Death Valley Curly & The 1885 Mine

The mining district where this mine is located was famed for its rich silver production... I would love to tell you more about the history of this mine than that. However, with these early mines (subsequent research leads me to believe that the 1885 carved into the wooden door may well be accurate), there were often few - if any - written records. That is particularly the case with a smaller mine such as this one where I was unable to even determine a name, let alone production records or the identities of the original miners that worked there. I don’t know if “Death Valley Curly” ever mined here or not, but I’d love to know more of his story as well.
I am curious to know how the miners decided on the location of this mine. The surface of this site was made up of broken rocks from an ancient lava flow and there didn’t appear to be any minerals that would have caught the eyes of the miners. I suppose they might have had a hunch that the lava flow had covered up a good deposit of silver ore, but why here? Perhaps one of the geologists in the audience will correct me, but a lava flow of this type seems like really unpromising ground to run a mine into. The smaller size of the mine might be confirmation of that speculation on my part.
Despite starting out with relatively drab colors, the adit really exploded with color around the end of the haulage adit where that significant winze was. I’m partially colorblind, but that really popped even for me. So, I can only imagine how it looks for those of you enjoying the ability to fully see color. I believe that that would have been an interesting place to try out a blacklight.
I am not sure what inspired the miners to run that ridiculously deep winze straight down toward the end of the haulage adit. Perhaps they were giving up on continuing to drive ahead horizontally as they had been? Or perhaps they found some promising indicators as they were working down? The other work branching off from the haulage adit seemed exploratory in nature or perhaps the miners had come across a small pocket or two along the way, but nothing significant. Regardless of the reason for its creation, I remain very curious about how deep that winze runs and if there are any additional levels down there.
*****
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You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD
You can click here for my full playlist of abandoned mines: goo.gl/TEKq9L
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

[@CharlieTalmadge]

Another article mentioning Death Valley Curly 1939 i.imgur.com/dMrakHN.jpg

[@TVRExploring]

Really interesting... Thank you for sharing these.

[@CharlieTalmadge]

@@TVRExploring He was popular.. I found a lot of interesting articles about him. A few you may be interested in.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I'm always very interested in the characters that roamed these hills before us.

[@Cognitoman]

I use to live in Beatty Nevada

[@4WDToyotaOwnerMagazine]

"Wahmonie Shaft at 40-Mile Canyon"...next stop?

[@liquid_crab4115]

“Danger unsafe mine” Huh I wonder what’s that for

[@adoxartist1258]

I can't get over how new all that wood looks.

[@douglasmorgan9873]

Wood lasts forever in absence of water/weather.

[@adoxartist1258]

@@douglasmorgan9873 Yes, but I've lived my whole life in the soggy southeastern US, so all I've ever seen are various stages of decay. This new-old wood is amazing to me!

[@OZP1905]

I'm also surprised by the wood's condition! And how organized the stone walls are. Intresting!

[@The_Goober189]

The sign said “stay out stay alive” Damn that’s deep, but we are definitely not going to listen Awesome videos!

[@MM0SDK]

6:28 Cerberus - Located Sept 6, 1916. The hand that wrote that will be long gone sadly. 103 years ago, it's a long time. If the 1885 writing is to be believed, it's even more impressive.

[@captainhindsight8779]

Cerberus is the guard to the gate of hades, protector of the underworld, I would hazard a guess that this is fake but well thought modern graffiti

[@Askjeffwilliams]

you should have sampled that Limonite in the Back ....carries Gold with it...also advanced argillic alteration in Porphyry. They were chasing an epithermal deposit .

[@TaylorSmith-fz7qn]

How do you reckon they figured out, in 1885, that an epithermal was present beneath a younger flow like that? How did they know which spot to pick? I agree that it looks worth a sample in there. Learned that from you Jeff!

[@nhragold1922]

Haha you are the man! This is why try to learn all I can from you!

[@rickeverett9993]

Awesome Jeff i knew you would chime in on this interesting one. Thanks, and great vid Justin'

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I thought those minerals turned real interesting in the back of this one. However, I share Taylor's curiosity in knowing how the miners chose this spot because I didn't see anything at all that looked promising on the surface.

[@davidrivas2679]

Lets go

[@bonnierussell7824]

If you find a Delorean sealed up in a room, better leave it there.

[@craigschiller1599]

Lower a go pro down vertical shaft. Might have more drives underneath. Nice video. Love how they done the woodwork.

[@patrickeidhammer2470]

That gobbing/stacked rock in the beginning is amazing work! That took time and effort lol

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, the old timers definitely put a lot of work into this one...

[@jamessnell9808]

extremely good looking rock. Exactly what a good mine could look like. Should be sampled. Great video.

[@Steven-vo8tk]

Great little mine. Love all the colors. I can only imagine the hard back breaking work these men did. Thanks for sharing.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, the old timers were tough! Thanks for coming along...

[@phylxguy5547]

Dude this is absolutely incredible to see Death Valley Curly immortalized as he should be is epic! Seriously mad props my guy you sure knocked it out of the park on this one truly!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. Yes, he is a character that I would love to have met!

[@gunnyu.s.m.c8606]

what blow's my mind is how they worked so hard to stack the walls, that a lone was a chore in its self, great video, my compliments sir

[@TVRExploring]

The old timers put a lot of work into this mine, to be sure... I'm afraid they never got a penny out of it either.

[@dalecrider1816]

The hills have eyes

[@PaulinaWest1]

So happy to see longer shots of the rock walls. What a thrilling video ty

[@chrisackerley1842]

The mineralization in this mine is awesome! I noticed several of the more mineralized areas have those plastic flags. Someone has taken the trouble to survey this mine. There should be a report somewhere. Nevada Dept. of Mines, maybe?

[@TVRExploring]

Possibly, but I honestly don't even know the name of this one...

[@BIGBADWOOD]

Lots of hard work inside this mine !

[@TVRExploring]

The old timers were tough...

[@peepsy1528]

Based on the writing on the door, the mine started in 1885 and was abandoned in the 80s when the last person left the mine for the last time... It seems that there were a relatively small number of miners in that mine... possible that the miners were just family and close friends, just based on the little writing on the door. It's crazy how many mines there were in Nevada, and California, especially after the Gold Rush of the 1840s and 50s

[@TVRExploring]

Tens of thousands of mines in each state... And, yes, it is extraordinary.

[@Lizzbird_]

13:12 Never dig straight down

[@NitroGuyJH]

Im just wondering, why not?

[@lcjones0710]

Why not

[@NitroGuyJH]

Lawrence Jones right brother 🤷🏻‍♂️ I’m curious and wanna know too.

[@Obscure_Nightvision_Reviews]

Minecraaafft

[@DistopiaKosaki]

Minecraft❤

[@CowboyCree63]

Here where I live in Tuolumne county, CA, we have a volcanic lava flow known as Table Mountain, it was formed by a high Sierra volcano, and the lava filled a river bed, over the next few million years, the riverbanks eroded away leaving a flat topped lava bed. The gold miners figured this out, tunneled underneath and found LOTS of gold, and even reports of early human artifacts.

[@texasfossilguy]

Ive seen that one. Early as in 400,000 years old. Before it should even be there. And the museum has relabeled those as deposits from up the slope when that is a lie. The original geologist knew what he was doing.

[@garywheeler7039]

I took a trip with a local geology teacher, he says Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) dug some of the same stuff but it was unstable and had a tendency to collapse!

[@mfree80286]

So a lava flow that formed in that manner, since it followed a river channel and the banks wore away it seems to me that the volcanic rock would have a particular undercut to the sides indicating that's what happened... is that the clue?

[@WootTootZoot]

My Step-Grandfather was a Park Ranger in the Death Valley National Monument during the late 30's and 40's. I wish he had lived longer, I was just coming of the age of being interested in his stories in the mid 70's and would have liked to have known more about his life. He also worked as a ranch cowboy in the area for a while too, but, my Father didn't get a long with him very well and we didn't really see much of him when he was alive. I do remember he knew Death Valley Scotty, and use to laugh when anyone said Scotty was a gold miner. Hmmmm... The other thing he talked aboiut was knowing where there was a large turquoise outcropping that only the Park Rangers knew about.

[@TVRExploring]

I'll bet he had some great stories! I love picking the brains of the old timers like that...

[@williamwintemberg]

That deep winz was a surprise! The colors are amazing! What a find! Great Video!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you very much. Yes, that winze sure surprised me!

[@worldtraveler930]

Interesting! That second Deep winz looks to be a candidate for spelunking gear. Keep up the Excellent work!

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I'd love to know what is down there.

[@ifoolishone9777]

@@TVRExploring a spoil of twine and a light taped to the cam would have sorted that out.

[@DFDuck55]

Some interesting minerals and colors back in that upper adit, I can see why they would follow it, but doesn't look like they hit pay. It's amazing how well hot dry desert weather preserves the wood, some of it looked like they could have put it there just weeks ago. I'm always a fan if seeing stacked rocks, gobbing, buildings, fences, etc.

[@TVRExploring]

Despite seeing it many times now, I'm still stunned by how well the desert preserves things underground. Like you said, some of that looked like it could have been placed weeks ago. I'm 100% with you on not understanding why the miners chose to run an adit back through that lava flow...

[@rubyd3745]

Thank you for sharing the experience.

[@dwightstjohn-ho8du]

just a note about our family doctor back in the early sixties. He owned a mine near Death Valley that mined lava for WW1 gas masks! And it also was a Mercury mine. Hollywood Lawyers let the claim expire, moved in the stole it out from under him. The reason we know is he was driving a GMC full time 4x4 in the mid-sixties, and we serviced it! We asked how he came by it, and out came the mining story!! True! Dr.'s have a tendency to be busy people and let other "professionals" manage their active investments.

[@4WorldPeace2]

Thank you for walking and crawling into these old historic mines. It was nice seeing those Old School timbers. Glad you made it back safely to post this video. Perhaps next time you might bring one of those laser range-distance finders with you for measuring the unknowns.

[@croatiancroissant28776]

I’ve been prospecting for ten years now. I’ve dug my share of holes in the ground. I completely understand why these guys defended their hard work with structures at the entrances and guns within reach. That is such hard work, just to possibly lose it to a murdering thief. These guys were tough as nails.

[@phylxguy5547]

Absolutely 💯 I have a shovel that is worn to almost to a flat nose which it's from wearing the out the lip which is rolled into itself dull as all get outs, they don't make men like that anymore unfortunately, we can only imagine a glimpse of what it truly was like for a different type of people.

[@EclipsePicturesProduction]

“Danger, it’s unsafe, people have died here” TVR: I wonder wat that means

[@TVRExploring]

Dunno... Any ideas?

[@robviolin1]

Thanks for showing us the mine. 👍

[@alohathaxted]

Go back and look at that rail again. Neat little wedge used to hold rail and both tighten tracks against opposite wall aggregate.

[@kryvian]

"Stay out! Stay alive!" Ha ha, I"m already dead inside! [proceeds to enter mine]

[@MinesoftheWest]

Nice video man! These were fun little mines, I’m glad we stopped by this place!

[@wf6951]

Never play Tag on top of a mined out mountain...

[@martiehensley4452]

Do you think there could be old volcanic shaft tunnels in mountains like that left over from back in the far past when those mountains were active volcanically.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, there was a lot going on in that spot!

[@sampointau]

And you found the rail spacing gauge at the end of the main drift. It is placed with one rail in the slot which doesn't have the stoppers each side of it, the end with the stoppers is placed on the rail you are wedging the tie. You wack the wedge in until the gauge drops over the rail, simple and widespread usage, have seen the same idea used in 1800's mines in Australia. Some even used the same wedging adjustment on metal rails, particularly around corners/curved tracks!

[@TVRExploring]

Thanks for the explanation. That's interesting...

[@direbearcoat7551]

I'm ducking and scrunching down while watching this video. I'll NEVER enter an abandoned mine! You are nuts! Yet, these are very cool videos! LOL

[@Mercmad]

14:10. That is actually a tie or sleeper used to bed the wooden tracks. The right side is the same size as the rail ,the opposite side ,if you look carefully has a longitudinal taper. The track is placed in the slots ,then that short piece is hammered into the taper to wedge the rails tight .Earlier in the vid 9:51 you can see the wedge as applied. The rails have to sat in the grooves so they don't tilt over or spread .If they were nailed they would split after a while . I have seen the remnants of bush tram ways laid exactly the same way ,which had steam locos pulling wagon loads of logs over them.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you.

[@lanceroeske8199]

You have no fear! Love these videos!

[@christophercannon5068]

Cool video. Man I would have never attempted to cross that board myself😂!

[@timcantrell9673]

About lava flows, there were two brothers that had a mine that went into a lava flow. But under the flow was gold veins in the country rock. One brother died in the mine and was buried in it. The other brother stopped mining after that.

[@texasfossilguy]

In this mine?

[@timcantrell9673]

@@texasfossilguy the whereabouts is unknown except that there was a pyroclastic flow beneath a harder lava flow, then country rock and a glory hole. One brother died in the intersecting caves and lava tubes, and is buried in the mine. The second brother never went back. This was during a time during ww2 When you could not sell gold.

[@timcantrell9673]

@@texasfossilguy hope, near quartzite on the California side where you can see the jagged lava hills. Somewhere there is an entrance that descends down about 400'. In the flow, the lava is brittle and very dangerous.

[@voicezful]

Your a braver man than me, exploring these mines alone. Extraordinary to think men would have worked for little or nothing to locate what they were looking for.

[@joemc111]

Great History you are preserving, the birds nest made me think about bats using the old mines. This is about my 10th. Mine video and am enjoying the exploring.

[@heartland96a]

Have you ever taken a geiger counter in those sw mines ?

[@TVRExploring]

No, I don't own a geiger counter.

[@texasfossilguy]

I was wondering also, that rock is super yellowish and he isnt complaining about sulfur smells. Could be carnotite

[@docmccoy1928]

The first tunnel is such a classic old mine. Trees for support timbers. Classic gobbing. Pick marks. While it didn't offer up much to see it is non the less a classic early mine

[@TVRExploring]

Ha, yes, this was almost like a display model of early mining techniques. No real mining, but a nice model...

[@Tom-cy5em]

Good video those windz were deep please stay safe out their .

[@stephanb.3342]

Neither did Gly or you explored these shafts. What a shame! We need a Canadian mine explorer, LOL. Hadn't noticed the slight gap on upper timber (vertical stalls) to avoid slipping. I will blame Gly for not pointing it! Love these colors. Keep going.

[@gp1971]

Man I’ll do a lot of things ,but the few times I’ve been in a cave or mine it’s always in the back of my mind that I’ll get lost. God bless you man , for real. And stay safe.

[@davidtaylor8688]

Desert Magazine June 1939 Letters to the Editor: "Dear Sir: I am a prospector and have had a lot of experience hunting up lost people-nine of them I think and some of them have been terrible. I would like to go and see if I can find Everett Ruess. I certainly could find his last camp and might find his remains. I found Harry Mahoney, the Hollister, California, boy in '27, and Norman D. Carr in '36, lost in Forty Mile canyon 45 miles out of Beatty, Nevada. I was through that Utah country in 1937 and would like to get some facts about the case before starting. I take my own equipment and travel alone and take my time. If you will tell me where I can get the desired information, and no one objects, I will go. I think the 10th of August will be about right. What month was Everett lost in ? I am over in the Panamints prospecting at present. DEATH VALLEY CURLY."

[@TVRExploring]

What a fantastic find! It really gives a sense of his personality... Thank you very much for sharing this. I can't remember where I read it, but I read somewhere that it was thought that the remains of Everett Ruess had recently been found and that he had been murdered in order to rob him.

[@TVRExploring]

I found this online about Harry Mahoney: 1924 Harry Corum Mahoney (20) Monterey Peninsula Daily Herald, CA Jan. 25, 1926 p1 Foul Play Hinted of Missing P.G. Boy Search for Lost P.G. Boy is Continued Hollister Hears Strong Rumors That Foul Play is Suspected New Evidence Said Discovered Sheriff Continues to Hold Belief Former P.G. Boy Ran Away Hollister, Jan. 25 (Special for the Herald) - With interest in the hunt for Harry Mahoney, Pacific Grove youth reported lost in the high Sierras over a month ago, renewed by the return from Groveland of Sheriff J.J. Croxon, rumors that young Mahoney had been a victim of foul play were running rife here today. Parents Suspicious - The lost youth's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Mahoney, have not yet given definite indication that they intend to call for an investigation to fix the blame for an alleged murder, but it is understood from official sources that the mother and father regard the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of their son as suspicious. Rangers are still searching the mountains back of Groveland in the hope of finding some trace of Harry Mahoney, former Pacific Grove boy and a student of the junior college in Hollister, who was lost in the mountains shortly before Christmas. Mahoney was on a hunting trip with two college friends and became separated from them during a snowstorm. No trace has been found of him - though searching parties have scoured canyons and peaks ever since he had been missing. J.P. Mahoney of Pacific Grove, father of the missing youth, returned from the mountains the later part of last week after a special trip into the mountains to investigate a clue. Broken sticks and hankerchiefs found on a trail were believed to indicate the whereabouts of Mahoney. But it was figured that the articles had been lost after the last snowfall, the second since the student was first reported missing. Sheriff Croxon has a man drawn by Ranger Stover, showing the contour of the country where Mahoney vanished, also the roads, trails and streams, and having seen it himself, is more firmly convinced than ever that Harry Mahoney did not get lost, but either deliberately left the country or met with an accident. Other searchers and investigators are also abandoning the lost theory but will continue to put forth efforts to solve the mystery.

[@TVRExploring]

I can't locate anything on Norman D. Carr...

[@amandaandBooster]

@@TVRExploring I love it how you and other people put up good information of what they have found

[@Tony-fg4ql]

My heart dropped when u looked down I thought you were going to fall

[@logangmiterek]

Watching this video right after another KZbin explorer checked out this very same mine! I was tripping at first hahaha

[@craigmonteforte1478]

Cool explore those old stone houses and foundations seem to be all over Death Valley , i was in construction for over 25 years and someone put some serious care and skill into making those stone walls in the mine They must have had a pretty big team out there for a while It always makes me wonder if all those people struck it rich and Just reloaded ASAP ? Of course the mentality of miners would not to quit a known producing mine

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I was really impressed by the skill with which those stone walls were constructed.

[@buddha8910]

Crossing over the plank! Great video thanks.

[@donnybilbo8006]

Man that was a beautiful mine!

[@dezertraider]

Great video,Stay safe!

[@TBI-Firefighter-451]

uranium Mines are often associated with Lava. Does not look like Uranium Ore to me but you should get a Geiger Counter especially around Desert Mines. 1:57 that is some nice looking Gobbing.

[@GreatNorthernTech]

Awesome as always.

[@genevieve8613]

I love exploring mines in this area and I wish you could give coordinates, but this one I was able to find on Google earth by you swinging the camera around outside. Thanks!

[@TVRExploring]

Well, I wish I could give coordinates too, but I've seen far too many historic sites destroyed by the BLM, Forest Service, AML crews, etc. in the interest of "public safety" for me to be able to do that anymore... It's a great area for exploring, to be sure.

[@genevieve8613]

@@TVRExploring Absolutely! I certainly don't post the locations of the ones I ride to or the maps I make on Google Earth Pro, but I appreciated being able to spot this one!

[@RaptorMocha]

the signature from 1916 is probably one of the coolest things ive seen, you have effectively preserved the fact that man was there and let the world know he existed. He possibly could have gone on to fight in WWI and you may have been to one of the last places he ever saw in the states.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I think about that sort of thing often when seeing marks from the past like that...

[@davebeckley2584]

Justin, you wrote that these mines are located in a silver region? The lava from volcanos isn't known for transporting silver but it brings zinc, copper, lead, diamonds, and gold to the surface or near to it. Apparently, there is a large amount of gold and other precious materials contained in the earth's mantle and from there if the lava forms in a plume it will deposit those materials near the surface. The problem is these lava plumes don't occur every where there are volcanos. The gold occurs in East Africa, India, Siberia and in the United States it occurs in the Hawaiian Islands which isn't really IN the U.S. but it's tied politically, sort of. I can't say that I've heard of a lot of gold mining in Hawaii but if there was we can be pretty sure you would be exploring there, right? I had the same question that you raised; what was showing on the surface that prompted them to sink a mine right in those locations? There must have been an outcropping of some sort but from what you recorded the surface looked pretty uniform and if mineralized material were exposed in one place I would think it would be exposed other places also but what do I know.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, you're 100% right. The early miners thought that volcanoes produced gold and that that was where it was found. Haha, I haven't looked into mines in Hawaii...

[@davebeckley2584]

@@TVRExploring I need to make a correction regarding the rarity of epithermal gold deposits. On further investigation it turns out those deposits are not quite as rare as stated but they certainly aren't common. The Oatman Mining District in northwest Nevada is located on gold ore brought up by steam that filled the cracks in the rock and then condensed. The Boulder Mining District in Colorado exists due to steam transported gold and silver ore as well as a gold field in Montana. It is interesting to note that these epithermal deposits are usually relatively shallow (epi: Greek for near) but they are usually relatively small though quite often quite rich. 1000 grams per ton have been discovered, a kilogram of gold to the ton! As far as the discovery of the ore, well, that remains somewhat vague. It's possible that the vein extended toward the surface, exposed as the volcanic material surrounding the country rock host was weathered away. The Oatman district's gold was discovered as a result of this dynamic so that's what I'm sticking to until someone tells me I'm wrong, again.

[@teotwaki]

Thanks for sharing another great location. Regarding the hybrid wood/steel rails: it may be possible that it was easier to haul those lighter materials to a remote location than thousands of pounds of solid steel rails. Very cool observation of the wooden form to align the ore cart tracks.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, it was definitely easier to move those wooden "rails" than the classic steel rails. They're a lot cheaper too! So, miners on a budget used them often as well.

[@billearnshaw1074]

There are stories of Scotty from Scotties Castle had quite a stash of gold from somewhere around there. The first adit you explored was secondary to the 2nd one you were in, they were looking for the same deposit you called "colorful" that is more than likely good ore....

[@genesislove2318]

Lava rock itself has a high demand in the world of architecture My G-pa worked as a landscape architect for the state of Hawaii for 2 decades&always got clients that would buy big shipments of it for building projects +random smaller things like the gravel in their yards

[@NGaMineFreaks]

Great video, love watching all your mine videos. My son and I do some exploring and filming in the mines of Dahlonega, Ga.. Wish we had access to all of the mines that you do. Great work!! Big fan here!!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you very much. You have some interesting mining history down in Dahlonega that not many people seem to know about.

[@NGaMineFreaks]

I know Dahlonega, Ga seems to be the "forgotten gold rush". There are about 40 or so mines listed for this area. But most are on private property or have been covered up and you can't find them. My son and I love your channel. @@TVRExploring

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, not many historic mines seem to survive. I wonder if those in private property are in any better shape?

[@ericscarburry8527]

Great job!

[@austinbartose6527]

Those timbers are perfectly preserved too, it’s like it’s new. Cool stuff. I wish I could take that door

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, the desert does a tremendous job of preserving things underground.

[@yadong8037]

Very nice colours in this mine and great vid like allways! Sending you some sunny greetings from an remote island in south Thailand, close to Malaysia. Cheers!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you very much. Enjoy that sunshine! I'm getting rained on in Uzbekistan at the moment...

[@aol11]

No one will understand the insanely hard amount of work that had to be done to dig that, unless they've ever done it. Much respect to the men who did

[@TVRExploring]

Same here. The old timers were tough.

[@nistramo]

Excellent as always

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you.

[@kay0946]

Man you should be very careful in those places and I would recommend going in with another person just in case you stuck in a deep whole he can call for help.

[@EasyBreezyCheezy]

KAY-09 Gaming true

[@adhdasdfroflxd123]

Z O D I Y A K 😂

[@sampointau]

A really good example, at the winze, of the rail width adjustable spacing done with hammered in wooden wedges. A width gauge is placed between the rails at the ties and the wedges hammered in until correct width spacing of the rails is achieved. Easily adjusted to allow for movement at any time as well.👍

[@aaronkeeth651]

why not just use the track guage and inside spikes?

[@spidos1000]

How the hell do people decide where they’re going to build a mine?

[@TVRExploring]

Sometimes, there is a visible vein on the surface that the miners simply followed underground. In other cases, such as this one, I have absolutely no idea. It is a source of continuing amazement for me.

[@hike2]

Love those Nevada mines, it almost looks the way it did 100 years ago!

[@palmer021612]

Cool video that mine is insane!

[@diggindiggenit6540]

Very enjoyable video to watch, I like your commentary and the visuals during your exploration. Thumbs up

[@mcd2796]

You said old school timber's they look like they we're put in yesterday. Gotta love desert mines absolutely no water.

[@TVRExploring]

It's incredible, isn't it? I was in a wet mine today and the timbers that were only thirty-years-old were just fragments on the bottom of the adit.

[@Itzmonday1]

Just found you’re channel it’s awesome man just be careful

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you!

[@johncarold]

Hay Justin Great video and mine, I don't have a clue what they were after but the colors at the end are beautiful. There is a lava flow at EAGLE LAKE, CA. as you travel around the lake but as you go to SPALDING Compound there's a spot where you go down a tunnel and with in 10 ft. There's ice on the ground in the puddles that are on the lava rocks, it's supposed to open up but I can't do it anymore.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. That spot at Eagle Lake sounds pretty interesting. Is it remote enough that the Forest Service won't have gated it off?

[@johncarold]

I have never had any problems with the forest service there, I have had properly there since 1971 and it's always been open. My Mom should it to me in the 80s, she took a course at Butte college and they went there. There is also a frog or insect that lives there and if you turn off your lights it comes out. But I have never seen it. Of course I have never really been able to get very far in before I start to freak out.

[@mariuserin8788]

These were hard workers 👍. Respect!!!

[@garywheeler7039]

Respect to all hard workers.

[@heartland96a]

Perhaps you might find one in a surplus store ,might be handy given the number of mines that were dig for uranium ore , or just a another way to explore those old mines that you find.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, it'd be cool to have one with us...

[@chrisackerley1842]

Justin - Justin - you mention your surprise that the rock of this mine is volcanic. I too did not think it was possible to find gold in volcanic rock. Then I learned about the ore mined in the Red Lake Mine in Ontario, Canada, which is is black basalt! The ore values run as high as 80 ounces to the ton. The Red Lake Mine, which in places is one mile underground, is the richest gold mine currently operating in the world [I think the 16 to 1 probably was richer, but it no longer is operating]. There is a photo of the Red Lake ore on the internet. It is incredibly beautiful. It is classic "jewelry rock," with lots of visible gold in a jet black basalt matrix.

[@TVRExploring]

That's interesting about the Red Lake Mine. I've heard of it, but didn't know how rich it was or, particularly, that it ran through basalt. That's got to be very unusual... The 16-1 in Alleghany? When did it close?

[@leesherman100]

I love TVR Wednesdays. Life is good!

[@edenuccio3690]

Great stuff

[@UltraNyan]

11:38 As a Rust player, this looks too familiar.

[@paigesmith6416]

If I'm not mistaken..in the first mine I saw traces of copper , sulphur and iron ..In the second mine I saw Flint copper iron , sulphur and novaculite possibly evaculite ..for wet stone ..all of which would have been pretty useful in the old west ... sulphur would have been pretty handy for making gun powder , it would also be handy for a forge .. of course iron would have been handy as well ..it seems that in places like death valley ..it would have been pretty difficult to obtain these raw materials.. especially for a blacksmith..I'm no expert at all but it seems being off the beaten path it may be cheaper and less time consuming to just dig into a volcanic hillside to obtain these deposits on a smaller scale .as well as more cost effective .. I know wetstone and Flint in the old west would have been pretty important stuff..for day to day living ..so with the variety of minerals I'm seeing .it may have just about been a gold mine of sorts ..who knows maybe I'm way off base . It seems I read somewhere along time ago that the old west as we think of it only lasted about 30 odd years before it was more established with laws and civilization.. so I could see this little operation as being a slightly profitable venture with the right connections to rule communities ..who knows they may have bartered with a blacksmith to make that flat bar rail cap you mentioned in the video..sorry I tend to over think things ..

[@TVRExploring]

Nah, not overthinking... Those are all valid ideas. This mine is so old and with no records in existence anymore, there's no one that can tell you that you're mistaken. The "Old West" as seen in the movies and popular imagination did indeed only last for thirty years or so. It would have been something to see during those thirty years though!

[@indycharlie]

Nice one , scary deep !

[@gingerbread6614]

We love your videos. Thank you

[@leehilton9932]

Very interesting mines! Great mineralization in the 1885. Seems like a place Jeff Williams.com needs to go visit and help us out on this one. Another great video man, be safe out there!

[@leehilton9932]

@Will Will he is a character, a little different, out there so to speak, but he knows his shit!! Would love to meet him one day.

[@bombisky295]

You are so BRAVE..that was insane

[@michaeltolomei6623]

That's pretty cool man, I actually just visited Keane Wonder mine out in death valley, made a video as well. Unfortunately the adits were all barred off, except the upper room and pillar stope. Really wanted to get inside maybe someday if the adits find their way open again.

[@michaeltolomei6623]

Also there is a tram still standing, It's the main feature there. Even some buckets still up in the air.

[@TVRExploring]

Were they all gated? That's a shame, but the trend toward destroying all of these sites is only accelerating...

[@michaeltolomei6623]

@@TVRExploring Yes unfortunately, and I was quite surprised because the mine was about a mile hike up a very steep hill, and there was about 20 different openings. There's a chance that they missed some ways in but I didn't have a long enough time frame to really check things out. The face of the hill is crumbly and the park service has already had to come back and close for a second time, adits that found new ways to open up. The material in the area is soft enough that it wouldn't take too much to get past the bars. 20 minutes of chipping away at the floor and you could crawl in.

[@AbandonedandForgottenPlaces]

“Gly”: Judging by all the sulfides and what appears to be Galena I think that second adit was both a silver and gold mine. Notice how they sunk that deep winze right where the mineralization changed? Hoping that the values would become greater they would sample the rock every few feet as they dug that winze deeper and deeper. If they sampled an area with higher concentrations they would then drift out. These days all of this is done by deep core drilling.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, you're 100% right. I'd love to know if they drifted off of the bottom of that winze since I couldn't even see the bottom.

[@AbandonedandForgottenPlaces]

TVR Exploring “Gly”: Also, the odds are better that there are more artifacts in the bottom of those deep winzes because everything had to be carried by hand or roped down. I’ve already found my fair share of dynamite boxes and unexploded dynamite. It’s the tools they leave behind in places like that that gets me excited.

[@TVRExploring]

@@AbandonedandForgottenPlaces Yes, absolutely!

[@jrcigarful]

If you like exploring mines, you should plan a trip to Paris and explore the Catacombs. There is over 100 miles of tunnels which go back to the 1700's and beyond - enough to keep you busy for months. While a small part of it is open to the public, most of it is not and there are numerous unidentified and hidden entrances. There are also published maps but I don't know how accurate they are.

[@TVRExploring]

I did that back in 2001 and it was awesome. We had the whole place to ourselves... I never located any entrances outside of the official ones, but I've heard the rumors about them as well.

[@jrcigarful]

Many of the entrances are on the street under manhole covers

[@TVRExploring]

You've got to start pulling out local knowledge to track that sort of thing down...

[@olivei2484]

Track gauge would be that wooden spacer you found near the face.

[@scotttaylor8498]

The timbers on the ceiling in the hallway with all the supports if you look at them with the wood grain you know that's really good looking wood there if you could get that wood out and then cut it down in half inch sheets or any length at that or width.the value of that wood is just unthavable good stuff here awesome mine by the way good job

[@terryandpipepipe.9548]

Very nice video.

[@paigelee6321]

Interesting love it don't see many trees for timbering but really cool

[@TVRExploring]

Ha, no, not many trees around this one!

[@IanSmithKSP]

For your videos, you should always always throw a rock down a hole. So satisfying when you do and very unsatisfying when you don’t. Loving these videos man keep it up!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you! That's a very fair request regarding the rocks. I recognize that I am indeed letting my viewers down when not dropping rocks and I shall do my best to remember the importance of this...

[@ralphpatrick3071]

I remember when this video debuted. I know cause I’ve seen all of your video’s from the beginning. I was puzzled by my like button not being pressed from my previous viewing. No biggie..

[@Mike-01234]

Wish someone could find one of these guys who worked these mines from the 60's and talk about the mine.

[@dereksimpson1284]

There's is no way in hell I would have walked across that board on the side of the pit. That last vertical pit have me vertigo. No way I would go in but it is fun to watch.

[@ashleighnelson512]

"This doesn't look appealing...but I'll give it a try." Dude is gonna give the Grim Reaper a run for his money.

[@waybachwin1747]

This is going to sound expensive, however you might unlock a lot more content. Get a drone with a camera and fly it down there in the deeper parts or tighter parts you can’t reach, it’d be really cool. These videos are great.

[@TVRExploring]

Glad you like the videos... Thank you. Unfortunately, drone technology hasn't advanced yet to the point where it would be feasible to operate in those conditions.

[@ronniecardy]

Nice one has a few deep shafts just looks scary to me

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, that one at the end was intimidating!