Hidden Canyon Zinc Mine

This whole area had been on my list to explore for a while and so I was happy to add this zinc mine, hidden away up a canyon, to my itinerary… Some of my best explores have been those mines that I know nothing about before visiting. Usually, I will know nothing about a mine because it is obscure and/or remote. So, there is a “lottery ticket” element to these abandoned mine explores as they can be a complete bust (the mine is eroded shut or impossible to access or whatever) or they can be phenomenal.
I was able to learn more about this particular mine after I returned home and dug deeper into the archives… The mine was developed and worked during World War I, when several hundred tons of lead-zinc carbonate ore was extracted. Apparently, it was mostly a surface deposit and the ore pinched out completely at a depth of less than fifty feet.
Interestingly, it was noted that the ore was packed (rather than trucked) down the steep canyon to the closest road junction. I didn’t show it in the video, but there were several steep drops in the canyon. We even had to use rope to get over one section. So, as I mentioned in the video, it would have been an extraordinary amount of work to make that canyon reasonably accessible for the miners to haul equipment (such as the compressor) up or ore down. Of course, flash floods have undone all of the work the miners did on the road up the canyon to the mine.
Oh, and some of you may be wondering about the lower trail… Looking at this abandoned mine from above again, I can see now that the lower trail crossed the ravine and led up to those smaller workings on top of the ridge.
*****
All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD
As well as a small gear update here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
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. 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

[@Askjeffwilliams]

now you are in my old stomping grounds ....could tell ya stories about that area ....great to see ya out there .... now imagine how they got it up there ... corrugated metal is what you want to say .... good explore

[@johnbrownlee7623]

True that Sunny Jim.............

[@charlesbritzman501]

When you apologize for the wind rumble noise it is often not really that obtrusive, and in fact adds to the sense of adventure and ambience. There are many of us out here that may not venture into the mines like you and your staff but have savored the rumbling of the wind in our ears in the desert as a token of being in the wilds of the deserts of the Southwestern US. The rumble puts us where you are.

[@williamwintemberg]

Sometimes it's not the mine that's most interesting. It's what the miners did just to get started. This appears to have been one tough order. Thanks for going the extra mile Justin!

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Respect to the prospector who went out and found that claim! Reminds me of my grandpa and the stories he had.

[@cheycasters]

WOW , that "road" up the Canyon Wash reminds me of Panamint City. I went there one time in my life in 1970 and now to see the "road" is gone and looks like there was no way in the world there ever could have been a road up there but there was!!!!!! Un real no?

[@pats9414]

“That counts as a turn” hahaha

[@richardbidinger2577]

I believe the plant is a form of Lichen. Never seen one that big before though.

[@mfree80286]

26:24 Going to guess, though information's lacking, that the bucket there is 1900-1920 just like the metal. Deodorizing cottonseed oil came about right at the turn of the century, but the label card and stamping looks pre-30's, especially with no branding. It's basically proto-crisco btw, they were using compound lard probably to cook and to lube windlasses and tracks. Heck, maybe even in lamps...

[@BijanIzadi]

Wow that portal was super picturesque

[@meboyd7796]

The most picturesque mine I have ever seen you go in. Warm and welcoming.

[@MsSurigirl]

Yes, Disney Land's Runaway Mine Train! Loved that ride. What a gorgeous first portal. I agree---picture perfect. Loving the fault areas. Impressive tunnels with beautiful natural lighting..

[@David-jn4fx]

That was an awesome explore! All that trac and the mines carved out so well. I can just imagine the miners working. 🤔 Thanks

[@markcantemail8018]

Hey J Thank you for the Video . I made it to the Portal , I will have to watch the rest later . Sorry Gotta go to 315 . I am Back and was glad I watched it to the End . My Knees hurt just watching what you Hiked .

[@markattardo]

That was one heck of an all day explore!

[@robertcromwell9736]

Thanks for anoter great mine video. I love your continuity of the exploration and not all broken up with unexplained gaps like some other video makers.

[@thevet2009]

Always look forward to the vid postings…thanks

[@mikewinings4120]

It is always worth it when you explore places you have never seen in your lifetime, can't wait for the next video,be safe

[@DavidHuber63]

What earth does underground is amazing! Thank you👍

[@cheycasters]

That place was amazing.... Im still blown away at those old MIners gotta get it it or starve tudes!!!

[@TheMrlister72]

Man Justin top Quality explore .... most of the hikes into these places leaves me gobsmacked .... some utterly epic scenery, i love it when you let uS see 👍 an metaly bits had me giggling like a fool ... thanks .... how is it that there is no info on these places .... cus you usually know about the mines you explore .... !? Anyhoo the enthusiasm you have for this mine had me loving it too .... thank you Justin so much for all your work .... sending lots of love to you From yer Scottish Brother 🙏👊👍🙏

[@davegrummett1263]

That long entrance at the main portal with the track curving off into the mine was a stellar sight. It's surprising there was not more equipment left but after getting it all up there going back would be a lot easier I would imagine. Gravity working for them instead of against them. Thx for the vid Justin.

[@casedoumasr656]

Justin allways GLAD when we tag along and you get excited and you're adrenaline start's flowing and your mine start's thinking and you look out and see trails and switch backs some times just looking out just makes us all just want more and more thank you for your Discovery's from us All⛏️💣

[@georgeyandell323]

Great video and mine explore, thanks for sharing with us.

[@feraloid]

The can contained what we would now call Lard. At the time there was debate about what could legally call "lard" due to the addition of other types of oils. Awesome find! Thanks!!

[@georgesmith8113]

Fun explore. Good job! Great video! 👍👍👍👊😎

[@jnolette1030]

We've arrived and I like it!

[@kasnitch]

Gorgeous portal and excellent drifts . Those people were very skilled .

[@Rick-The-Relentless]

The dark mineral is Sphalerite, and the lighter milky-white is Smithsonite. Both of which are Zinc minerals, and was being mined as an ore thereof. We would like to have a fragment of the darker material to add to our Ore Shelf Library.

[@brucevanderzanden9638]

Great video Justin. The vantage point you found of the ore bins and mine coming out where like a sugar coating to a already great video.

[@scotts3938]

Thanks for taking us on another cool mine adventure. Those miners trails are so cool.

[@577buttfan]

Awesome find Justin!! I been playing around with LIDAR lately and it really helps finding portals!! Man what a great portal bro wow!!!!! i love when the rail bends and turns!!

[@chris-wr4jl]

Must be nice to have open hills to spot the mine dumps. In Washington state its so miserable to hunt for mines.

[@volktales7005]

That was a VERY picturesque mine! Thanks for showing us that.

[@murrayadam8576]

Thanks for another adventure. Travel safe.

[@davidanderson8381]

Never been this excited about zinc before. Thanks for the great video!

[@rolfsinkgraven]

A nice clean mine, lots of waist rock and a lots of dead ends, sometimes it is not what you expect, once i thought i had the jackpot, a very nice looking house, onley visible from the street, went in found half a house, the back part did collapse very long ago, it looked like you had a long hike aswel, interesting too read that it was a surface deposit.

[@slimwantedman6694]

Good afternoon from Southeast South Dakota

[@stefaneisenring2533]

Thank you, Great Video!

[@TheSWolfe]

Fantastic canyon! Animated adit too: you went Disney, me Flintstones.

[@wood-psyche]

I agree, it's a nice looking portal and mine at that.

[@CentralMusicNation.]

Hi mate thank you for showing me around those mines as they looked awesome and that first u said that looked like a ride at disney😂.

[@terrydevries914]

I’ve been enjoying your videos. Discovered them about a week ago and kinda binge watching them. I would never go in a mine, so I can watch you and your friends crawl around in these places😜😜

[@ozmazone]

Your determination and dedication are inspirational. Thank you.

[@JDR1971]

Looks like a good rock crawling trail to get in there.

[@saltycowgirl]

is it possible the miners lived in those little cubbie holes on the side of the hills?? those trails are still very well defined and alot of effort was put into those trails.. blessings from texas

[@worldtraveler930]

God Bless TEXAS!!!!! 🤠👍

[@michael7544]

Great video Dude

[@bartcalder2791]

All your mining videos is just so cool!

[@virginiahanke6760]

Fantastic, thank you

[@robertquast9684]

The amount of work it took just to get to the point of doing the work that hopefully pays is amazing at these old sites

[@greentea7180]

That metal tub labeled compound, I think it was suet. They would have used it for baking or frying, wonder what it (and the classifier) was doing so high up on the hillside though, kind of seems like someone might have been living way up there. Beats me why they'd want to live up on the hillside vs down low, maybe it was one of the first holes they punched in the hillside before realizing the really good stuff was down low.

[@RockyMtnGobblers]

Even if the adits turn out to be not much I always enjoy your videos, thank you so much for sharing.

[@jw2218]

Hi Justin. I was thinking if you had pictures on your phone of some very cute hikers, so next time those guys leave early you could say look what I ran into. To be on the safe side I would probably explain to the Italian first about the pictures.

[@LolPepperGate]

Thanks for the video Justin. Another great one. Would love to go out with you guys on a explore one day! I got my own gear and pack!

[@janblake9468]

A fantastic find. Thanks for showing it to us.

[@frankgaletzka8477]

What a great work they do and than nothing value in the mountains That was the life of the miners in that time. No Radar no drones no deep Drilling Only their knowlege of the Geologie And the Look of the Rock and the plants that grows there Thank you for the Video Take csrd Yours Frank Galetzka

[@darinday6930]

pretty cool little deal. ...At least you have friends that go with you... even if they so leave early...lol

[@SueGirling68]

Hi Justin, even the small prospects are worth getting on video and documenting so you have obviously helped out other explorers with that. Pretty cool find in that old tin that had the label on it, well worth the climb I say. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx ❤

[@alexreifschneider4332]

Very cool, thank you.

[@qldabandonedmines]

Epic work and big congrats on the 100k follower's mate. Well earned

[@drumtwo4seven]

Nice 👍

[@CornishMineExplorer]

A real eye opener how much work went into just getting to the mines, that road through the canyon must have taken a good while to build and maintain over the years it was in use. A nice little mine set up the end too, they were certainly poking the ground there for some good pay dirt, as you say it looked like there was a small pocket or two but nothing substantial. I guess that is just the way of lady luck back then.

[@thomasjosephscheaffer188]

So cool!!:)))

[@richardwarnock2789]

Arizona looks familiar!

[@DFDuck55]

Thinking about the miners that worked places like this is one thing. All the various skills it took to get equipment to the site, and to mine the site itself. More of a mystery that we can't really piece together from what's left is the prospectors. They didn't have google Earth satellite views to look for places. They somehow knew how to read the topography and geology, and the fortitude to go out with a burro carrying a few supplies in search of places that may or may not lead to riches. It sort of boggles the imagination to think about those guys, what tough sombiches they were and what the managed to accomplish, and I'm sure there's more than a few that failed and died out there trying.

[@erichaskell]

Hopes and dreams. No ore cars. Taken away by the miners?

[@moodpictures]

Hello from Denmark

[@RageKage1776]

Once again an excellent video sir. Do you have an idea of how many mines you have explored.?

[@Reziac]

That pair of short squared-up holes look like they might have been living quarters. Miners here in Montana would sometimes live in holes in the rock (even in winter). There are still a few of these in good shape up by Roundup.

[@alexb.1320]

Impressive location to be hauling things in and out of. You got to wonder what sort of backing this mine had, and the determination to haul out the compressor from this location considering we see similarily sized items (guesstimate based on the location of the anchor bolts) abandoned in place in more accessable locations.

[@redllyon5196]

Just once I would like to hear "thats my friends gear right there" and your friend go "ahhh no, not my gear, that looks like it has been there for a few months" play mystery music 🤣

[@johnbrownlee7623]

Good job on the video....Wonder how the miners got there?..Jeff, was that Galena.?......Thanks............JB.

[@bebeandjohnnotsonomadiclif5287]

Thank you.

[@FD_Fan]

Ayo! In reference to the plant on your video. There’s a KZbinr called Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t. He lives In California I think and might be able to give you an opinion about the plant. He seems to know a lot about desert plants. I tried looking up the taxonomy but got lost quite quickly.

[@FD_Fan]

I’m super interested if you find out what it is! Please post an update in a future video.

[@brokenroadsandabandonedmin3631]

Just did a video on it a month or so ago! You have way more views than we did 😂

[@tylerthompson3147]

I was just there!

[@mechanicman8687]

Sure looks like my stomping grounds closer to the windmills

[@matchismo]

Been a while.... Young gun is growing up. Still Christian Slater's voice double. Seriously though, if you are in a band I would love a link. Peace.

[@BlackdogADV]

Right hand rule, I’ll have to look it up. I explore alone and need all the help I can get.

[@alohathaxted]

Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and eastern Mojave buckwheat.

[@Glenn-em3hv]

The ones that were across that you showed at the end had some big waist rock piles it looks like?

[@bermudezhg]

It looks like Cladonia rangiferina or Reindeer lichen / Caribou moss. And also, Cladonia Portentosa

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you.

[@SydneyRadio2UE]

At 0:12, it sounds like Frank got to this one first.

[@rdamp2374]

What you thought was a rock is oil packing for the bearing's.

[@kennethjohnson5180]

That would be the mine ride at Knotts berry farm

[@draincleaner9024]

Where do you get your like cart rails from?

[@stanleybennett8879]

Have you tried a black light to show the minerals?

[@brucelandfather5452]

Why are the ends of each tunnel end with a flat vertical wall?

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

the compond in the can was a cooking oil product, says my wife

[@Davidautofull]

is there a mine center screen at 3:59?

[@AGDinCA]

This reminds me of a mine you visited in Arizona, I think. Or, perhaps it was in Nevada. Anyway, it looked quite similar to that second portal you entered (the one with the ladder). That first adit was very interesting, geologically speaking. I'm looking forward to using that footage in class! All I could think of, as you were ascending the canyon, was the worn down rock - very clear evidence of repeated flash flooding. Yikes! I'm guessing they used donkeys or mules to carry out most of the ore.

[@SuperMika70]

🤩

[@PyritMusic]

Do you guys ever carry pepper spray (or otherwise) with you into these places? 😅

[@Kevin-ht1ox]

You should pack in a drone with you so that you can take a look at those places that are difficult to access!

[@brndnew01]

Where is this??

[@RealNickTheCoolest]

This is obviously in the cut, but the barbed wire and signs make it obvious the forest service was there. Is there any mines they haven’t found out there? They must have the best reference material and records you can get your hands on to find some of these lost mines in the absolute middle of nowhere..

[@alohathaxted]

The beef and mutton fat mine.

[@gtfkt]

That's dried-out poop. From a carnivore by the looks of it.

[@levigockley9201]

Anyone else see the ghost orb at 16:35...?

[@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm]

movie location = sell info to movie people .

[@Cj-bw3hn]

Not cool that your friends left you. They could have made a small camp and waited for you instead of just leaving you alone. When you ARRIVE TOGETHER, you LEAVE TOGETHER !!! .