WE BRAVED CROCODILES TO GET HERE.

[@paulpeople9178]

Team, I love your videos. The obvious planning and effort is second to none. Keep it up, it inspired me to do some local stuff and reinvigorated my (small) brain. Cheers, stay safe

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@paulpeople9178 Thanks for the kind words Paul! Good luck on your own quest for local history and exploration! Stay safe and have fun Ebenezer. QAM.

[@glengrant3884]

EPIC WORK GUYS!!💥💪 SHINE BRIGHT!!💥🙌💯

[@Kevin-mw9yl]

Outstanding gentlemen. The effort you go to, to show us the best stuff, deserves my absolute respect. So much history, left to rot in the bush. And that old steam engine? In my opinion, should be rescued and restored, in a local mining museum.

[@MrPopo-nn7kp]

There are heaps of them around. My neighbour dragged one out of the bush and has it in his paddock

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@Kevin-mw9yl Thanks Kevin! This certainly is a special site! It would be one of the top 5 site surveys and video shoots we have even done in our years of exploration. Thankyou for tuning in. One of the main reasons we do this is so these sites are digitally preserved & presented on KZbin forever. Kind Regards. Eb. QAM

[@detecting_Nathanael]

I love the mineral colours. Great camera work, too.

[@forgottenmininghistory]

That huge steam engine was really neat to see out in the wild. The underground was great too. Looks like it was worth the trip for sure!

[@qldabandonedmines]

Thank bud. It was one of the highlights of our year for sure. Kinda wish we punched that gap though. It's a full day of driving to get all the way back up there. Eb. QAM.

[@forgottenmininghistory]

@@qldabandonedmines Yeah it looked like it was either some stope backfill that caved in or there was shaft going to the surface at that spot. The rock itself looked solid. I fully understand the desire to push through there, but it's not always worth killing yourself trying to explore every part of a mine. I've convinced myself it is many times tho lmao

[@Mark_The_Magnificent]

Amazing epic explore explore that one was! You guys really excelled here! I often wonder how people ever found minerals in such way out places all over the world.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@Mark_The_Magnificent Thanks mark. It was a wild ride! There are copper carbonates striking through the creek, so the miners in the 1880s would have found that and started going for the copper in the mountain to join back up to that lode. The amount of bullocks or horses needed to get the steam equipment up here completely blows our minds.

[@jumpingjimmy1072]

Thanks for your video's mate, I find them enjoyable. I too have visited this place 3 times so far and definitely going back a few more times no doubt, too much to see in one day. I have also found Orange's shaft on the topside, it is still timbered but has been plugged from flood debris seeing it's not far from creek and surrounded by the lovely Gimpy Gimpy(suicide plant) which stung me(now that was wild pain lasting 6 months) trying to get a better look down shaft.. I have noticed someone had been there the last time we went that was probably your crew. The adit is always full of water all year round but I haven't entered the adit at all which I'm thankful you have done it for me cheers. We have got it down to 1 hour to get to the mine from bitumen road by climbing the creek at the bottom half (creek is dry and only seasonal a lot of artifacts in bottom of creek beside and below of that massive diesel engine) then jump on track once the road crosses the creek. I've tried to find Sturts shaft/claim and higher workings but no much luck, I need to get some lidar images for future trips. If you come up again bud I would love to join in with ya's and show you the quick way in. Cheers.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@jumpingjimmy1072 Thank you Jimmy. The underground workings here are most definately dangerous. The barometric pressure on the mountain can shift the atmosphere quickly underground, so we won't ever know if we surveyed the underground workings or a good day or it's worst day. We hit lower pockets of 02 but didn't film all of that as the 02 alarm was constantly arming making shooting video impossible. We made the educated guess it was bacteria in the three flooded winzes that was consuming the 02 and thus dropping oxygen content. I think we dipped to 16° that day in three areas of the main adit. We know where the top shaft is, I think it's Clarke's diggings. We will get back there one day but I'm taking an extended break from exploration until Jan 2026 as I have a mountain of home projects starting soon I want to put some energy and time into, as well as some family holidays. We will be in touch when we head back up my friend! Ebenezer. QAM.

[@mooloolahmark9807]

What a mission to get there!

[@qldabandonedmines]

It was tough. The trek back off the mountain claimed our $500 Garmin Inreach too. The lantana was so bad there was no light to see what we were doing. My sat phone was carabinered onto my backpack and the mountain claimed it! Expensive trip! 😂😂😂😂 Eb. QAM.

[@mooloolahmark9807]

@qldabandonedmines how do you go with ticks? Jump Jacks really get me everytime lol. Thanks for your vids

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@mooloolahmark9807 this one had crocs, scary water dragons, spiders and LOTS of leeches. Luckily no ticks on this hike. I did get 4 massive ticks on my back this winter hiking around the old coal mines near our house at Burgowan. That was a miserable day! Eb. QAM.

[@gordonoldfield403]

It's a shame that alot of the old stuff can't be saved & put in a museum !!!

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@gordonoldfield403 That's why we do what we do though mate. Documenting and sharing for you guys! Thanks for tuning in mate. Eb.

[@OGRocker1]

You give bushwacking in the outback a whole new meaning, "man down"...lol. Glad you are OK Eb... Croc's, hopefully no S.M.E.R.T and that's just to get to the explore. Plenty of old artifacts, nice millsite. Always been a night mere of mine to step into a hidden winze full of sticky mud, getting trapped and all. Overall an awesome explore mates. Thank you for the share, EB... Take care and stay safe. Till the next, best wishes from America and her west coast. 👏👍👊⛏⚒⛏

[@qldabandonedmines]

Thank you OG. Sam and I have since had a few late night chats about if we should have punched that gap at that huge collapse. We spoke to someone once we got home that crawled through there in the 1990s, but didn't investigate what was in there. Another trip may be on the cards but as you watch this I'm taking some time away from exploring. I have so many family and home projects going on that exploring will be taking a bit of a back seat. It does not mean you won't see us though!!! We have insane episodes scheduled until September 2025 edited and ready to rock.. We have been busy! Hope you're well bro. Eb. QAM.

[@markkilley2683]

Amazing place.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@markkilley2683 Definitely one of the best. No modern miners go after these small vein copper deposits anymore.

[@andrewbarker9773]

yeah you were amongst it there mate, good on ya

[@detecting_Nathanael]

Looks very like North Queensland with the vegetation, too. Plus, you’ve got to watch out for those snapping handbags, Ebenezer.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@detecting_Nathanael I did miss a great opportunity for a great pun..I was wearing crocs whilst trying to avoid detection from crocs. Missed opportunity 😂

[@detecting_Nathanael]

@@qldabandonedmines I'll send you a funny pic I've got about crocs.

[@detecting_Nathanael]

You should have it now. Instagram.

[@oldmaninthebush3390]

I have been to the end of that mine. The collapse was not as great as it is now. I went in around 30 years ago. I have a photo looking down to the next level, there was no water in the mine.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@oldmaninthebush3390 That would have been awesome mate! The collapse was not extreme, but the bad levels of 02 we had right at that point caused us to pass up any attempt of going through. It should have only continued for 60 metres past it to 250 metres. Exploring the bottom levels would be a dream. The stope in the lowest level looks enormous on the development map we have from the mid 1950s. Thanks for tuning in mate Eb.

[@oldmaninthebush3390]

@@qldabandonedmines If you are in the area again let me know and I will show you the photo.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@oldmaninthebush3390 awesome mate. Sounds good. We will be back up that way one day soon. Lots to see a bit NW of this (secret) location

[@rodneymiddleton1044]

G'Day Eb what a mission this place is and fancy a yabbie in an underground mine lol who would of thought and Im no fan of croc's either lol stay safe....

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@rodneymiddleton1044 thanks mate. I actually barely slept as the night was scary. It rained all night and I kept hearing things move. I was only in my hammock whilst Sam was in his "Bellair" rooftop tent and intimately completely safe. I felt like croc bait! Eb.

[@Dwendele]

You talked about the difficulties of getting ore out of that location... How about getting all that HEAVY equipment IN??? 😮

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@Dwendele absolutely mate. We would need to hire a Chinook to get any of it back out. That jungle is tough! Eb.

[@brentonpaterson7047]

Loving this channel. Great content. Curious about footwear. I see a few wearing what look to be work boots?

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@brentonpaterson7047 thanks mate. After 4 years of hiking, I've settled on Solomon GTX4 Gortex high-cuts. I have fried everything else. Went through a set of Merrel Moabs every 6 months. Had a set of Underarmour HOVRS that I destroyed in less than 3 months. The GTX4s are really solid! Eb. QAM.

[@brentonpaterson7047]

Cool thanks Eb

[@buckchancey]

Disagree, Ebenezer. Work boots for working men. None of that advanced male hiking gear.

[@brentonpaterson7047]

@@buckchancey steel caps for extra safety!! Hehehe.

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@buckchancey OMG. Are you going to edit out your shoe falling off and disappearing down a deadly adit from the mine at Hedley? Or you slipping down a cliff at The Rawhide open pit due to said "work boots" How do I do the Velociraptor "Clever Girl" emoji on here??

[@hamish2202]

Anyone know of some good mines around cairns

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@hamish2202 a few hundred KMs west of Cairns is loaded with old workings mate. Up over the ranges towards Petford. Eb. QAM.

[@wailwoader1873]

Crocodiles.

[@qldabandonedmines]

Crap! Fixed. Thank you mate.. That was a mighty un-Australian typo!!!!

[@buckchancey]

Wtf where was my invite?

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@buckchancey You & H were burning around Nepal on mopeds from memory. We also strategized this specific time window so the mission could not be railroaded (N.K Decline 😂)

[@buckchancey]

@@qldabandonedmines it was a Royal Enfield Himalayan, asshole. Looks like you guys had to go through some hardcore terrain. Fine work as always ✊

[@qldabandonedmines]

@@buckchancey hahaha. Cheers mate. This was the mountain that claimed our Inreach. Ended up being an expensive weekend away. The 12 hour drive home in the Jimny in the rain was straight-up death too. Good times!