Argo Goldmine & Mill

We toured the Argo Tunnel and Mine. Great place to see and learn about the history of mining in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This mill is pretty nicely preserved and they do a good job sharing the history of the site, and how the equipment was used. You get to go into the tunnel portal as well.

[@JF32304]

I did the Molly Kathleen Gold mine today, went down 1,000 feet! That was super cool! Argo is tomorrow!

[@walterjoncas12]

Here we go again. Thanks for inviting us along. Always enjoyable.

[@kevinbond8966]

Went here for a field trip in 1st grade. I thought it was the coolest place ever. Now I'm 37.

[@Cienega32]

Outstanding! Back in the mid/late 70s I was in Denver to see an old friend and he took us all around. Argo Mine was one place. It certainly didn't look all spruced up with tours and people. I've since learned that it was bought in '76 by someone who wanted to preserve & show the history. Very cool to see what's actually there!

[@paradiseroad6405]

...we have lived in Clear Creek County for 42 years... ...38 years of which have been on the mountain south of Idaho Springs... ...never have done the Argo tour... ...thanks for posting it... ...should have rode the steam train at Georgetown while you were here...

[@tennoklark]

I visited this last week I believe it is better than advertised.

[@WreckDiver99]

Now that you've seen how "Modern" mining was done, you need to get into the Copper Country and visit one of the mines up there. Started with Candles, Sledge Hammers and a hand held star drill in three man teams. Usually the youngest had a candle on their helmet and held the star drill, and the two older took turns with their sledge hammers on that drill. The younger kids would be the muckers and drag the muck out of the mine. To hear that they went down over 1000' in the Quincy Mine BY HAND is just amazing. They really sped things up when air power tools came to being, but many of those mines back in the day were hand drilled, and they would blast out a few feet a month... Good Stuff here Adam and Abby!

[@bcbloc02]

Thanks for the tour! Lots of cool old iron there. I believe that Chambersburg is a wheel press like for taking off and putting on the wheels on those rail cars.

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

Queen Mine tour in Bisbee, AZ is another great one to see.

[@JohnBare747]

Cool thanks Adam and Abby, I'd love to see that grinder in your shop it has Abom written all over it in rust.

[@ZPositive]

I've driven by that hundreds of times and never knew they gave tours. Gotta hit that sometime.

[@robm9860]

Thanks for taking us along the journey.

[@imagineaworld]

Super, super cool adam, thanks for taking us along!!!

[@5x535]

Thanks for the ride-along A&A. What a lot of fun. I look forward to your west coast trip one day.

[@1973mre]

That was really great. Are used to go to places like this all the time but in the latter years have been missing out. Thanks for sharing

[@gojoe36]

Awesome video...thanks for the ride along...that bride is a good one 👍

[@johncollins6023]

Took the tour in 1992. Still fascinating to this day!

[@tennoklark]

Your video is spot on I went there last week The tour was worth the money

[@smlcritic]

Very Cool, gonna have to check it out myself:) Thanks guys for the video tour!

[@themotofixery]

Great video! Welcome to Colorado! I hope you enjoy this beautiful state and I'm honored to have you visit!

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!! Great history!!

[@letsfixit1594]

Great job, well done.

[@Misterbigblock]

Very cool place Abom. Love your adventure channel

[@Bookerb2004]

Very cool, always love exploring with Y’all, Great Stuff Adam & Abby... Who needs a Vacay I get to enjoy this all in my Kitchen while enjoying a Cold Adult Beverage 🇨🇦😜🇨🇦

[@dougdays8095]

Really cool video ! Thanks

[@sppdenver]

very coool! i hope you all have a real nice time here in beautiful Colorado!! ; )

[@steves5346]

very cool stuff there

[@carolchristmas9527]

We used to call the rock crushers, like the Aurora and Hendy, "hammermills." Great video, thank you so much!

[@SteveWalden73]

In 1982, I hiked all the way back to the face of the mine tunnel, underneath Central City. Pity it's not open now, but I understand the need for water treatment. Next time you're here, try sneaking 15 minutes west to Georgetown. There's the Georgetown Loop railroad, the continuation of the Colorado Central / Colorado & Southern line that loops back over itself to get up to Silver Plume. It also has an optional tour stop at the Lebanon Gold Mine. If you want to do some off-highway driving, head up to Waldorf where the Argentine Central railway connected with the Waldorf tunnel. It was almost to Leadville when it quit.

[@ShewannaCreativeCircle]

Thanks for sharing

[@jakestech28]

Been here myself, the tour is fun. The real fun? Get yourself up in the hills directly behind this, tons of mines. There's definitely open adits too, and shafts. I love Idaho springs!

[@keepcalmandfarmon5401]

Rusty gold! I love that phrase.

[@popcornvr6760]

Iv been there myself I love it ❤

[@royreynolds108]

The Cripple Creek district still has a lot of gold in the ground and was a very productive area.

[@danielfouardlibertarianono8017]

Abom you are the bomb. GOD bless you brother

[@e34hotrod]

Stoped there on my honeymoon in 2007 some things have changed, cool place it is, plus they still are getting gold from that mine today!!

[@chrisestill8825]

I visited the Argo mine as a kid when we were on our way to the YMCA of the Rockies. They were having a hand drilling competition there. The rate at which they could make a hole through solid rock was amazing.

[@royreynolds108]

Do you know how a one-armed mined drilled the holes?

[@royreynolds108]

Do you know how a one-armed miner drilled the holes?

[@royreynolds108]

Do you know how a one-armed miner drilled the holes?

[@vicmiller7191]

What a sweet tour. And how many of those old machines did you want to take home. Rhetorically speaking of course...Lol. thanks for sharing...Vic

[@devonanderson5039]

Dam who would be going on a mine tour in high heels lol I think this is awesome

[@onehot57]

Nice job kids!

[@barrystevens2780]

My roots are in CO. Mt grandfather was the first fireman on the pikes peak hill climb train at 14 yrs. I got emotional watching your video and want to return there to my home land but I was there 2 years ago ago and was not a fan of the population increase or the modernization.

[@davebeckley2584]

That's pretty cool and I am still fascinated by the mining history of Colorado. I toured the Argo several times in trips there from the 'flat lands'. The last time was about 25 years ago. They didn't have the Argo Tunnel open then and took us to a short adit on the property that was devoid of everything except oxygen, spiders, and other tourists. The Argo didn't produce any gold itself but did the milling for many mines in the surrounding mountains. They were forced to shut down at the beginning of World War II due to the federal government declaring that gold and silver was not essential to the war effort which I have a hard time understanding since it seems that money was always essential to beating the bejeezus out of somebody or a couple of somebody's. Did your guide tell you that the material that you're walking on where all the old machinery is displayed is tailings, the leftovers from removing gold from country rock and that it is valued in the multi-millions of dollars? And that's where it is to stay since the Argo is on the National Registry so it can't be touched. He said processing removed up to 95% of the gold which was true in later years of operation when they moved away from using mercury. They started using other concoctions that were deeply held secrets in the mine managers 'black art' of teasing the precious yellow metal from its host rock. Before that, removing 80% to 85% of the paying material wasn't unusual. This causes many people to reprocess the tailings piles of many abandoned mines. I have mixed feelings about that. If a mine was producing well enough to warrant a mill's construction that pile of tailings is part of the history, maybe not as essential as a head frame or ore cart tracks but history still and I don't like to see it disappear. They process waste rock piles also with the same result, destruction of the historic footprint but that's progress. No, it actually isn't but I couldn't think of anything else. Did you buy a little bag of sand and small stones that contains 'real Argo Mill Gold?' Or the other one that contains 'real Argo Mill Gems?'I still have one of each and search I did but have yet to find enough gold to set off a metal detector or purchase a new truck. You did a commendable job videoing the mill tour. Don't know what you used but even those with high, high dollar video recorders seem to get more shots of their shoes and rooflines at a 45 degree angle than their subject. Thanks for sharing. Brought back a lot of memories.

[@royreynolds108]

The Argo Mill was built like this so that the ore went in the top and was processed using gravity to move it down as the processing took place.

[@krl9747]

Sure wished I'd known you were gonna be close to Denver. Would have loved to meet you and Abby in person.

[@robcondit8488]

Great video, I'm a fan of old machinery but the part about the sludge being shipped to Erie, Pa as the only place in the country that accepts it I find curious, wondering what they do with it?

[@rogersmith7396]

They are jaw crushers. They take big rocks and turn them into little rocks. Then they can go into ball mills or rod mills to essentually be turned into powder. See the Mayflower mill at Silverton. It has operated recently and is complete. It has about a 3 mile tram to the mine. An outstanding area. The Argo was connected to Central city by a multi mile long tunnel You can drive the Virginia road up there from behind the Argo. There are some reoccupied ghost towns. Central City has been completely changed by casinos.

[@MrMichaeljab]

At 3:12 that grinder would look great in your shop!

[@jacksak]

A great video. I wonder how much gold is left in the mine.

[@rattledcitizen8220]

Lived in Colorado all my life never been to the mine. Now I’m going to take my son.

[@johnbrinkley6891]

Really nice tour of the Phoenix min e... It's Really dark up there at nite I enjoyed the tour of Argo mine also. Keep up the Great work

[@stevef01]

Industrial archeology, fascinating. I may have said this before, but if you ever get to the UK you should go to Coalbrookdale. First ever iron bridge and even more fascinating the remains of Abraham Darby's blast furnace en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Darby_I which you might argue is where the industrial revolution began. Not sure how much metal working machinery is still at the museums on the site but still worth a visit.

[@rosewhite---]

I started work in '62 on planing machine with flat belt drive from its own electric motor. rest of factory had line shafting from a big gas engine burning coal/town gas.

[@doumor99]

interesting, not too many gold only mines in Colorado most were silver mines. But even in the copper mines of AZ, they pulled lots of precious metals out.

[@thecarl168]

i visit tho place in 1991 it was very interesting

[@HaraldFinster]

Great tour - reminds me of one of my most frustrating experiences: just by chance I discovered a quite similar lead and zinc mine ("Grube Lüderich") near Cologne in Germany many years ago. The ore treatment plant was still intact and they still had a huge line shaft operated shop with all machinery. Due to my limited time I took only few photographs and intended to return a few weeks later. I did so and had to discover that the entire plant was gone to make room for a golf course :-( Glad to see that ARGO is still preserved including the invaluable treatment plant. For a (pretty poor) photograph refer to: industriekultur-fotografie.de/modules.php?name=Gallery&act=displayimage&pos=-1832

[@royreynolds108]

Chris Estill Do you know how a one-armed miner drilled the holes?

[@johnbrinkley6891]

Hi y'all. I have a question for you?.. When you were in idaho Springs did you go to Georgetown ?

[@Captdal]

cool

[@zamistro]

What's in the 'metallic sludge' the it has to be shipped halfway across the country? They can't collect metal from it?

[@scottfindlay2625]

Somebody forgot to tell the girl in the stripe dress, you don't wear heels into a mine, LOL. Its too bad that they closed the Park City Silver mine tour in Utah, that would have been a fun adventure for you 1500 ft elevator ride to the bottom and 1.5 hrs under ground seeing the old mine..

[@jarekgoupil4226]

Is that as far back it went? You guys need to go to the old 100 tour in silverton for a lot better/ more in depth tour. The ride in and out is on tram

[@kschleic9053]

The wall at the back is holding back toxic mine runoff... The tunnel goes miles further but you need a hazmat diving suit. Most of this tour is of the mill itself, not the tunnel. The whole complex is mis-named to get search results, it isn't a mine at all, it is a gold processing plant on a massive scale.

[@rogersmith7396]

Mollie Kathleen, Cripple Creek.

[@NebukedNezzer]

Idaho Springs colorado. I live near this mine.

[@MrKingdavis13]

I wonder why Erie Pennsylvania is the only place in the nation that they are able to dump the metallic sludge that they remove from the discharge water? Did they happen to explain why that is at all?

[@royreynolds108]

I am sure it is about making life difficult for miners.

[@bcbloc02]

Cuz politics, same reason why they built Yucca mountain for nuclear wast storage only to have it all sitting in lots scattered all over the US instead.

[@samsonian]

Broke my heart to see those bristlecone pine corpses from 1860. They’re my favorite kind of tree, their grizzled trunks make them the Yodas of the arboreal world.

[@20PINKluvr]

Only that small of a mine tunnel? Or is the rest of it flooded behind that metal door

[@bmxdenver1]

The rest is flooded

[@JakeAikens]

8:06 Who goes on a mine and machinery tour in heels?

[@bobbendt1698]

Central City, Blackhawk area is "The richest square mile on earth".

[@z06doc86]

Don’t know if I would go in a gold mine while it’s raining if it’s known to shoot water all the way to the Safeway 🤣😂🤣😹

[@MrMichaeljab]

The mine was not shut down because of the accident. The US government shut down all gold mines in the US at that time and moved the miners to other mines that were mining other more important metals that were needed for the war effort during World War II.

[@AbomAdventures]

Nothing was said about your statement. They told us after the accident the mine was abandoned.

[@stevef01]

Ho! You'd think that mining gold would be vital to pay for the war effort. But there again as Rooselvelt had made holding gold by US citizens illegal he probably just printed money instead....en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102

[@jcadult101]

@@AbomAdventures Most gold mines were closed in the fall of 42. War Production Board Limitation Order No. 208 according to wiki. Not clear if this mine was included, doesn't explain the accident in 43.

[@Chevyv8man1]

Amazing place to see, but I wouldn't of wanted to work there. Differently before OSHA - LOL It amazes me how hard men use to have to work to produce materials so that we have what we have today. If a man was told now that he had to work in those conditions, he would quit in a mater of minutes. I worked in a foundry in the 70s and we would have new employees come in and in a mater of under a hour, we would find their equipment laying on the floor and they wouldn't be anywhere around. Oh how times have changed. Later

[@motorcyclemitzi8022]

8:03 what is up with those shoes?

[@jc9834]

8:04

[@lesliehardin7963]

Motorcycle Mitzi Yeah, I’m sure that girl probably regrets her choice of footwear......

[@ukaszsmoa8416]

Trillion means 10^30 or 10^18? I know that in USA people use short scale, but 3x10^30 of dollars sounds unreal.

[@jfo738]

Trillion is 10^12. It still sounds like an unreal amount of dollars.

[@rogersmith7396]

I am not aware of any gold mine world wide producing a trillion. Maybe not even a billion. You have to remember the more gold produced the lower the market value. In the depression gold was about $30.00 an ounce. Even todays prices do not make gold mining very economic. They are usually big strip mines processing thousands of tons a day of ore.

[@jimreed9038]

a trillion here...a trillion there...pretty soon you're talkin real money.

[@jfo738]

@@joeylawn36111 According to the Argo website, it was $3 Trillion in 2017 dollars

[@radman1136]

So .... 80 years after the mine closes the ongoing mitigation costs are getting covered by the taxpayers no doubt. Wonder what it costs to build and maintain the water treatment plant and ship the daily 3 tons of contaminated sludge to Erie Pennsylvania.

[@5x535]

It would be really interesting to "follow the money" through all of this. I too would like to know how much the taxpayers (or who) are paying for all of this and what the REAL point is. Does it really matter or was it simply a way to create a gravy train and appease the hysterical of that time, that would go on indefinitely---and figure out a way to get on board?

[@xenonram]

What a shame that stuff is out there rusting away.

[@WilliamTMusil]

Lol, not ABom sized tunnels...