Abandoned Gold Mine Overloaded With Quartz & Crystals

[@kellyharper367]

Old disabled house bound dusty rusty rockhound here: This video is great! It's been 18 years since I crust-crawled in an old mine!

[@shanemcguire170]

Justin, I just want to add... For those who are not familiar with those drill bits, the hole in the tip where the cutting cruciform is, the center hole is designed for a Steam Drill. Steam would travel down the center of the drill bit to blow the drilling debris back out of the hole, as the drill drilled the hole. Later designs used compressed air to do the same function as the steam drills. Before the invention of the steam and air drills miners used a similar bit with a hammer. They referred to this as Single Jacking or Double Jacking depending on whether it was two miners per drill or a single miner per drill. If you are in a mine, most mines circa 1850 or earlier this is where you may find the solid drill bits. Most of the steam drilled mines will be circa 1889 or later. Plus most of the operational Hard Rock mines ceased to exist here in California after 1972. The last hard rock Gold Mine in revenue operation was the Empire Mine in Grass Valley, CA which is now a State Park.

[@Chris-CardVault]

I think your backwards buddy! If you don't line up the , whatyamaginger! To the power point! Then you won't drill!!

[@MrMambott]

I used a Compressed Air Drill like a big Jack Hammer with different Drill Bit lengths up to 1.8m in length for drilling dozens of holes in varying depths and angles to set explosive charges to blast rock in the Mining Industry and Hwy Construction through the side of mountains, when they would get jammed I would use an excavator and chain to pull them out, it being easier to wait until you had 10 or more stuck before taking the time to remove them saving time. One day in 1986 I had a dozen 1.8m Long drill bits jammed and before I could remove them a guy operating the Grader reversed over each and every one of them amazingly turning them instantly into 1st Grade Boomerangs. The Boss so in Awe of these Returnable Throwing Sticks he gave us a bonus in our pay and a big Steak Dinner at the Pub. 🤪🤪

[@MrMambott]

@@Chris-CardVault 😅😂😂🤣🤣

[@southerncross7235]

For bathing??

[@kellyharper367]

Old disabled house bound dusty rusty rockhound here: Great info! Thanks!

[@ralphpatrick3071]

Glad to see the relic hunters haven’t plundered this site. There’s still some cool things to see and explore. Thank you!

[@magicone9327]

Brachiated quartz at 31:50

[@jameselliott2362]

That mine is a rock hounds dream for crystals. Absolutely amazing !!

[@leesherman100]

More blood sweat and tears to develop this mine by TVR as well to explore it. How all of this was accomplished decades ago seems impossible. The quest for gold knows no bounds. Thanks TVR, another home run. Five star*!!

[@harrickvharrick3957]

I love the looks of that 120 year old compressor looks! The way things were were made back in the day and how materials were worked, caused a quality of machines that were just so good

[@patricknoveski6409]

In Jason's video of a tour in a mine ,I believe it was north San Deigo Ca. They had a big fly wheel compression machine like the old one here. Amazing the tenacity these miners had. Be it old or more modern. Just so cool u found this intact !

[@wuznotbornyesterda]

So was that compressor run by kerosene hit-and-miss engines? What was the belt connection to and how did they get that down there? If this is California, did they have cheap labor like Chinese come in there to carve that trail out so they could use mules and donkeys to haul equipment there?

[@steveanderson9303]

Great find! Thanks for sharing this quartz filled mine. At 37:56 you can see the “rock mouse” in the quartz with it’s eye, nose, head and front legs running to the left and body opposite. No,am not high, freeze the frame and look. Thanks again for another great video!

[@treasurebound]

Thank you for sharing your adventure through the mine. It is not easy to find abandoned mines with so many artifacts still intact. That was an impressive veining system.

[@jacobdoughten5704]

Most of the quartz vein was where you were walking and is now the huge pile outside and quartz is extremely hard in spots and would be difficult to drill and blast at times... it must have been very rich ore to move that much material... truly impressive

[@paulcooper9135]

Wow! Impressive mine! Those old timers had to be part mountain goat! Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

[@EraX52]

The amount of moss and the color around the mine was beautiful, such a fantastic area to chill. That river looked a lot smaller, before you went closer. Great exploration as well, keep up the great work!

[@TheSlimej]

You have no idea how much I appreciate your increased attention to the geology. It literally makes my mouth water 🤤.

[@TalRohan]

on site blacksmith says it may have been quite big (champion forge blower) Quartz gobbing means the main gold ore was next to the quartz, often white or lightly stained quartz doesnt have gold but the manky looking broken stuff next to it can be absolutely loaded....hence a big hole next to a quartz vein Generally miners would be looking for the best loads which were usually in the old stained mineralized quartz ...but that doesn't mean they found it all. They just followed the best stuff. Draw your own conclusion from that one ....... edit.....that mineralised chunk would be a bit they missed

[@williamwintemberg]

Beautiful scenery coming and going! Maybe the newer compressor was dropped in via a chopper. That outcropping looks so impressive! I understand the dust coming from those old drills killed many miners. Thanks Justin and Crew!

[@captsam54]

Boy.. That would be a beautiful place to homestead.. Always great stuff from you...

[@AUMINER1]

wow! what an amazing find! TVR never fails to deliver the good content, and yet still manages to find the secret locations! :)

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. Yes, this was in a beautiful setting!

[@archstanton9206]

Incredible. Everything about that site was worth spending time checking out...everything. The amount of quartz and crystals there is amazing. That tram answered questions, but that wheeled compressor brought a bunch. Looked to me like a Detroit powering it, but not sure. That had to come in on some kinda two track, with a very gutsy guy riding a brake pedal all the way down on whatever was towing it. And no sign of what towed it in, which means they drove it out. I don't recall seeing a belt driven old compressor like that in such amazing shape in many years. A beautiful spot indeed, would be a nice place for a cabin.

[@kolsen6330]

Looks like a 2-53 or 3-53 judging from the size of the blower. I bet 20 bucks that with some fresh diesel and a new battery it would start.

[@heinzwerner2871]

glad to see you are packing protection, I know I would as well considering how remote that site appears to be. Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@uwillnevahno6837]

America fk yeah!

[@davewebb9663]

Another fantastic adventure with TVR..you guys never fail to to find the best scenery and mines around..thanks for another great vid..cant wait for the next one...stay safe 🙂✌

[@dirkhartman9572]

Your grand adventures always make me happy!

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Judging by how that quartz looked I'll bet it has been hydrothermically altered, and that the values will actually be in the contact zone between the hanging/foot wall and the quartz vein. That would explain all the pockets as well as the well developed quartz crystal look. As well as why they used the quartz to building the gobbing up instead of hauling it out.

[@casedoumasr656]

Well Justin and gang so much to see here and rewatching this adventure and had to rewind alot so as to Not miss things and love all the talks along with it ❤️🏆 Looking foward to all adventure s new and old even the older are new if not watched thanks again

[@rolfsinkgraven]

Another surprising explore, loved watching it.

[@gregh7457]

back around 1974 my dad bought a bunch of used air force bomb boxes from the local military surplus store. back in those days they had tons of those things available. we got ones that were bigger and used them for hydroponics

[@astralvirgin09]

Wow! What a beautiful mine! The location is absolutely gorgeous and since I'm obsessed with quartz, you totally made my day! Take care, stay safe out the and Happy Holidays!

[@guysmith1946]

Yes, very enjoyable!!! And thank you for the geology class, it always makes it more interesting Thank You!!!

[@c103110a]

That's a LOT of quartz! Thanks for sharing!

[@drekor72]

What an incredible exploration! Thanks for sharing it with us.🥃

[@VintageLPs]

Exceptional vlog. The crystals were hard to pass up, I bet. Beautiful country.

[@MikeOrkid]

This one definitely reminds me of a Jr version of the crystal ballroom mine. I love how unsuspecting it is from the outside. Good stuff as always.

[@SueGirling68]

Hi Justin, wow that was a lot of solid quartz in one place, I loved the mouse crystal palace, he was living in fine style lol. Out of those 2 compressors, I bet the older one would still work without too many problems. I just want to say thank you for all of the hard work you put into every video, I would also like to wish you and your buddies a very happy Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe new year, much love. xx ❤

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you very much, Sue. Merry Christmas to you as well.

[@SueGirling68]

@@TVRExploring thanks Justin. xx

[@daedaluscreation4869]

I love following your adventures and learning as you enjoy yourself and educate us. I especially loved the crystal mouse palace! What an amazing and unique find… at an amazing and rarely so well preserved site!

[@OGRocker1]

That was a cool as hell explore, the amount of quartz was impressive. Good job filming and editing as always. Take care and stay safe Y'all ! ⛏⚒⛏ Cheers 🍻

[@royreynolds108]

The Gardener-Denver compressor is a rotary-screw compressor that would put out a lot of air at pressure. The antique compressor was probably powered by a hit-&-miss engine with a belt over one of the flywheels for a pulley.

[@cynthiatyler1606]

I love this mine explore. So unique from your others. Cool find. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidsteinhour5562]

Wow, stunning scenery. I would travel there just to camp!

[@OffRoadBeastMode]

Nice work 😃 and it was nice meeting you 😃

[@ericcorse]

That old compressor was beautiful, pretty amazing. I don't know how you could get the modern compressor other than a chopper. Another cool one.

[@VistaViews]

42:24 that old compressor is in amazing shape. If i had a mule team i would haul it out and straight to a museum

[@tsaecker7255]

I noticed a generator on the newer compressor. Generator charging systems changed to Alternator charging systems in the early mid to late 1960's so I suspect that newer compressor is earlier than the 1990s.Although those miners could easily have picked up an old piece of equipment still working knowing they were not going to bring it back out.

[@lesliebarham7852]

Great explore as usual, thanks Justin.

[@KubotaManDan]

Great explore & amazing finds. You & your Italian have a great holiday season☃

[@jamesthompson8008]

The quartz presence certainly pegs the holy shit meter, however the external a internal workings, artifacts, etc, definitely put this one in a top 5 category!! Have any of you at TVR ever seen more quartz in a mine?? I'm pretty damned certain this is tops out of all the mine videos I've ever seen. THANK YOU, guys.

[@TVRExploring]

Check out the 16-to-1 series... This mine is definitely up there for quartz, but the 16-to-1 Mine tops this one.

[@vincentgarner3164]

2 videos in one week!!!!! Hell yeah!!!!! I havent watched it yet but im sure its a good one, love your work dude.

[@richardbeee]

Interesting place. The Regal Mouse and its house. Cool 😎!

[@johncarold]

OK my remarks. I am impressed, I always look forward to seeing you first a abandoned mine that is full of quarts and gold. Well definitely a quarts mine. I just love that old compressor, especially with the boiler sitting there, Thanks for the video.

[@madeinyorkshire52]

Great explore…Tks for the additional comments on the geology…BIG improvement on your already great videos. Loved the old compressor and air tank relics…shame not more of the tram system exists. 🚢🇬🇧🚂⛏

[@markhooper5824]

That was ace mate. Loved the old compressor. Still in fantastic shape.

[@parkerrowe4687]

And that's where I want to drop my dredge in.. As always, spectacular!!

[@ocsrc]

That compressor belongs in a museum. You should notify a museum of mining and see if they will come get it

[@joshuajackson6442]

I enjoyed this episode, thank you!!

[@seedy-waney-bonnie4906]

Love the quartz, crystals.

[@macfilms9904]

Man, that quartz pocket you thought people were "picking at" had some seriously good-lookin ore! Nice dark sulfide vugs are exactly what you wanna see in your quartz.

[@Dave_9547]

That mine is interesting for several reasons. One of course is how the original miners got that compressor, ore cart and other equipment down there. The other question is the abundant quartz, but what we see is mostly what has been called "Bull Quartz" that is pretty much white with little or no red staining in it. Bull Quartz usually does not have gold in it, but obviously the old and more recent miners did a lot of work and there must have been something there as a reward. I once found a complete cabin in very good shape (habitable) and a four stamp mill along side a branch of the American River deep in a canyon. No trails that I could see and clearly no roads. The only way I could figure they got the stamp mill down to where it sat, was to lower it by snubbing off of trees as it dropped down the slope a thousand feet or so. I was fishing and didn't have a camera with me, but have seen a lot of iron relics alongside streams in the Sierras. Since I was fishing, I didn't look for adits, but I also didn't see any waste rock piles. I was wondering if you saw any old wire rope as you went up the hill to support the theory about a tram?

[@TVRExploring]

The sides of the canyon were so steep, that any artifacts (like wire rope) would have ended up in the river if they were not on the level area where the mine was located.

[@mikewinings4120]

Absolutely amazing,thanks for bringing me along and sharing ,stay safe and keep em coming,I would love to tag along with you some day😊❤

[@personperson4610]

I love your videos. They are the best.

[@abitterpill7331]

Beautiful country and a metric crapton of quartz. I've not seen that much quartz in a mine in a long time. Reminds me a bit of a road in my local mountains. It actually crosses an exposed quartz vein a couple times. There was a gold mine up there, but it apparently wasn't very profitable for the amount of effort. As for the mystery of the modern compressor. Could they have had it air-lifted into the valley? Might seem extreme, but it seems like the only way they could have gotten it down the hill intact... unless there was a relatively clear path at the time and they used a wire wench to slowly lower it down the mountain side.

[@Charlie-wq1gi]

In all the videos you have produced, I have never seen a video of your explorations finding a " FARM" in the woods. If you watch the news, the prohibited "FARMS" are everywhere. LOL

[@jonroyer3139]

Could be what that poly pipe in the entrance was for. I could see people taking advantage of water from a mine to provide water for the summer growing season when there is less rain.

[@sneezing_panda]

I could be mixing it up but I'm pretty sure they found an old abandoned one before.

[@shavedneon]

They were careful to only catch a glimpse, the mine with a lot of equipment still there, had underground changing rooms, and tons of equipment, ore cars and all.

[@Mulgah]

Generally criminals tend to not set up illegal operations where people (like mine explorers) are going to stumble on it

[@Baked_intell]

He has found a old one before but is wary of such

[@oldschoolmoto]

Hey justin glad to see you found it use to be a road from the other side in the old days did you hit the old Cemetary on side you came down

[@TVRExploring]

We never saw any sign of a cemetery on the side that we came down and I don't remember seeing one marked on the map... Sounds like a few things still slip by us!

[@ocsrc]

It is bonkers that all this exists and they did it in the middle of nowhere. They had to bring in a generator and the fuel and the rail and pipes and everything Just incredible

[@bullsboat1]

One of the best features about exploring is.....the beautiful country views you get to see.

[@michaelward_GoVentureFab]

I’ve never been first! Love your content…beautiful scenery and really cool mines.

[@mikewinings4120]

I bet this video has a miner saying "quartz" the most in history,love ya Justin and accompaniment.love the mouse palace

[@debbiehenson227]

Would there still be gold on floors of those caves.😮

[@rickbauer7976]

Nice find! That air compressor would make a great will it start footage.

[@VikingExploration60]

The old air compressor, the plate with the name on it which says unloader, is a pressure relief valve. If for some reason the compressor produce too much air, it would lift the spring loaded plate and allow the access air to escape, something very similar is built into modern air compressor, nice find though, I love a good bit of old machinery.

[@johncolombo8091]

An unloader valve is used to "unload" (stop the compressor from pumping air) when the desired pressure is reached so you don't have to stop the motor.

[@crchuckh6852]

thanks guys, stay safe👍👍

[@RiskyVentureMinerals]

One of my favorite mines in a min!

[@Donaldperson7]

Great spot to stay for a couple weeks and pan for gold or highbanker?

[@ghosttownsandminesofwashington]

Very cool explore. We appreciate what you guys do.

[@styleeyo2446]

The geology is literally the reason the mine is there to begin with.

[@teotwaki]

Great video based on great research and excellent hiking efforts. BTW, at the 45:35 minute mark your buddy had an interesting bit of exploration gear sticking out of his pack and later carrying it at 46:30 🙂 For varmints residing in abandoned mines?

[@macfilms9904]

Probably for bears, boars & mountain lions, all of whom appreciate a nice mine-tunnel. And then there's the less savory predators - lots of illegal weed farms on public property in the California mountains- and they can get a bit feisty when mine explorers stumble onto their farm.

[@RRay-jq3ip]

Claim jumpers?

[@Swalkerfilm]

Traditional and essential gear for hiking in the great American outdoors apparently, but you'd be swiftly arrested by a very large and angry police force if anyone saw you carrying it around here.

[@TVRExploring]

For the human predators rather than the animal predators... We always get along well with the bears, mountain lions, etc.

[@deathtrance217]

​@TVRExploring a true comment . The most dangerous,unpredictable and crazy are people.

[@MsSurigirl]

I love the translucency of the flowstone, the massive amounts of quartz, the colorful. geology. Gold rides the Iron Horse.

[@fuzzwack1]

Great place to go camping!

[@seanbatiz6620]

Every time I see one of these abandoned mines like this one, via your channel & a small handful of other KZbinr abandoned mine explores, I wonder how much viable material might be extractable from the old tailings thru reprocessing it & all loose material within the mines, using modern mine extraction methods ? Would definitely be a massive undertaking to knock out but, never know, might be worth the effort

[@maryglo1]

Ask Jeff Williams and Chris Ralph. Both say it can be worth it. Remember they were looking for nuggets and lodes. They left the little stuff. It was not worth it to crush or process it. Look for oxidized as opposed to sulfides.

[@michaelc9507]

Looks like a cool machine! I own two Fisher Coinstrike’s they were designed by same engineer. It’s not complicated to use people make it it was definitely ahead of its time. Still performs well for me.

[@bfamilyfun5777]

Love watching your vids. 35 to 40 min veds are what i enjoy

[@Dranzerk8908]

That quartz is insane. I wonder if so many drill rods are left because the quartz busted up so easily? The weird nooks in wall, the blasting sloppiness you guys mentioned might be. idk but interesting!

[@AppliedOCD]

Thanks for sharing your adventure to this beautiful place! You couldn't build a more beautiful house with all the money in the world and it's home to a lowly mouse, and he didn't spend a dime on it.

[@jasonwcoleman250]

I bet in a day or two of tinkering that old belt driven compressor would start making psi. Too cool

[@jameslipke354]

Go back and look at the mineralized band you pointed out @ 31:59. There are a few small veins of gold. They look nothing like the iron they're running through. At least that's what I see from the outside looking in. Granted, I may be wrong, but at 57 years old, I've been a rock hound since I was a little girl. 😉 I would love to explore like this! Thank you so much for sharing this! ~ APRIL LIPKE

[@Davidautofull]

good stuff. i believe the 90s guys had a chopper place their compressor in there. hey look at 46:57 / 46:59 , in the middle of the screen, up top. is there a waste rock pile? and here is a question. when they follow a vein into the mountain, how do they not get all of the quartz? i mean when there is quartz left on the "back" or walls "ribs" why couldnt that keep going and open up into a huge ball of quartz? what stops them?

[@outlawofga]

With the quartz you're finding,,you could probably find some gold. Maybe not a lot but enough to make it a fun time. That's a really interesting place for sure 👍

[@slimwantedman6694]

Good afternoon from Southeast South Dakota

[@henryanderson7606]

What a beautiful place to just camp out and enjoy nature!

[@Chris-CardVault]

Count 47 paces, to the right , of the entrance! You will see a rock, that doesnt blend in! under the rock, you will find a letter, to the gold map!! Good luck!

[@nhragold1922]

Holy crap. I seen this place once basically lost prospecting a very remote area and couldn't find it again

[@gavinbae7887]

excuse my ignorance, but why would they partly leave the surface quartz vein untouched and mine deeper? Are they looking for a 'better' vein? Could there be gold by the entrance that you walked past? I understand they may take samples, but how accurate are sample sizes to be confident in leaving a vein that large?

[@tyleroryan]

wondering the same

[@TVRExploring]

Quartz doesn't automatically = gold. And even the quartz that does contain gold doesn't necessarily contain sufficient gold for it to be economically mined...

[@redlight722]

Thanks for the new clip Justin! I want to make a bet with you. If you win I will wire you $50 and vice versa. The bet is you can’t say right here or right there in the next clip. All in fun sir, thank you for the entertainment for the evening. Tell your buddy he has a nice Colt.

[@CarrieHackler]

Really Beautiful 💖💖💖 Forest as well as the Quartz Crystal

[@JDR1971]

Nice rifle choice for mine exploration! 😎

[@br18od]

That area looks like the where Matt's Offroad Recovery pulled Ed's Golden Nugget Suzuki out of ?

[@montana_guy8001]

I think dredges were fairly common up in AK and the Yukon, there is a good example up near Virginia City, MT- you can follow the dredged spoils up the creek and the remnants of the dredge are on display near town

[@Donaldperson7]

Very promising looking mine!!! I bet just those walls and quarts on the ground is very rich?

[@frankgaletzka8477]

Thank you for this amazing Video. I live in germany and your heavy Guns irritated me a bit. But in the wood there must be bear Wolf mountain Lion so it is usefull to have it.😊😊 I think they bring the compressor with a Helikopter in . No road to drive on

[@beepseatsfindingfoodtreasu8756]

Im interested to know what other end of the tramline looked like. And if thats how they got the compressor down there. It could have been still standing when they began the new operation and a fire could have taken the tram out. Or a heavy flood took out the lower tram. Which would explain the empty pad. As rugged as the terrain is i could understand due to time constraints that you wouldn't have searched for signs downstream. My curiosity would have gotten the better me and I would have had to do a little research just to settle my curiosity. You've been finding some really well preserved mines. Thank you guys for capturing some of the best historical video's of turn of the century mining. Keep up the fantastic work guys. We tip our hardhats to each of you for your efforts and dedication.

[@sallysassa]

Very nice commentary and adventure - new sub. Thank you.

[@samuelgilbert9734]

Nice one. Thanks!

[@TVRExploring]

Long hike, but worth it...

[@superpokeguy9199]

What a great trip

[@David-jn4fx]

Had to watch this again 🤩 yep nice