfect Xmas day viewing.
Wow , those opening scenes were fabulous. Merry Christmas
Beautiful mountain valley leading up to the mine. A lot of work put into exploring this one no doubt. The mineralization is spectacular a work art nonetheless !!!
Ooh, a wet mine, my favourite kind :) Lovely colours with it being wet, can see the multiple levels water has been at too. Unusual for water to get deeper due to usual upward slope. Going to one soon where will be up to my neck, looking forward to it, especially in Winter. Will be a video about that. Yep, with our older, wet mines, get a lot of calcification, that 'fin' on calcite you saw is called a calcite curtain :)
That opening shot...what a locale! Happy holidays to you.
merry christmas and a happy new year full of all the things you hope for ... and thank you so much for the years entertainment !!
Well said! Thank you very much for the kind words and for coming along on our adventures...
Thanks for what you're doing by documenting all this proof of innovation and success. Merry Christmas!
Hi Justin, I confess I have never seen a mine quite like that before, it must have been like walking through a wonderland with all of those colours and beautiful flowstone formations. I would like to wish you and your family a great Christmas and I hope you have an amazing 2021, much love. xx 💖🦌🎄🥂
How do mines end up flooded - is there water already beneath the rock that rises, or does it come in from a local river or something like that? The fiery colouring down this mine gives a different meaning to what gold is, doesn't it? The mineralisation looks edible as well as wearable. What a fantastic find - kudos to you all for persevering the hidden mines of history's past.
Amazing opening... scenery and portal. Merry Christmas and holidays. Cheers Brian
Some beautiful flowstone and mineralizations in there. Thanks for the effort and for sharing! Merry Christmas to all!
Amazing views in and out of the mine, beautiful colors, thanks and merry Christmas.
One of the coolest looking ones I've seen yet on YT
Merry Christmas. Love this channel.
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you as well.
That's alot of water in there. The last section with the broken off massive piece. That's wild it's still there. Great video. From a fellow mine explorer here in Canada. Merry Christmas
During the entire video I felt like I had to pee.
Just a thought life jacket
You fall through a false floor in water
Loved the colors and all of the flow stone. You have a Merry Christmas.
If it had drainage it would be a cool mine to explore but all that water is a bummer. Merry Christmas.
Rt after I looked dn & said, "Scary!" u replied, "Interesting." Well this mine was both. I luv the multi-colored water-level stripes on the ribs, straight out of a '70's wall-art project, & the amazing flow-stone formations on the back & elsewhere = so cool! But false floors? Beneath murky, mystery-chemical-filled floodwaters? Nosireebobcattail! That said, glad u were able to document some of it as it really was an interesting sight to see & who knows how much longer any of it will be accessible. Those dark, impenetrable depths u only catch glimpses of on either side of yr rusty-rail walkway? My def of scary, that is. Take care now, & watch yr step!
Merry Christmas sir! Thanks for your dedication to these videos. You take a lot of risk for the sake of historical preservation for these sites. Cheers!
Well I'm going to call that mine the brown trouser mine as when I seen you walking over that false floor I thought no way! Merry Christmas from South Wales Uk.
Hilarious!!!
Awesome stuff guys thanks for sharing bro 😊 Happy New year to all.
At 12:10 the riveted pressure tank looks just like the air powered "locomotives" used to pull ore carts through the mines from the 1920s. They ran on about 1500 psi.
What a great mine
The minerals were great
Sorroly the back broke so it is shut forever
Thank you for sharing this wet adventure and all the effords you had to Made to get in to take this amazing Video
Merry Christmas stay healthy and a blessed new year 2021
Yours Frank Galetzka
Great Video . One false step over the false floor you would be swimming. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR AND COVID 19 FREE.
Absolutely fantastic country right there, beautiful!
Merry Christmas 🎁. Thanks for all the videos.
Ty for your videos and a big Merry Christmas and happy new year to your family and friends.
U guys really should have handheld XRF analyzers! Would be nice to take measurements of the few interesting mineralizations along the mine. Miners looking for gold maybe, but mine can have other valuable metals in it.
Adventure time! Happy to see the upload be well
Great looking walls, very colorful, I know carrying too much is no fun but a inflatable chair to float over a false floor would be a small helper :-) too bad the place was collapsed and closed up inside.
Merry Christmas, I hope it is full of joy & laughter.
Not me I’ll stay above ground thank you. I’m from a logging family and I’ve seen a lot of dangerous things from widow makers snags hung up trees and the like but there was always a way to get away from them in mines you don’t have that luxury. I do admire you for documenting history though. At some point hopefully you might want to do some videos of California’s logging history there not much of it left and it should not be forgotten. I have a few suggestions if you’re interested and theres mines in those areas as well. Look into Eldorado county the Placerville Camino and pollock pines areas . Out cable road there used to be a cable house that went across the American river canyon from the Camino side to the George Town side it’s long been burned down only the cement foundation and the large cables remain. My great grandfather rode across it and fell timber using an axe and hand saw then rode back on the logs he fell at the end of the day. So if you want to document such areas let me know I know plenty after 4 generations of our family logging from the 1920s to 2000 Thats a lot of history.
Not a bad way to start the day with that view
Merry Christmas Justin & Mates good way to spend your day Guys, thanks for video not really a nice place for a deep dive. cheers.
You have heard the saying "Fools rush it where angels fear to tread." I go where fools fear to tread, but I would not have gone over that false floor. I think that was a poor decision.
I would not have gone over either, but you could see that it was flooded below the floor, so they would have been able to swim back if things went bad on the false floor. The waders would probably have to be removed to swim though.
@@stephenk.5839 The problem is that the buoyancy of your body might only drive you half way down just enough for your head to be submerged and the wood trap your legs long enough to drown you. Or you fall all of the way through and the murky water combined with the darkness of the mine with your light sunk to the bottom as you yelled "Oh shit!!!!" makes it so you can not find your way back to the hole you fell through assuming it isn't blocked off.
I have too much experience swimming in waders.
I know you mostly film in California but that sure looks like the San Juans in Colorado to me.
Thank you very much for this video . As one who is single and in one of the designated "high risk " groups . I shall be alone this Christmas due to my families " they say " concern for me :D Thanks again . Hope you and yours has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS ... gubs
Makes a change to see you in a really wet mine!! Loving that flowstone, it has some amazing formations, those flat fin types i believe are called curtain formations. Shame about the collapse at the end, it had potential to go a lot further too!
Awesome video!
13:50-13:56 something is saying "hey, what you doing in here" clear as a bell.
Ya, You can have the real wet mines! LOL! I'd rather watch You navigate them than be there myself! LOL! Thanks for the Tour!
Could sit there at that opening panorama with a cup of coffee for hours. As you approached the false floor. I saying stop stop stop. My kid says , why don't they just swim instead of walk? 12:51 would make for some cool art work with a better shot. 13:05 is awesome. Stills are very cool.
Haha, I draw the line at swimming! Aside from the weight and the fact that the electronics couldn't handle it, that water is FREEZING cold inside of an abandoned mine.
And, yes, that scenery up there is beautiful!
What prevents further drainage of this mine to allow exploration of areas that still have neck deep (or deeper) water?
MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLK'S THANK'S FOR DIP!!!; )
The toilet paper was probably left there, for use when you realise you're on that false floor. (and you have to re-cross it to get out!)
Merry Christmas from one from the uk
Trip saved by the Flow stone, nice Ribbion strip at the end.
You should properly dig out the portal where you climbed in and let the water drain out. It will be gushing. There must be millions of gallons of water in there. Depends how far back the flooded tunnels go.
Man this area looks like very few places I can think of in Ca.
Well damn brother,I do believe I know where you were. Good shit,close to home!
Scary moment indeed walking over tha false floor. I'm surprised you had the Bottle for crossing that .
Also a shame it was so flooded , Water that was likely going nowhere, and only periodicaly drops .
But some lovely formations in there , small thin white curtain , and them water level colours are pretty cool .
You new official TVR exploring flag colours 😆
Well, false floors are part of mine exploring. One has to deal with them in order to properly see a mine. It would have killed me to leave that unexplored section behind...
The water is down in there because we drained it. Otherwise, it would have been over our heads.
The formations and colors are very cool! Ha, I'm afraid people will get the wrong idea though if I start making rainbow colors the "official" TVR colors!
@@TVRExploring I'd like to have seen the moment you broke through the soil to drain all that water. Bet it really gushed and for a long time!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all
That thin flow stone is called bacon flow stone.
Thank you for the technical term!
That’s funny I have always herd it was called “Ribbon”
At least if your foot slips into the dark void you could at least tread the water haha. I’d rather cross with water than with no water.
Waiters would fill with water and they will never save you.
If you stepped into a hole, you would drown. The weight of your wet clothes will pull you under, you'll get hyperthermia and you will drown.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nature is amazing.
Have you ever been to Cerro Gordo? There's lots of interesting things going on there. Might be fun.
One guy bought cerro Gordo 9 months ago he has a channel on here
@@fredted5115 Yes. And he has said that he does not want any outsiders exploring the mines, however there's a lot of experience on this channel, and I'm sure that he could use their help.
Justin, please, please tell me you have some ability to zoom in on the photo with the fish scales mineralization. I'm _dying_ to see it up close!!
And, can I just say... that corridor with the frosted ceiling was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in one of your videos. It reminds me of the glowworm caves in New Zealand.
Would have liked to see some of the dig, just for curiosities sake
Very cool! Hope you didn't poison any waterways draining it tho
Oh my God! Y'all are crazy!!!!!! LOL. Be safe!!!!!!!
I suppose their is a simple explanation,I wonder why the mines are not built to encourage the water to exit the mine? Seems like many mines are sloped in .
They all slope up at a specific degree (which I forget of course) which allows constant drainage at least above the normal ground water level. The problem with abandoned mines is that erosion blocks the opening quickly once maintenance ceases.
Take a little surf board in.. Would that help at all, Wade through the deeper water without having to put your feet down ❤️✌🏼
Merry Christmas!
Same to you!
Do you ever leave notes or time capsules of any sort in the mines that you explore?
Looks like southern Colorado!
Merry Christmas everyone!
excellent video merry Christmas and a happy new year
Thanks, you too!
That wasn't silt, it was iron oxide eating bacteria.