Mines Like This Aren't Supposed To Be In California
Mines Like This Aren't Supposed To Be In California
The title of this video is a nod to those that say that all of the abandoned mines in Southern California have been sealed up by the government or plundered by “collectors” to the point that they are just featureless holes in the ground… They have not. And the impressive mine in this video is proof of that, despite abandoned mines like this not supposedly not existing in Southern California anymore. These abandoned mines are not unicorns. They are still out there. Yes, one must work much harder to find them now in such places, but they are still out there. We can only marvel at the golden age of mine exploring in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s when such abandoned mines were everywhere…
For a mine of this size, there is surprisingly little information available on it. Part of this is due to the fact that, unlike states such as Nevada or Arizona that have digitized their archives and made them available to the public, California has done nothing with their historical archives other than make them extremely difficult to access. Many of them are in Sacramento, but others are scattered across the state and one must be credentialed to simply review them in many instances. Naturally, even if any of them have been digitized, none of these have been made widely accessible to the public. It’s California. What can I say?
However, even with the obstacles presented by the Golden State taken into account, there is still surprisingly little information available on this mine. Once you’ve seen how large and impressive this mine is, I think you’ll agree that that is somewhat odd.
What I have uncovered seems to indicate that this was primarily a lead and silver mine, with copper, gold and zinc also being present in small, but rich quantities. Works appears to have started in the early 1900s and continued into the 1950s.
Credit for the discovery of this site goes to Mine Explorers (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxhNU-gNyPq2lXA7JhLB90Q)
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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: https://bit.ly/2wqcBDD
As well as a small gear update here: https://bit.ly/2p6Jip6
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: https://goo.gl/TEKq9L
Thanks for watching!
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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
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Did you notice the split through that pillar at 7:32
It looks like they filled up the back of that tunnel to prevent people from going any further.
What was that thing moving across the wall at around :43?
Curious how you avoid/watch out for gasses while exploring mines? Do you have tricks or things to look for?
everything unnatural died in the great flood and turned to stone if you would have told me that 5 years ago i would have thought you were crazy but the evidence way outweighs all the lies
stop the video at 30.05 where he says a stope here and shows the little cut out hole see that brown tree structure looks just like wood dont it
I have no idea how the hell you don’t get lost . I can’t do this at all I’m a sun person and I need sun to be happy lol
anyone knows where this is ive only been to big horn mine
The omega is supposed to bring direct access to mine
watch my uuuuuuuuuu video play list and telll me giant trees dont exist
Great mine and I always enjoy your videos .
I wonder if someday trees used to make the huge beams and other woodworkings will be so rare people will start dragging the wood out of mines to actually use in building ? Seems like some of it is in perfect condition. 🤷🏻♂️
Oh and that United States Geological Survey (USGS) gravity was done in the year I was born 🙂
Thanks again for showing us these cool places !
The green in the rock suggests that there is copper ore in this mine.
What do you guys look for?
Vericose veins, just what I always wanted
Who ever did this mine did some really good construction! not falling apart like most i see….
You obviously haven’t been in a lot of california mines, not to disrespect but i could show you at least 8 mines right around where i live that are just as extensive as that
this cave you can see some one went back in and chipped the walls looking for something? gold modern two by fours
is mine gta 5
lets get a few things straight giant petrified trees cover the earth to many facts now to dispute . fact erbody they all still want gold and its higher than ever ever
Love all of your videos. How is the mine coming along. Thank you
That’s a very cool riveted drum.
notices the white on the walls thats what they follow
Am I the only one who’s upset that he didn’t take the pants some of those minor clothes like the jeans and the pants especially sell for thousands of dollars
If I was with you, I would have a metal detector and some digging tools. I would try to come out of there with something.
Looked like a lot of gold bearing ore in there
Is there a way to look this mine up or find it’s coordinates on a map?
and notice the end when you look down in the pit all that is wood structure petrified wood alot of it retains the brown wood color
Growing up in California gold country I’ve explored a few mines over the years but nothing as vast as this. Thanks for sharing 👍
Dude you need to check any pairs of pants you see if they are levi jeans they can go for 10s to over 100 thousand if they are in good condition. And btw They would have been a spare pair of pants they had to change into.. well worth checking tho and the pockets too.. I wish I was in 🇺🇸 to go looking in mines like this ours are all wet or even most are floaded cuz it rains so much in the 🇬🇧
Its cool and i say it better you than me but i wouldn’t go in there without a canary and some type of filtering for my breaths of air !!! 🎭🦜
Amazing. Hauled that tank in the mine
Frightful to say the least!
all the different colors you see in the caves is from leaching minerals of giant petrified trees minerals make clear, white stone of many colors and coal and gold the gold is always near the clear and white
BLUE RIBBON QUARTZ gold bearing rock in California. Are you any where by Mariposa?
Dude the gimble is really paying off. Its so nice to see everything so smoothly and without excess shake/noise. Thanks for the great video!
Mines like that re all over California
Brings back so many memories….used to explore mines all over the southwest
This one looks a little like one of the Darwin mines, but could be anywhere.
I started at Candelaria, NV in 1969 and kept it up until the early 80s. My friends were climbers, so we’d happily use ropes and Jumars to tackle vertical shafts. No digi cameras in those days, too bad. But those guys that bought the Cerro Gordo property? We hit the upper levels of that place in 1974 – nice Smithsonite! Speaking of which, you might throw the rockhounds a few seconds on the minerals involved, they’d love it. Cheers…
they figured out the earth was really covered with giant petrified trees like myself recently so they mined the shit out of them . turn to stone
Did it drop to the waterline down there?
Dude, those pants could have been a vintage pair of Levi’s worth a lot of money. I was watching a different YouTube channel of mine explorer’s that came across several pair of vintage Levi’s from late 1800’s that where a shit ton of money!! 100s of thousands.
uuuhhmmm….at 6:48 there is what looks like a skull center bottom of screen, do you see it?
I wonder if that is the tunnel for cero gordo silver union mine, in California, the new owner is looking for it
is this over in Julian Ca?
Hell yeah! This is a Crazy mine. But they are in California. You every come up to French Gulch I would love to explore a mine with you..
I’ve been looking for some cool abandoned mines to explore. Are there any by LA county? Wheres this one at?
Can we get a city? I ride dirt bikes in the deserts of SoCal. Constantly looking for some
There is gold in that black rock.
what do u supposed the riveted tank was used for, air storage from a compressor outside?
California was gold rush central there are mines all over california. 32:01 sump full of water.
Strange Adventures of a Girl Tramp was published in True Confessions magazine, 1925.