Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is an old mine. You can tell by the nature of the surface and underground workings as well as by the artifacts and infrastructure left behind… The mine changed hands and was abandoned so many times that it is almost impossible to properly trace the history of it (the name has been changed countless times). Some of the USGS records, suggest that antimony and tungsten were mined here, but the area is known for lead, silver and other minerals. That is dry technical data though. Seeing that little cabin and the primitive living quarters established in the portal of the adit and winze behind the cabin made me tremendously curious about the miners that lived, worked and even possibly died here. In other words, we were presented with a mystery.
Who were these forgotten miners? What were their lives like? Where were they from? Where did they go? There is absolutely no information on the miners that were here. None. Sometimes they leave graffiti behind in the abandoned mines that has names or towns they were connected to. However, this mine is so old that it seems they either didn’t have the carbide to leave the graffiti (using candles instead) or it has been lost with time. Of course, these questions about the PEOPLE connected to these old mines rather than just the matter-of-fact information on minerals, the number of adits or mine shafts, etc. is applicable to any abandoned mine. Seeing that cabin, the abandoned food containers, the little bench and table, the bed established in the portal to escape the heat and cold of the outside world, etc. hit me harder than normal though and made me very curious about these specific miners, particularly as there is so little (none) information out there about them. They are a huge mystery. We know absolutely nothing about them. That feels tragic and wrong to me.
Perhaps I am just being sentimental… However, it seems to me that these hardy miners were on the frontiers of the human experience, carving out an underground world in one of the harshest environments on earth, very far removed from any comforts or civilization and at a time when existence anywhere was not an easy thing. And yet they did it here! They don’t deserve any recognition for that?
*****
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD and here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
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.
I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
This is an old mine. You can tell by the nature of the surface and underground workings as well as by the artifacts and infrastructure left behind… The mine changed hands and was abandoned so many times that it is almost impossible to properly trace the history of it (the name has been changed countless times). Some of the USGS records, suggest that antimony and tungsten were mined here, but the area is known for lead, silver and other minerals. That is dry technical data though. Seeing that little cabin and the primitive living quarters established in the portal of the adit and winze behind the cabin made me tremendously curious about the miners that lived, worked and even possibly died here. In other words, we were presented with a mystery.
Who were these forgotten miners? What were their lives like? Where were they from? Where did they go? There is absolutely no information on the miners that were here. None. Sometimes they leave graffiti behind in the abandoned mines that has names or towns they were connected to. However, this mine is so old that it seems they either didn’t have the carbide to leave the graffiti (using candles instead) or it has been lost with time. Of course, these questions about the PEOPLE connected to these old mines rather than just the matter-of-fact information on minerals, the number of adits or mine shafts, etc. is applicable to any abandoned mine. Seeing that cabin, the abandoned food containers, the little bench and table, the bed established in the portal to escape the heat and cold of the outside world, etc. hit me harder than normal though and made me very curious about these specific miners, particularly as there is so little (none) information out there about them. They are a huge mystery. We know absolutely nothing about them. That feels tragic and wrong to me.
Perhaps I am just being sentimental… However, it seems to me that these hardy miners were on the frontiers of the human experience, carving out an underground world in one of the harshest environments on earth, very far removed from any comforts or civilization and at a time when existence anywhere was not an easy thing. And yet they did it here! They don’t deserve any recognition for that?
*****
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD and here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
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.
I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
