Animas Forks Ghost Town & Gold Mine Tour: Silverton, Colorado 🏚️📸⛏️

[@hamsterman2008]

I love all of the Mine Exploring videos but I will make an exception for this video

[@michaelfercik3691]

I am a retired underground coal miner with underground coal mines not giving tours because they are more dangerous than hard rock mines. Although, it would be cool to see faces of tourist in a pillar coal removal section where you stand at the edge of the 150x150 foot of solid coal is removed with leaving a small "stump" of coal 30x30 foot that is holding the mountain above you, but you have to wait until it starts to cave the mountain in withing 20 foot of where the miner coal cutting machine weights just in case another quick cut on the 30x30 foot supporting pillar of coal is needed so that all weight is relieved for cutting out the next pillar of solid coal. Then there is the "longwall 1,200 plus foot of the face of solid coal that is cut 8 foot wide on the coal seam as it travels up and down along the cutting face. Individual hydrollic "roof" and "gobbe area" protection shield jacks individually raise up and down a little bit for pulling towards the 8 foot deep cut coal face that had the coal extraction conveyor/hydrollic jack anchor pulling points. . There is constant thumping and loud banging noises from the mountain's strata's breaking up into big boulders with caving in behind the individual jacks as they are pulled into the cut-out coal face. A dangerous part of longwall coal extraction is when starting to cut coal on a new fresh longwall coal block that is 5,000 plus foot long by 1,200 foot wide coal cutting face, is when the entire 1,200 foot long face that has the first 200 foot deep cutting out coal on the 1,200 foot wide coal cutting face, will not break the ledges above the cut out coal seam. Then all at ounce there is a big wind blast with the sound of dynamite set off in the air. Ear drums have been punchured and a lot of longwall workers have been blown into mining equipment and the cutting face, with severe injuries to many and death to the few longwall workers.

[@discoverallcorners]

Wow! Thank you for sharing your experience as a retired underground coal miner! It’s amazing to hear firsthand about the incredible complexity and danger involved in coal mining, especially compared to hard rock mining. Your perspective adds depth to understanding just how grueling and challenging the work of miners can be. We’re grateful for everything you and others in the industry have done!

[@michaelfercik3691]

Animas Forks was completely rebuilt in modern times with using all the existing lumber and the rotten lumber was replaced with old aged lumber. Without the volunteers taking care of this, all there would have been left would be a few piles of rotten lumber and tin from the roofs, overgrown with all the shrubbery between the buildings.

[@discoverallcorners]

It’s incredible to know how much work goes into preserving ghost towns like Animas Forks. Big thanks to all the volunteers and the Bureau of Land Management for keeping history alive for future visitors!

[@hamsterman2008]

I had to turn off the volume to watch this thing .

[@hamsterman2008]

Thumbs Down for the music !

[@discoverallcorners]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! Music can be a personal thing, and while I chose tracks I felt fit the vibe, I get that it’s not for everyone. Glad you still enjoyed the video-sound off or on.