Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video goes deeper into the process and what’s involved with blasting through the hard rock (an essential part of underground gold mining) and the aftermath of that blasting. On a good day, we can drill the pattern of holes, pack them with explosives, initiate the blast, let the mine air out, muck out the waste rock and be ready to start drilling the next day. On a REALLY good day, we can do all of the above and then drill and blast a second round before leaving for the day to let the mine air out overnight. Being able to get off two rounds in one day is quite rare though because this is mining and things always go wrong in the extreme environments presented in mining.
In this video, we were mostly packing the drill holes with ANFO as the upper holes were dry and ANFO is cheaper than the other explosive that you saw with the yellow “sticks”. Those “sticks” are an emulsion that has the consistency of gel and they are not as impacted by the water. Similar to cooking food in a microwave, one cuts a slit into the plastic on the “stick” before packing it in. If it is the stick receiving the blasting cap, one cuts the top open. I’m mentioning this now because I can’t remember if I have video footage coming up that goes into more detail on that process or not.
Haha, dealing with that derailment and snapped axle will probably merit a video all of its own as I was not exaggerating when I said that that ended up being (still) the worst derailment we have experienced to date at the mine (and I’m saying that on 6/15/2022, not back when that happened).
The content in this video was shot in the fall of 2021. So, I definitely have some catching up to do as a lot has happened at the mine since then! The basic pattern is the same though – drill, blast, muck and repeat. For those of you that have been with me for a while, you know why things went off track in December last year... There is still a lot going on, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the difficult decisions are being made to get to that light as soon as possible.
*****
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
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!
*****
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
This video goes deeper into the process and what’s involved with blasting through the hard rock (an essential part of underground gold mining) and the aftermath of that blasting. On a good day, we can drill the pattern of holes, pack them with explosives, initiate the blast, let the mine air out, muck out the waste rock and be ready to start drilling the next day. On a REALLY good day, we can do all of the above and then drill and blast a second round before leaving for the day to let the mine air out overnight. Being able to get off two rounds in one day is quite rare though because this is mining and things always go wrong in the extreme environments presented in mining.
In this video, we were mostly packing the drill holes with ANFO as the upper holes were dry and ANFO is cheaper than the other explosive that you saw with the yellow “sticks”. Those “sticks” are an emulsion that has the consistency of gel and they are not as impacted by the water. Similar to cooking food in a microwave, one cuts a slit into the plastic on the “stick” before packing it in. If it is the stick receiving the blasting cap, one cuts the top open. I’m mentioning this now because I can’t remember if I have video footage coming up that goes into more detail on that process or not.
Haha, dealing with that derailment and snapped axle will probably merit a video all of its own as I was not exaggerating when I said that that ended up being (still) the worst derailment we have experienced to date at the mine (and I’m saying that on 6/15/2022, not back when that happened).
The content in this video was shot in the fall of 2021. So, I definitely have some catching up to do as a lot has happened at the mine since then! The basic pattern is the same though – drill, blast, muck and repeat. For those of you that have been with me for a while, you know why things went off track in December last year... There is still a lot going on, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the difficult decisions are being made to get to that light as soon as possible.
*****
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
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!
*****
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
