Pleasant Exterior Hides Ancient Catastrophe

[@addisme7561]

A few years ago when I first started watching your videos I thought you over explained everything but now I love it, it’s one of my favourite things about your videos, don’t change your style brother, your videos rock and you have always stayed true to you original objective of awesome mine exploration and it’s raw and best.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you for the kind words. Haha, glad you've come to enjoy my explaining of everything...

[@trinketsmusings]

Wow! What an awesome mine. My geology brain was on total geek mode with that pyroclastic flow and the ancient charred trees! Loved the pic marks. You needed a nap during the explore. I needed one after! Thanks for another amazing explore!

[@Askjeffwilliams]

surprised you didn't sample a little yourself while you were there....would love to know if this claim is a Patent claim and if so is it for sale. Really love seeing the Lahars and ash flow tuff with ancient plant life and trees trapped in them....... great job finding this one , keep'em coming there sonny Jim

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. It's not patented... And, yes, I like seeing the geological wonderland underground as well.

[@Askjeffwilliams]

@@TVRExploring would love to have more info on this one if you can .

[@rankyeller]

Yay! Here is the man himself! Hey Jeff!

[@Washman-jw3hl]

Jeff what r u doin here. Aahahaha

[@user-sx1ms9dg5v]

Hi Jeff, I sampled this mine a couple years with a another geologist that the claim owners hired to map/sample the mine. The gold was fine but consistent on bedrock, no nuggets have been reported from this one. If I remember correctly this is not the "main" ancient channel in the area and did not have the same gold endowment as the other one. You can DM me if you have any more questions

[@graydonjones6912]

This is a very interesting mine , the riverbed above your head is so cool to see!!

[@davidisonyt]

To paraphrase your opening, I sure do love it when you post a new video. Great content as always.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you!

[@Doomzdayisgone1969]

This is the coolest mine you shared. Simply fascinating. Thank you!

[@Jdub6580]

dude. seeing that tree bark literally gave me goosebumps. can't imagine seeing it in person, I'd probably spend an hour photographing it under different colors of light and what not. seeing something that old yet still vibrant in it's own way puts things in perspective for me. thanks a lot!

[@diggah]

Love the new wide angle lens. Can see so much more. Thanks once again for the great content.

[@vapormissile]

Amen.

[@kimbra1132]

Looks like an inside rock house with many rooms for a big family. The deads in there were awesome. The burnt wood is a ancient forest from the past that I've never seen underground before. It sparkled when the light shown on it. Beautiful colors and the geology through that placer mine was fantastic.

[@patrickfurtaw5326]

placer mines usually look like a massive collapse could happen at any time. This one was really interesting, really enjoyed the stratification if the lahar.

[@TVRExploring]

That's a pretty accurate assessment about the collapse at any time...

[@mertfox3488]

I have learned more about ancient bedrock and mining for gold in your videos than any other channel. You explain in simple terms and show what you are referring to. An excellent venture with you guiding the way. Keep your skills honed and thanks for your work and efforts.

[@TVRExploring]

Glad to hear it! Thank you.

[@durwinpocha2488]

"They never reopened that worthless pit, they just placed a marble slab in front of it. At the bottom of this mine lies a big man, Big John." Very educational video on placer mining, incredible really, thanks for sharing!

[@ronwhittaker6317]

love that ol'song it still stirs me

[@westfield_rcc4537]

One of the best songs ever!

[@philliphall5198]

Seems some one is looking for gold in it lately

[@LolPepperGate]

Crazy mine. Lots of exploritory everywhere. That ancient charcoal'd wood was really cool to see

[@glendadalejones3753]

Wow,this was pretty special,huh? Excellent wander around.and so pretty too. Thankyou 🙌👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@leesherman100]

The old remaining buildings and cars are every much a treasure as the mine is. Perhaps more of this could be shown when possible. Another great vid I must say.

[@donmorrow1045]

Awesome job showing this great mine loved the old buildings wish there was equipment but again Awesome content as usual ty

[@rankyeller]

Just here waiting for Jeff Williams to comment on how he would love to get a detector in here. What a beautiful mine. Wish we had placer deposits/mines here in NM.

[@user-fy3rd8dr6h]

You where a day early lol

[@BerlinGonzalez]

How can you be under 100K - Keep up the good content coming. Thanks!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. I'll keep doing it for as long as I can...

[@williamwintemberg]

Wow! Justin! This mine is a true gem! So much gobbing and backfill. Great explanations on all. This is one for the books!

[@TVRExploring]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sandman2156]

I want to thank you for the hardship you go through to show such amazing sights and history left behind yet discovered.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. Glad you are enjoying the fruits of our efforts...

[@debbiehenson227]

Thank you thank you I have never seen the under side of a ancient river, and truly loved seeing this you are so brave to do this, it is truly appreciated by me.

[@TheSilmarillian]

@10:10 modern extension lead electrical cable someone is still poking around in there or it could just be colour coded electrical wire I could be wrong as further on its taped to what appears to be older cable and insulators ,looked more modern to me but sometimes the camera distorts the view and I think I saw a large chunk of crystal or quarts at the time stamp, great explore hello again from Australia opal miner here .@32:22 looks like a face lol

[@paulcooper2897]

Placer mines are so incredible to see! The cross sections of millenia, or instant moments are so intriguing. Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

[@iispjhanna]

liked and subscribed. You are now my #1 mine exploration video adventurer!

[@johncarold]

Hi Justin WOW ! Thanks for this one. I have to stop it , but before I go, I just wanted to thank you for this one. Incredible Placer mine. I have a million questions about it. Can't wait to see the rest.

[@michaelrietz9220]

thanks for your show i enjoy it keep up good work i love the wilderness no depressed or stressful peace and quiet i love thoses cabin they are beautiful

[@tallat8888]

Thank you for sharing this amazing mine exploration. It is incredible to think about how our planet evolved.

[@KubotaManDan]

Awesome explore, you still have the best mine explores. Great views of all the geology & keen eye for artifacts

[@TVRExploring]

Thanks 👍

[@gingerbread6614]

Fantastic show & tell. Thank you so much. You always make it so interesting

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you.

[@jamesfohare]

G-day Justin very interesting undercut it may have been a worth while look at the back. With a blacklite just to see what if anything showed up. great video cheers.

[@DFDuck55]

My favorite! Tertiary river bed and pyroclastic flow. Where the buckets, pan, pipes, and electric light were I'm guessing a mom & pop mining crew was running a highbanker in there. Though with everything else left in that area why wouldn't the highbanker still be there, unless some explorer found it and took it. But why would they take a highbanker and leave the pans? Very cool mine. The kind of place I wouldn't mind spending a few summers playing at.

[@TVRExploring]

Not sure about the highbanker, but it was nowhere to be seen... And, yes, I'm fond of these types of mines as well.

[@DFDuck55]

I just said highbanker based on that I would do if I were hobby working this site on a small budget. Why carry the placer material out to work in the hot sun when you've got water right there and electricity to run a pump. Gold pans in the mine kind of make me think they were working it in the mine and not outside. I saw no evidence of any separation type equipment anywhere outdoors, or waste piles. Running a highbanker inside the mine you could just move the waste a short distance and back fill an unused drift. If that is what they were doing, the thing I would do differently would be use flexible black PVC pipe rather than the rigid sections. I could easily be 100% wrong though :>

[@TVRExploring]

@@DFDuck55 It makes a lot of sense. We came across a significant dredging operation in an underground placer mine once!

[@lironmtnranch4765]

@@TVRExploring They might have even been hydraulic mining hard to reach edges right through a sluice box. Couldn't get away with that on a surface mine but anything goes when you're hidden underground... including the roof above your head if you get too greedy!

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

Super interesting. Thank you for all your diligence.

[@rockymountainlifeprospecti4423]

Always finding those old cabins, we have them all over the Rockies, love it, time capsules! Great video guys!

[@archstanton9206]

Incredible mount of physical labor in that mine, at least that is what struck me. The geology in there was also unreal, the burned trees, all of it...really incredible. You know me, I love the old buildings and the stories they tell, I could spend hours just wandering around looking at the infrastructure above ground. Really enjoyed this one.

[@williambergman3840]

Me too🤬

[@williambergman3840]

Too bad these places were not kept up over the years😾

[@tommystanton3344]

I love this stuff. I literally could watch it all day.

[@herbwhitmore4482]

I will bet that they pulled a .LOT of gold out of that mine . Seeing the riverbed from the underside , very cool

[@IBRAKEFORBEDROCK]

Love the Placer mine videos! Those must be big ancient river channels

[@fisk0]

Such a fascinating amount of layers of history here - from the 25-30 year old remains of the hunter lodge, to the century-ish old mine ... to remains of a forest that was destroyed so long before human history that it's near impossible to comprehend.

[@SueGirling68]

Hi Justin, wow those two cabins were so cool, a shame to see them almost at the end of their lives though. The mine itself was very haphazard in where the different drifts went and all of the little off shoots of breasting, very unique to see such a large placer mine operation that is still for the most part accessible. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx 💞

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, it is always a shame to see old buildings slipping away. Those cabins date to the 1890s. You're absolutely right about how rare it is to have a placer mine that is mostly accessible!

[@herrmp5sd]

Cool mine and a great video 👍😎👌

[@karlfonner7589]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We appreciate it

[@bring6not12]

i hate how history like this is left behind and forgotten to fall apart, so glad im born at just the right time to explore them!

[@johngiromini5745]

This has certainly been one of the more exquisitely colorful placer mines in your explorations. As you were walking, I could imagine a St. Helen style event talking place to form that mine. Very good job indeed!

[@beansinacan500]

The charred wood in the pyroclastic flow was so cool to see. I didn't know it did that and was able to preserve trees that well.

[@grumpy5724]

That power wire going in, is a small fortune. Good thing you don't say where they are. The scrappers would definitely be getting that wire. Great mine. i like the old trees.

[@zerofox7347]

What an absolutely fascinating mine.great video.

[@donaldking8288]

That is really a fascinating place, I would be prospecting like crazy, thanks for video 📹

[@gingerbread6614]

Great videos. Thank you

[@ivanferguson2509]

Love how you were able to showcase the ancient bedrock with the river channel then the volcanic layer above. Underground placer mining not a big thing here in southwest colorado, hardrock mining is the ticket here. Can't wait till next Wednesday to see what new explore you share with us.

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. Yes, the underground placer mines of this area are very unique... Underground placer mining exists elsewhere in the world, but I don't know anywhere else that taps into the ancient river channels as in the Sierra Nevada.

[@jonbeauchamp156]

Thanks for the adventure!

[@gheffz]

Really love your videos, mate. They certainly did work this area!

[@markattardo]

So much too look at in there. The flows (lahar?) really fascinate me. Other than the trees, what remains inside to glimpse the past? The cabin and workshop were awesome too. Fantastic explore!!

[@TVRExploring]

The entire mine was the bottom of an ancient river. The only thing that WASN'T from the ancient past was the mining equipment...

[@markattardo]

@@TVRExploring I was thinking stone artifacts, bones etc. What you showed was phenomenal!

[@paulgargulak8275]

what are the numbers on the wall starting around 7:30?

[@Ironsja11]

I would have had a hard time leaving that old windlass behind @ 3:40. That was a way cool artifact! Also I would have had my Gold pan handy in that mine there was even water to pan in.

[@krakhedd]

They dug out parts of a system of ancients mountain creeks and streams. Imagining the various drifts and stopes as still flowing not buried under lava. Great stuff man, thank you 🤘

[@-r-495]

Fascinating. 32:49: There‘s iron oxides oozing out of the left side of the stope. Looks like they where looking for earlier embankments, if you‘re in an adit of shale with stalactites made of such a compound you‘re standing under another old aquifer. Bedrock-undisturbed riverbed-sand, organic debris from erosion of embankments, then tuff, then the organic layer and basalt on top (best guess). Thank you, again, for this amazing recording.

[@philwallace1629]

Great job even when you're tired you did it

[@adambatchelder4121]

Very cool, I was at those cabins this summer. Still standing but even closer to the end now. Did you explore the big diggens to the west of there? With all the large metal pipe ?

[@AmalgmousProxy]

Your ability to locate these places is amazing. I do have to admit seeing that shoe seemed a bit... foreboding.

[@DFDuck55]

It used to be fairly common to leave a pair of boots behind as a gift for the Tommyknockers. But not a single modern tennis shoe. That was... strange.

[@robertlyman9789]

Crazy orgys

[@LeftHandGloveClub]

I like the atmosphere of this one! The water and way it was carved out seem unique. Much better that those dry desert shafts (IMO).

[@TVRExploring]

I'm glad you found it more interesting...

[@darinday6930]

Finally had some time to get to your channel and watch a video. Looks like you haven't slowed down either!.. cool mine!

[@Hoosier_Boy]

Very cool workings from that old river back.

[@joshuajackson6442]

Thank you for the adventure and history

[@67volksrodder]

Pretty crazy mine. All that gobbing and exploratory stopes. I wouldn't doubt it if there is still some gold in that mine. Nice video. Stay safe.

[@Steven-vo8tk]

Loved the video. Heard of a mine in Tennessee that was reopened. Didn't know if you had heard of it or traveled to explore mines. The Eureka #2 mine

[@michaelmiller609]

The charcoal trees were something else. Amazing!! That must have been quite the adventure for the original miners finding chunks of nuggets.

[@fredfarquar7679]

Very nice explore! These tertiary age placer mines always remind me of the wonder and the tragedy of the Ruby Mine near Downieville (article in California Mining Journal archives). They followed a fairly low-grade vein for ~1/4 mile and ran across an ancient river bed that was richer, so they followed it. As they went, it got richer and richer; at the end they were pulling out many nuggets of one pound; one shaped like a grapefruit was 8 pounds, another slab nugget was 20 pounds. (A collection of these was exhibited for many years at a casino in Las Vegas). They were sure they were getting close to a fabulous source vein! BUT: The mine was closed down during WWII (Dammit!), and when they could reopen it, they found a major collapse had occurred only ~100' from the portal, and they didn't have the capital to remove it. Surveying showed that, to reach the working face again, they'd have to drive a vertical shaft 1900 feet from the top of the mountain. There's one heckuva rich vein and placer somewhere still down there, but it would take tens of million$ to reach it now. Like I said: a wonder and a tragedy!

[@TVRExploring]

A nine part series on the Ruby was on this channel for a while. I made it all of the way through the old workings and it remains one of the toughest explores that I have done... A number of companies have tried to do something with the Ruby - like Brush Creek or North Bay Resources - but none of them have succeeded. The geologist at our mine worked there as well and he doesn't see potential in the placer deposits that were being worked in the past, but in a lode vein under the present workings.

[@chrisackerley1842]

@@TVRExploring Justin - is that 9-part series still posted? I haven't seen it. If not, could you re-post it? Thanks.

[@johnhunt2390]

@@TVRExploring l

[@kerzwhile]

This is incredible!! I Love Placer Mines! 😉 I would have grabbed that pan and stayed for a few days!! Have you ever found anything notable or worth keeping? 🤔 but didnt😉

[@TVRExploring]

The underground placer mines are definitely unique. Sketchier to explore by far, but their uniqueness is compensation for that... We see notable things all of the time in the remote mines, but, no, we don't take anything.

[@markcantemail8018]

Thank you for the Video , You are one Special Type of Human Being .

[@TVRExploring]

Haha, I hope you mean "special" in the positive sense!

[@markcantemail8018]

@@TVRExploring It was on the Calendar in the first part of the Video . They knew you would show up in the Future !

[@TVRExploring]

@@markcantemail8018 Ah, yes, of course... I'm a little slow sometimes. Very thoughtful of them to anticipate me coming, wasn't it?

[@Ed_in_Md]

Awesome mine. I have heard of placer mines but that’s the first I’ve even seen pictures of. Really different. It would be interesting to do a carbon date test on a piece of those trees. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@Stand.Your.Ground.]

I am just so amazed by all the placer!

[@davebeckley2584]

Fascinating, mining a stream but from the bottom up. Conspicuous in their absence is any indication that dynamite was used to break up the river rock, an indication of the structural integrity of the concreted gravels worn round by millions of years of tumbling though this mine isn't as unstable as some other ancient placer mines you've explored where the drifts remained open through wishful thinking. Great video. Thanks Justin.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, this one was more stable than a lot of the underground placer mines that we have visited. I'm trying to figure out the exact mix that is the determining factor for the strength of the placer material.

[@sylvanwhite4362]

Could you metal detect a placer mine or is there to much metal in the to block readings

[@TVRExploring]

No, one could definitely metal detect in there. It would be easier than a modern river as you wouldn't have interference from fishing weights, bullets, old nails, etc.

[@rael6_4wd]

Awesome video/mine. The mist near the entrance is straight out of a horror film. ❤️

[@debra4542]

I wonder about how much of this technique is deliberate on the part of the vocalist, or whether this is instinctual? I love your analysis. Your observations certainly help me to appreciate the talent of the artists. They are amazing, are they not?

[@grizzleypeak]

Oh, no.... Sad to see the cabin got smashed. It was in decent shape a couple of years ago. Most of the artifacts seem to still be there. Looks like someone stole the home made sled that was in the shed. It was made from old longboard skis. That place is a museum in it's own right. Too bad it's fading away fast. There were more cabins standing there when I was a little kid. Looks like I should get out there again soon before it's all gone. Very interesting geology there... Thanks for recording the place for posterity!

[@TVRExploring]

Cory just told me today about the missing sled... So, I was definitely disappointed to learn about that. I would love to have seen them back when you did. There was another collapsed cabin below the two in this video, but I didn't include it. I didn't see the remains of any other structures, but the brush is thick there. You're right though about all of these places fading away quickly. That's why I started doing the videos in the first place in order to document what I could before it all disappeared.

[@grizzleypeak]

@@TVRExploring In 2014 I made a video of the upper cabins called "Abandoned 1920's cabins..." It is still on my channel. The lower cabin was collapsed at that time.. I remember an old bed with a fancy iron headboard being in the lower cabin in the 80's when my dad took me there. I think it is crushed under the wreckage. I always wondered how deep the mine went.... Quite impressive in there. I have only been in 50 feet, maybe!

[@TVRExploring]

​@@grizzleypeak Cory sent me a link of your video... I always find it interesting to compare your videos to how these places look when I find them years later. If I recall correctly, there is a piece of that headboard in the lower cabin poking up through the ruins.

[@DavidHuber63]

Thank you! 🙏

[@lordpie70]

Another quality video!

[@Paleoman]

Hey, just want to say outstanding presentation. That was an incredible video. The remenants of a pyroclastic flow in the cieling above you gives me goosbumps. Any chance this is related to the eruption that created the Mammouth Mtn. caldera?l imagine you might be 75 miles N.W. of there. Thank you for sharing!

[@ADITADDICTS]

Imo both buildings look the same age. The corrugated tin roof was put on over the original shake roof, you can see it where the tin is missing. Most likely because of the wood stove that was put in and not to catch the roof on fire. That's a bloodhound gang song.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, you're right. I noticed that when I was editing the video... I found out later that both cabins date to the 1890s.

[@TVRExploring]

And, yes, you're right about the Bloodhound Gang.

[@ADITADDICTS]

@@TVRExploring 1890s would be the same time frame as Scott Lawsons cabin on east Nelson cr. Bitchin.

[@TVRExploring]

@@ADITADDICTS Yep. Pretty awesome, huh?

[@ADITADDICTS]

@@TVRExploring Always. Never gets old, unlike me. Lol

[@thelifewedo]

This was fascinating. Very cool indeed

[@dylanmccallister1888]

18:46 Pretty sure i have that brand of water in my house and this mine has been worked on more recently than many many years Cool video though as usual

[@davidmicheletti6292]

Placer mines are so amazing. Your basically looking up,from the bottom of a river.

[@TVRExploring]

Exactly.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

28:53 That is one of the most interesting things I have seen in a mine.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I found that very interesting as well...

[@sidthemyth]

beautiful forest! how old are the big trees you think?

[@casedoumasr656]

Awesome discovery great research . Like they say if only those cabins could only talk a little more .allways believe in left and right turns look what you found for us all to see.p.s. finding the trees in the charcoal form was an outstanding fine congratulations. It could be a cypress tree .thank you.

[@ericcorse]

We moved to an 1880's farm that had s stove like that in the kitchen it had pipes in the back leading to a heat exchanger to make hot water.

[@TVRExploring]

Fantastic! You moved into a home with distinction and character.

[@ericcorse]

@@TVRExploring Yes we only lived there two years before we moved to NC but took that stove with us. It would have been a good place to finish growing up.

[@axmajpayne]

Everyone talking about the charred wood from the volcanic eruption, but I don't think anyone in the comments has mentioned the strangeness of someone taking a pair of sneakers into the mine and leaving them in different places. You acknowledged the one at 36:03, but the other showed up earlier in the mine at 11:25.

[@DaveExploresYT]

What kind of camera stabilizer do you use ?.

[@ChurchOfTheHolyMho]

Link to his 2018 equipment list is in the description.

[@Tom22AG]

Seeing that bark pattern was pretty amazing, have not seen anything like that before

[@TVRExploring]

Despite being tens of millions of years old, the wood was still soft. We could've taken it outside and used it for firewood...

[@markhooper5824]

Those old trees were amazing. I would have to take a piece and frame it.

[@1944chevytruck]

AWESOME!...thanks 4 video. be kind.

[@jarvislarson6864]

Seeing how many mines youve explored i imagine one of these days youre gonna be climbing over a collapse or slough off a wall and find a huge gold nugget.....the odds gotta be quite high in your favor. I hope you do too.

[@TVRExploring]

No big nuggets yet, but we've seen small amounts of gold before... Appreciate the positive wishes!

[@rogerturner3847]

I saw a log boat draw hanging in the second shed few people know what it is or how it works

[@corvidflight19]

Just a guess is that the same people that used that shack as a hunting cabin in the 90's were probly doing the mineing with the newer stuff. I know that white pvc came out probly in the early 80's, in the 70's they made black pvc. The black pvc would rot if left in sunlight. Buy the early 2000's pex would have been used for water lines as it is harder to freaze. My other guess is the guy most likely died, and no one took care of the hunting shack, and no one has been back for the stuff in the mine.

[@timmc49]

Really interesting to see ancient rivers (lahars) created by melting snow/ice that liquified due to a volcanic eruption! How far below the surface is this main haulage adit? It looks like all the numbers were referencing how far into the mine you went. I spent a few weeks at Mt. St. Helens after it blew - photojournalist for USDA, working with the Forest Service at the time to document the extent of blow down forests and the large scale reseeding of hillsides to help prevent erosion. As you mentioned, it puts into perspective what miners find in placer mines several thousands of years later. Really cool for me to tie it all together!! Thanks so much! Please be careful!!

[@TVRExploring]

That must have been very interesting to see Mount St. Helens after it blew out... I imagine it looked like the surface of the moon? In the case of this mine, the volcanic activity was many tens of millions of years ago. The sequential numbers in a mine like this always refer to the distance in. The mine cut into the side of a hill and so the material above ranged from a few feet up to several hundred feet.

[@timmc49]

@@TVRExploring The moon yes, with huge trees all pointing away from the mountain for miles! Coolest part was flying into the crater 3 different times with the USGS folks who were taking air samples from the vents in the crater. The Bell jet ranger helo never set fully down and we jumped out for a few minutes and then right back out. Probably the neatest thing I ever did as a photog. But I think some of the things you do in mine exploring are a bit more hairy. That's what I enjoy seeing now that I am retired! Thanks so much!

[@garyjordan3181]

Cool you should have had a detector with you even a Gerrit pinpointer light weight and very sensitive 😀

[@SydneyRadio2UE]

Radiocarbon date the plant material @ 29:31 would be super interesting, just to see how long ago the pyroclastic flow occurred.

[@milla698]

I love it when you find these old places. I think the only reason this place is standing is the metal roof saved it

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I think you're right.

[@shinkicker404]

Watched a number of your videos so far and this mine looks like it’s the most unstable I can remember seeing… The roof is so weird looks more cave like than a mine, like it’s just dirt or something and it could collapse whenever it wants. Do these types mines always go into/under lava flows? River beds?