In this video, we run out this great, unexplored level and start on the next level down, which turned out to be just as rewarding… The unexplored section of this mine definitely earned it a spot on my “Favorite Abandoned Mines” list. Given how damp and humid this mine was, I am very grateful that so many artifacts were preserved as well as they were. Most of the wood was a mess, but metal, paper, glass, carbide graffiti, etc. was fairly intact. I suppose I’m used to our mines in the Sierras where many adits are almost fully submerged for months at a time and never dry out completely (the water level just drops a bit) and many have thick layers of mud over everything.
The next video will be the last one from this visit and will be a bit longer in order to cover the whole level below. It was a good one…
As a reminder, this abandoned mine dates back to the 1800s and silver, lead, copper and zinc ore was pulled out of this complex… Several large, abandoned mines connect underground at this site, but the others are totally inaccessible from the surface. The mine we entered from will likely not be accessible for much longer either. We knew that the lower levels of the mine that we entered from were unexplored. So, our goals were to push as deep as possible into this mine and also to see if we could gain access to the neighboring mines.
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You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here:
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
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