Bringing An Abandoned Gold Mine Back To Life: Part 5 of ?

Some viewers have asked why we do not have heavier equipment in the gold mine – such as a mucker. In case it was not clear in this video, it is not because we enjoy doing much of this work by hand as the old timers did. Instead, the infrastructure in this mine was in the same state as it was when the old timers worked it. So, we have needed to spend the summer rehabbing the mine to bring it up to a condition that can handle the heavy trammers, ore cars, muckers, etc.

The first order of business was to install and replace timber sets in the mine so that we don’t have to worry as much about it caving in on us. Following that, we had to start working on utilities – both for safety and to operate our equipment. What do I mean by utilities? I am referring to ventilation lines to bring fresh air into the mine (this is particularly important in clearing out gases left over following blasting). We also need compressed air to power the pneumatic equipment used underground in the mine. Independent air and water lines are also needed for the refuge chamber we built… And don’t forget electricity! We needed to run heavy electrical lines back to the 933 drift in order to provide power to a booster fan that supports the ventilation of the mine. We’ll need to run those electrical lines all of the way back to the 1600. Additionally, we needed to install a sump and a pump near the heading we’re going to be drilling in order for the drill to have the water it needs.

Then, one crew got to work on repairing and replacing much of the track. The track was in terrible condition – most of the ties were more than a century old and were completely rotted (meaning that they were doing nothing to hold the spikes that hold the rail in place). As such, when we would move loaded ore cars down the tracks, the rails would be bending and flexing all over the place. This caused frequent derailments and had to be addressed.

And do you think things go wrong? All of the time! These underground conditions are extremely challenging to work in (you’ve seen how much water is in there), which causes frequent equipment failures that necessitate difficult repairs in the worst circumstances. And dealing with a mine that is more than 150-years-old means that nothing is a standard or convenient size... As such, we are having to constantly modify tools and equipment to fit this particular mine.

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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: https://bit.ly/2wqcBDD

As well as a small gear update here: https://bit.ly/2p6Jip6

You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: https://goo.gl/TEKq9L

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. 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!

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