|
So a couple of months ago my friend from England and I headed out to our mine. Although we are up there to work at the mine we usually take a couple of days to explore abandoned mines in the area.
I haven't been able to identify the name of this mine.
So we drove up the trail leading to the mine and see a good sized mine building. All around the area are small tailings piles indicating a lot of prospecting. Right behind the building is a large tailings pile and a vertical shaft. We decided to explore the building and mine first. Then rig the rope to drop the vertical shaft to see where it went.
We parked up the truck and started walking around the area. Everywhere we looked there were "scratches" (that's what we call small diggings) on the hillsides. Some were sizable while most only went back 10 to 20 feet.
The mine building is in pretty good shape for its age. It makes the exploration more fun to find them mostly intact. We generally find these collapsed on themselves.
Tony wanders around checking out the site. Although all of the machinery was removed, there were close to 50 ore sample bags scattered around the back of the building. The samples were labeled to be checked for gold, silver, copper, and a number of other minerals. We found a large shaker table with an air pump so we are pretty sure they were primarily looking for gold.
Sometimes it's the small details that make an explore interesting. The old miners used bottle tops as washers when they nailed the tin siding to the building. Pretty neat.
The ore was pulled up an incline out of the mine, then was pushed along these tracks to be processed.
Although there were interconnected diggings all along the face of the hillside, this was the adit where the ore was winched out.
The main incline in angled downwards at about 30 degrees. It looks pretty impressive but only goes back about 75 feet before ending. The workings beyond the end of the incline were not very extensive.
Given the size of the mine building and the tailings piles, this mine just wasn't large enough. Either we were missing something, or the large shaft just beyond the mine building was the "main" mine. It still didn't explain why the winch pad inside of the building was orientated towards the incline, not the shaft. Then we make a find! Tony finds a shaft that leads down. Wayyy down.
The shaft has a ladder and an ore chute. Evidently the miners were dumping the ore down the chute, loading it at a lower level, then winching it out from somewhere else. Did this connect to the vertical shaft that we had found?
After a long climb down we found ourselves in a horizontal drift. Time to explore! One of our little friends can't be bothered by strangers exploring his mine. They were everywhere in this mine.
At the top of the vertical shaft we had noticed burned wood. That's pretty common since people love to throw burning trash down these mines trying to start a big fire. With all of the old, dry wood laying around they often succeed. When we got to the bottom of the ladder we found a drift with lots of smoke on the walls. That pretty much confirms that the vertical shaft connected to this drift.
The walls got more smoked covered until we came to a pile of dirt blocking the drift. The dirt was coming from the roof and didn't have any smoke particles on it so we were pretty sure we had found the shaft. Tony decided to see if we could dig our way into the shaft.
It took about an hour of digging with makeshift tools to dig our way in. We were able to clear an opening just large enough to squeak through. Yes, it's as small as it looks. The girls got a little "squished" if you know that I mean. 
Here's a shot looking straight up the shaft. Although not visible in the picture, there were a whole bunch of birds flying around just below ground level. I'm guessing they had nests in the upper few feet of the shaft. Unfortunately their flapping wings rained dirt down on us the whole time we were down there.
Overall it was a pretty neat explore. We found another shaft up on the hill above the mine. It turned out to be about seventy feet deep. We rigged a rope and I dropped down the shaft. Probably the most interesting part of the explore was the condition of the ladder. The top twenty feet were rotten and couldn't be depended on. The next 20 feet were good. The next 10 were held in place by by two nails and swing back and forth. Then that last 20 feet were missing all together. Oddly the shaft just ended as if the miners had just decided not to come back one day.
This little mine "complex" was certainly worth the time to explore. It would take about two days to really explore it all, poking your nose in every little crack and crevice. Of course that's the best way to explore since you find things that the "all ahead full speed" explorers miss.
As we close out 2015 I'm looking forward to more explorations in 2016. Although I do have some pictures that I still haven't posted up from this year's explorations.
Abby Normal
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan |
|
Thanks for the tour! I need to explore more mines!
"When it rains, just find bigger drains." |
|
^First you have to find some out there that aren't flooded :p
Awesome story Abby! That's really cool that you guys were able to dig your way through and actually made it through a connection. Since you mentioned all the signs of a fire having taken place down there, I'm curious, do you carry a gas detector with you?
|
|
Okay, so people just randomly toss burning stuff into mines to start fires? Human stupidity will never cease to amaze me...
Beautiful spot! I loved the bottle cap washers. It must have given them a good reason to drink : )
"I'm just not set up to mold hard rubber..." |
|
Excellent thread! Really enjoyed the story and the pics. Small scale mining fascinates me. I wish I was closer to these areas.
Thank you for sharing!
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
|
|
Awesome story! You are really brave! I'm terrified of vertical and angled mines. I love that the tracks outside of the mine still exist. What a neat find.
Jim Sullivan @placesthatwere
http://www.placesthatwere.com |
|
Thanks all for the nice comments. It's pretty remote which I believe is the reason it's still in good shape.
Dawn, I currently do not have an air meter. I've considered them but just never shelled out the money to buy one and keep it calibrated.
Abby Normal
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan |
|
Posted by Abby Normal
Thanks all for the nice comments. It's pretty remote which I believe is the reason it's still in good shape.
Dawn, I currently do not have an air meter. I've considered them but just never shelled out the money to buy one and keep it calibrated.
Abby Normal
|
Canaries still work... Historically if bad air isn't an issue in this region you're probably ok barring decaying organic matter or a very recent fire in the mine. I be more concerned with hellholes and structural integrity.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
|
|
Very awesome. I'm sure it brings out the inner miner in all of us, I know it does for me.
|
|
Posted by blackhawk
Canaries still work... Historically if bad air isn't an issue in this region you're probably ok barring decaying organic matter or a very recent fire in the mine. I be more concerned with hellholes and structural integrity.
|
That's why I was curious about a gas detector. Unless there's really excellent air flow, I know I always get nervous when I see charred remains from a past fire. Heard too many horror stories involving that type of situation. They are very expensive and high maintenance devices though. We only bought ours out of pure frustration lol. Spent several days working toward accessing an area and then saw some bubbly water and got a whiff of rotten eggs. Ended up deciding that no matter what we were still going to try to explore the place and a gas detector is still cheaper than a coffin.
|
|
Posted by DawnPatrol
That's why I was curious about a gas detector. Unless there's really excellent air flow, I know I always get nervous when I see charred remains from a past fire. Heard too many horror stories involving that type of situation. They are very expensive and high maintenance devices though. We only bought ours out of pure frustration lol. Spent several days working toward accessing an area and then saw some bubbly water and got a whiff of rotten eggs. Ended up deciding that no matter what we were still going to try to explore the place and a gas detector is still cheaper than a coffin.
|
Remember the detector will warn you only -after- it's been exposed to the gas. Depending on the gas and concentration, that might not be a survivable event. Better than nothing though!
H2S is an insidious poison. If you suspect there may be high concentrations, >100 ppm of it you'll need SCBA to enter safely. I know people who were knock out after one breath of it; zero warning. Only reason they lived was someone else risked their lives to save them. In a mine that help will come to late.
CO is the other one at roughly the same levels as H2S. Not sure how long it would take to dissipate after a fire. Again in high concentrations without SCBA you are literally risking your life.
Methane can be naturally occurring. Guess if you're smoking down there it's levels aren't a concern, lol.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
|
|
Yeah that's true, I guess at certain concentrations even the gas detector won't really help. It does make us feel better though :p
|
|
Posted by DawnPatrol
Yeah that's true, I guess at certain concentrations even the gas detector won't really help. It does make us feel better though :p
|
A lot better than "I feel dizzy, let me rest here for a second...".
Tie the detector to a rope or stick. Now you have a sophisticated sampling probe.
Don't play with H2S, it is a proven killer even for experienced professionals. If you suspect it's presence best to leave. Fortunately you will rarely find it in mines. Remember it maybe trapped and present in mud and dry iron scale; disturbing either can sometimes release lethal quantities. Never trust your sense of smell with this gas.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
|
|
^Yeah, that's why we bought the detector in the first place. We were kayaking through a mine and stirred up something that Therrin thought resembled the smell of h2s. Though I've heard in certain concentrations of it, you can't even smell it. Decided to only come back with a gas detector. Never went off through the remainder of the trip, but I'm glad we got one.
|
|
Posted by DawnPatrol
^Yeah, that's why we bought the detector in the first place. We were kayaking through a mine and stirred up something that Therrin thought resembled the smell of h2s. Though I've heard in certain concentrations of it, you can't even smell it. Decided to only come back with a gas detector. Never went off through the remainder of the trip, but I'm glad we got one.
|
The detectable level for a human for this gas can be as low as .01 PPM!
The problem is smell is not a good indicator of it's concentration and worse after prolonged exposure to high levels your sense of smell becomes impaired; one of its physiological effects. You are wise to be wary of it. Any time a poison gas is called insidious, it's a bad customer.
Drinking the night before can lower your tolerance to it considerably. Individual tolerances can range considerably as well. Best to always go on the conservative side with dose and allowable exposure.
https://www.osha....lfide/hazards.html
[last edit 12/27/2015 11:12 PM by blackhawk - edited 1 times]
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
|
|
Really good right up. Thanks for sharing.
|
|
Digging FTW! We've excavated a few caved portals and the payoff has always been worth it, course we've failed a few times too, but you never know until you try! That said, I must immediately note that I seriously don't recommend it unless you have a lot of underground experience and are willing to roll the dice - you could run into gas pockets, low oxygen, or trigger a muck run super easily.
Listen to this guy and follow his links. I really have nothing to add to your comments Blackhawk, other than my own affirmation that H2S is scary shit. I've encountered it once out this way and got lucky that it was present within a somewhat gauged & identifiable situation. The desert folk are very lucky to have such generally hospitable ground (well, besides talc deposits, haha).
Libera te tu temet ipsum ab inferis!
52389, 118604 |
|
Posted by Akron
Digging FTW! We've excavated a few caved portals and the payoff has always been worth it, course we've failed a few times too, but you never know until you try! That said, I must immediately note that I seriously don't recommend it unless you have a lot of underground experience and are willing to roll the dice - you could run into gas pockets, low oxygen, or trigger a muck run super easily.
Listen to this guy and follow his links. I really have nothing to add to your comments Blackhawk, other than my own affirmation that H2S is scary shit. I've encountered it once out this way and got lucky that it was present within a somewhat gauged & identifiable situation. The desert folk are very lucky to have such generally hospitable ground (well, besides talc deposits, haha).
|
Out at Delamar I opened one portal that turned out to be the gateway to the whole mid level of the mine. It would have been tragic if it would have been lost. Chris and I opened another "pinch" that let us rappel from a mid level down to the main level so we could do a "thru trip".
At another mine in southern Nevada we dug our way into a lost drift. Turns out that it didn't go very far, but it was worth the effort.
Tony taking his turn with the shovel.
I had already pushed though and Tony was following.
Abby Normal
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan |
|
How's that Ford do on the trails?
|
|
Posted by OnlyFootprints
How's that Ford do on the trails?
|
It's actually my roommate's truck. I was using it while my truck was in the shop. It's a very capable truck but rides like a stiff old truck. The rough stuff beats you up a bit. That said, I really like it! It has a 400 something engine so it has plenty of power. It previously had 3 Hella 4000 lights on the front, but some scumbags in our neighborhood ripped them off. She has new ones but we have to figure out how to keep the new ones from getting stolen. I hate thieves!
Abby Normal
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan |
Ethics
