Just found your channel, already like it! There's something about exploring mines and ghost towns that I just can't resist! Thank both for venturing out and filming them!👍
You're welcome. I'm glad that you approve. We just hit the road today for the winter and will be mine exploring and hiking. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hey Ren here, you 2 have taken some great pictures of the mines. With rusty old tools, old wood structures and some great pictures of the different colored rocks in the mines. A book comes to mind, with a cd and some of your great pictures, you can call it "Best of Mine Exploration and Hiking with Tom and Julie". Let me if you do, I'll take a sign copy.
I'm supposed to be retired you know. I like your enthusiasm though. We did see a very colorful mineral vein in a mine today. Thanks for your great and funny comments Ren!
It smelled like phosphorus so not so bad as nitroglycerin. I guess the nitro can give you a headache if you smell it. The boxes all had ore samples so not too dangerous. Thanks for watching, Mike!
@wyomarine Ahh, I get it. I've only handled dynamite a couple times on a shooting range. Thanks for the helpful information. I have heard before that it can cause a headache and that doesn't sound like fun.
That was a colorful mine indeed, ...lots more exploring to do in the area. Interesting to still see snow in the hills above...sure do appreciate you both sharing your adventures with the rest of us...be safe out there my friends...atvb...woods
Hey Dave, thanks for the nice comment. Yes, lots of exploring of mines and other stuff in this area. There was still some snow there although this was from late in April. The view of Boundary Peak from here was really cool. It was completely snow covered. The copper mines and ore veins can be very colorful and beautiful to see. Good to hear from you and we hope all is well in your world!
You may be interested that we found an abandoned mine on Pilot Peak in Mina. It was completely caved in and took us a few weeks to dig out the drift & shaft. My father placed a claim there. I remember we found a perfectly preserved steel wheelbarrow in the back of the mine. There was still quartz with veins of gold running through it so Dad got a D4 Caterpillar, and we build a road to it! As far as I know, the road is still there. We spent a few summers digging and made a living with the gold we found, then he sold it for enough money to retire! He sold it in the early 80's I believe.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing it. I'm guessing the road and mine are still much the same as when you worked it. We just found a steel wheeled and spoked wheelbarrow a few days ago. It was 400 feet down a shaft that we dug out along with a few other cool items. Thanks for the awesome comment!👍😁💰
What outstanding luck. Or persistence. Since that is one of the more productive districts in Nevada you would almost expect luck or persistence to pay off.
@@davebeckley2584 We went prospecting every weekend and were quite surprised to find it one Saturday. Digging it out was a major job with no promise of a payout but it worked out. I remember my Dad kept joking about how one miner probably killed his partner, and we'd find his skeleton under the rubble. One Sunday I told my Dad I was going to climb to the top of Pilot Peak from the mine and he said okay. Near the top, I did find an arm in a tree. It scared me pretty bad. It was from the shoulder to the fingertips and all bleached white. I couldn't get back down to the mine fast enough and never went exploring again on my own.
Hello Tom and Julie, Just found this video. It showed up in my home screen of suggestions. Anyway, always it was nice seeing a video that is new to me.
I'm not very knowledgeable in the geology field so I'll have to take your word for it. We come across some very colorful ore deposits while mine exploring. You might like our video titled 'Exploring The Kaleidoscope Mine'. It's a wild looking and very colorful vein. Maybe you can identify some of the minerals. The thumbnail says' A Most Colorful Vein'. Thanks for the comment, Lee!
Chalcanthite is a possibility, although usually it will turn to a flaky white powder in the presence of air in a very short period of time. The Chalcanthite samples I've pulled out of the ground would turn into a pile of white flakes in a few short weeks.
Smelling nitro in an adit with that many cardboard nitro boxes certainly isn't a surprise. I've explored with people who couldn't stay in a mine that either had recently blasted or had sticks of dynamite left haphazardly laying about leaching nitro into the box or the ground. These people would get throbbing headaches. I liked the fact that you provided sufficient light for the audience to see not just a hot spot but the surrounding area. Illumination is often lacking in exploration videos regardless of the good intentions of those exploring. Another major plus is you appear to have a means of camera stabilization. Some videos have recorded a trip through a mine that appears as if the camera was attached to the explorer's knee as they recorded. I apologize in advance for being critical over one aspect tho, maybe two, but I'm compelled. Should your campanions or your head interupt the path of even a small stone in it's journey from the roof, or actually the back, of the adit to the floor the potential exists for a couple things to happen. Small rock; leaves large painful knot on the scalp accompanied usually by a string of X rated exclaimations. Large rock; Friends and family deeply saddened, Bureau of Land Management installs a bat gate or worse, blasts the adit shut so there will be no more exploration of this adit. In other words, hard hats are of great benefit to all who explore mines or even caves. The floor is covered with the evidence that gavity is an equal opportunity destroyer and while you may say it's none of my business, to a degree you're right but in the sense that an injury is a tramatic event to all involved one of those involved indirectly may have had that adit on their schedule to be explored. The BLM are very dedicated to snuffing out any vestiges of our history others might enjoy seeing and I, for one, enjoy your videos. One other issue you may have already considered and dealt with is an air sensor. Bad air is not all that often encountered unless you are exploring the far reaches of a mine especially if it has only one connection with the surface. Hydrogen sulphide, rotten eggs to most, is kind of a rarity since there is usually little, if any, organic material to produce it. More common is the bacteria consuming the wooden ties and cribbing, commonly called bug farts. Maybe not that common, it might have just been the people I hung out with. Anyway, O2 is required and depleted thru the rusting of metal objects and ore cart tracks so you'll most often have an alarm when the oxygen is insufficient to sustain life. O2 meters have gotten so cheap that they're disposible now and it's always a good idea to have one. Thus endith the sermon. I enjoy the videos and I want everyone to be able to continue making and sharing them. So, thank you for sharing. Be well. And if there are any grammar errors you should suggest I get a proof reader because I'm no damn good at it myself.
Thanks for the great comment. Dave! I don't see any glaring grammatical errors, although I never did that well in grammar class. You will be happy to know we have made the relatively small investment in helmets. We went with a climbing type helmet, versus a hard hat, for the lower profile they have. I got tired of bonking my head and actually did have a small rock fall from an open stope and land on my head. We also carry an O2 meter. You are correct that they have become fairly inexpensive and disposable. Ours lasts two years then you chuck it. We also have worked hard to get the lighting right, which is not easy. On many of our first mine explores we weren't even close to having enough light, and then later on, too much of a spot. I think we have it figured out now. I got a chuckle out of you saying many mine explorers videos look like they had the camera on their knee. I do my best when shooting the video to be still and not swing around more than necessary. Good editing can help, too.
I had the same thought. None made of wood, though. There must have been a lot of blasting going on, maybe higher up on the mountain. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Jeremy. It's always a little startling when a mammal unexpectedly flies at your head. Once you're ready for them, it's not too bad. I don't know if you've seen this video of ours, but it has some fun bat scenes. Thanks for watching and commenting! ua-cam.com/video/6WWSHob7rRo/v-deo.htmlsi=eSjpXwbFoBxTSND-
Think the blue color is Azurite, a copper deposit. Could be wrong though. Have ran across that in several mines here in Colorado. The bat bouncing off your noggin, he's just making sure you're on your toes. Nothing like the smell of dynamite in the morning.
That’s not the first bat that has hit me in the head. They don't bother me but do get your attention when they run into you. I always like the colors in the copper ore, whatever it is. Glad you have had the pleasure of seeing it. The smell in this one must have come from all those boxes although I'm fairly certain there was no dynamite left in them. Thanks for the comment.
Enjoyed this one. I spent a total of four weeks (1 week per year) exploring the Mina area, beginning in 2004. There's a lot to see in the area. Funny, though, we never went in the Pine Tree. Maybe it's time to go back! Also, you are lucky to have such a willing partner (wife), although she doesn't talk much! :-D
I'm glad that you have had the chance to see Mina.We like the area, too. We were just there for a few days last week. I have a few more videos of Mina area mines. Thanks, Jim! Oh yes, Julie is a great partner. People usually like hearing her if I can get her to talk.
Great video, Tom! I’ve wandered around in the hills outside Mina but never heard of this particular mine for some reason. I have to look it up and see where it is exactly. That was a really nice canyon on the way in. That core sample rack was interesting. Never have seen one like that. “There’s a strong smell of explosives.” Love that line of dialogue! LOL Also liked, “Taste that, Julie. Maybe it’s delicious.” LOL
Thanks, Frank. I have to tease Julie a once in a while to keep things light hearted. This is up Dunlap Canyon to the east of Mina. There are a few more up that way that we visited and have yet to upload. If you go west from Mina there are a boatload of mines in Douglas Canyon. We made a two part video of that as well called '10 Mines One Loop'. We spent two weeks there in april.
I love things ac ssociated with Copper ores, especially Turquoise, I am hoping 2023 I will be albe to make a trip inot the copperr area of Nevada as I have Jeep Wrangler 4x4. This location looks interesting to visit and sample, record history, I need to get a divsion of mines for Nevada open and closed claims report. Core sample are excellent to see what the mineralization is at depth.
I always scratch my head about these kinds of mines. The ore zones appeared to be pretty high grade. Maybe they've already run some of those samples through a lab and the results weren't promising so they walked away? Possibly another factor is mineral processing -- even IF the owner proceeded with mining the high grade copper -- where would they send it to extract the copper? They've either gotta build a mill on site (extremely expensive) or they would have to contract with another copper miner nearby to run their ore, and pray the shipping costs and mill royalty rates are economical. And on top of it all keep fingers crossed that copper prices can remain high. Mining is so expensive!
I think the more recent mining work being done in this area was higher up the mountain from the drifts we looked at. I'm guessing that many of the samples were from higher up, too. There were some roads that looked much newer going up that way.
When we were in this general area I talked to some locals who said there was currently drilling for samples taking place. Not right at this mine, but within 10 miles or so. I can't remember if we even saw a date on these samples. I think some of the samples might have been from higher up the mountain and being stored in this adit.
Hi Kenneth. Thanks for subscribing. Here is a playlist with some of our favorites. Our Favorite Mine Explorations: ua-cam.com/play/PLBirOpgY-NV_n393pa-mL4RNYBMYUs04f.html
Yes, this is a colorful vein. A lot of the copper mines are like that. I really like to see that when mine exploring and they are always more colorful in person...just like a sunset. Thanks for watching, Andy!
There was a huge steer at the water trough that we had to get by to get to the motorcycle. It was a longhorn and it was a sight watching Julie shoo it off. I'm not an expert on cattle by the way so maybe not really a bull but it had huge horns. We didn't see any bighorn sheep but I hear they are around this area. Thanks for the comment!
Hi David. It's possible there might be some in there that fluoresce. Here is a link to a video of a mine with nice fluorescing opal. Thanks for watching! 👍😁 ua-cam.com/video/4Juhec_dbYU/v-deo.html
Very colourful minerals in there. Julie does right to let you “test” ahead for bats and wild animals. Any danger from bat diseases that you are aware of? There was a local man here last year that died after being scratched by a bat, resulting in some type of serious infection. Be careful out there!
Yes, this is a very colorful mineral vein. Copper mines are usually like that with more green and blue colors in the minerals. Have you watched our video of the Kaleidoscope Mine? That is one incredible color blast. I generally try to not disturb bats when we see them. We are invading their home to start with, but, worse than that, the white nose syndrome can be spread to them which by all accounts has been devastating to bats. I have had them hit me in the head a few times but have never been scratched. Oh yeah, Julie is always trying to get me eaten by a lion in these mines by having me go in first. She is the star of the show though, and I'm just the cameraman, so... Thanks for watching and supporting our channel.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring I'll check out your video of the Kaleidoscope mine sometime soon. Interesting how all those samples were left behind at this mine. I guess they didn't find what they were looking for in them. We have bats in the trees and cliffs near our home. They emerge just before dark, swooping this way and that, eating insects. They are fascinating to watch! They say if not for bats we would be knee deep in insects. We don't live in fear of contracting anything from them but are cognizant of the rare risk. If you do get attacked by a lion in one of those mines, please toss the camera over to Julie, that would make for a spectacular video! :)
@@EverydayProjects Yes, the bats are very beneficial as far as insect control goes. I believe the samples are being stored in these adits and come from somewhat recent core drillings somewhere higher up the mountain. They ask visitors to the mine not to disturb the samples, so I don't think they are done with them yet. It's always interesting to me how mine operations start and stop as the price of the commodity rises and falls. I'll make sure that Julie gets the video of me lion wrestling if that happens.
Becareful they say just a static charge can blow up the dynamite because it sits there over time and deteoriates causing it to become Easyer to blow up with just a static charge stay safe
Going up the canyon at about 1:14 there looks like an animal running to your right along the canyon floor. A jackrabbit or coyote? Do you happen to remember?
I looked back at it on a phone and didn't see anything. Maybe on a bigger screen something could be seen. I don't recall seeing anything at that time. We do see a lot of rabbits and coyotes. Thanks, Julie!
I should have said it smells like phosphorus, or matches, rather than explosives. I'm not even sure what leaking or sweating dynamite smells like. I'm guessing the odor has something to do with all the explosives boxes in there. There must have been 100 or more. It is nice on the back to be able to stand up straight. Thanks for watching and commenting, Max!
I smells like bananas. the phosphorus odor could well be residue for discharged explosives or perhaps sulfur leaching into the mine. One look at those boxes would have turned me around... lol.
If you want to see some bats you might like our video of the Dracula Mine. Yes, that's the real name and there are hundreds of bats in it. Thanks for the comment, Joel!
Always. You have to be prepared for it and use your best judgement when to not enter a mine. Always mark the outside of the portal with something to let others know someone is inside. Bring extra water, food and clothing in case you are trapped. Bring a small shovel with you inside to help dig yourself out. Thanks for the comment!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring very soon this mine will fulfill its secondary job. Cdf was the precursor to fema but where fema went wrong cdf hit it out of the park.
Why keep the samples? It seems to me, that once you've gleaned the necessary information from them, they wouldn't be worth keeping. And the way that they are kept doesn't seem to lend itself to revisiting the data.
Good points you make. I don’t remember if I show the wooden sample racks out in front of this adit. Using them would seem to keep the samples more organized. I do think the samples in the dynamite boxes would still have useful information obtainable from them. I'm sure it's costly to have the core samples taken and I don't know if they log all the results from the samples or not. Hopefully, someone who knows something more about core drilling and mineral samples will chime in.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Thanks for the reply. I saw another video of a tungston mine were they kept samples in a similar fashion. I've got lots of questions so don't be surprised if you hear from me again.
Most likely the samples are awaiting processing. Running all of those samples through a lab is very expensive -- tens of thousands of dollars. That's a lot of money for the average small time miner. And if the lab results come back not very promising then someone just spent a lot of money for nothing. And if the samples have already been run through a lab then they have to be stored as evidence if the owner wants to prove a measured mineral reserve.
I remember an old B&W movie about a man trapped in a mine, I think Kirk Douglas was in it. Anyway from Westren movies and TV shows like "The Big Valley" and "Bonanza", bad things always happened in those old mines. I wonder/worry about oxygen deficient atmosphere if old air/ventilation shafts have been sealed or collapsed. I would carry an oxygen meter/ alarm because you guys will just pass out and that will be it for you.
We carry oxygen meters although it is very rare for us to find bad air in mines. I think a collapse, or fall, are both higher on our list of dangers than bad air. Thanks for watching!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Enjoy watching your exploration. That lead me to gold panning and prospecting videos. So I'm getting a little bit of da "gold fever". Ha, ha. Take care.
Omg funny 🤣 lol It's not kind if explosion I had in mind Trojan EXPLOSIVES I thought it was a cave full of condoms... In the thumbnail I did not bother to read the full text on the boxes. I thought it was weird to have something like a giant stash of condoms in the middle of nowhere, in some random cave.
Haha, I see why your channel has the name that it does. Those would have been some horny miners to need all those condoms. Thanks for the funny comment!
I used to live in mine I was a bartender at the silver Queen I think that's what it's called The silver Queen silver King whatever place is closed down now I heard the guy who was managing it died that's too bad I remember James Christianson what a character hes a hoot. there's an old cowboy I need to apologize to it was a neat little town I was only there for a few months but I remember it well I remember gathering around the pool table with a box of rocks and everybody gathered around to look at my rocks and they go ooh hhhhhhhhhh lol you know you're in the right town. bunch of good people they helped me out whenever my car broke down I was broke man when that car broke down I didn't I just put my last 20 bucks in the gas tank they put me up in the motel and I woke up the next morning there was an envelope under my door with 20 bucks in it for breakfast I guess it was great though these people were awesome. I was going through a rough time if anybody from mine or remembers those days I just want to say hello and thank you all with any luck I may pass through there soon far better off than I was then. on PS yes I still believe the moon ran into the Earth in fact I'm certain of it now and can forensically prove it. I will challenge anybody to a open debate that I will make more sense than plate tectonics with this low and slow lunar capture theory I don't know what the hell to call it it's obvious this shit though you got concentrations of Mass on the earth underneath the Pacific extend from the Philippine played all the way to South America and it's 6775 mi from tip to tip from the first to the last bounce it's exactly half of that far from lunar pole to pole the circumference of the Moon is 6,770 MI or whatever it's almost the same exact distance except the scars on the moon only take up half of the Moon that's because the moon wasn't rolling it was skidding half as fast as it was moving I remember the the words of Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott you stuck his head out he said it's all smooth there's no rocks there's no boulders the tops of the mountains are rounded there's no sharp edges huh not a single ear perked up at mission control everybody was giggling and high-fiving and smoking cigars they weren't listening they were looking but they weren't seeing why the hell you imagine at the base of the lunar appenines.... with cracks running around the planet called rills... they still don't know what caused to those duh it almost broke into a dozen pieces that's why. all right I'm almost up taking up real estate on this man's post but y'all take care
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Next time you find some put it a bag and take it out in the sun if it disappears it's zinc. That's just a fun experiment you could try.
Thanks for commenting, Thomas. This is not an active mine. The mine is full of samples from a more recently worked open mine farther up the mountain. I don't believe that mine is currently active either. 👌
They are all filled with ore samples. You still don't want to fool around touching them too much or you can get a bad headache. Thanks for commenting, Kevin!👍👍
I was not a miner. We were doing a lot of hiking in the desert and started exploring the mines we came across while hiking. All these old roads and trails usually end up at a mine or a spring. Thanks for the question!😁👌
ua-cam.com/play/PLBirOpgY-NV_n393pa-mL4RNYBMYUs04f.html
This playlist has some more recent and better mine explores of ours.
Just found your channel, already like it! There's something about exploring mines and ghost towns that I just can't resist! Thank both for venturing out and filming them!👍
You're welcome. I'm glad that you approve. We just hit the road today for the winter and will be mine exploring and hiking. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hey Ren here, you 2 have taken some great pictures of the mines. With rusty old tools, old wood structures and some great pictures of the different colored rocks in the mines. A book comes to mind, with a cd and some of your great pictures, you can call it "Best of Mine Exploration and Hiking with Tom and Julie". Let me if you do, I'll take a sign copy.
I'm supposed to be retired you know. I like your enthusiasm though. We did see a very colorful mineral vein in a mine today. Thanks for your great and funny comments Ren!
“Smells like dynamite 🧨 “ I probably would have turned around there 🤣. Great video, love these mine tours! 👍
It smelled like phosphorus so not so bad as nitroglycerin. I guess the nitro can give you a headache if you smell it. The boxes all had ore samples so not too dangerous. Thanks for watching, Mike!
@wyomarine There was definitely an odor in there although I didn't get a headache. Thanks for your comment!
@wyomarine Ahh, I get it. I've only handled dynamite a couple times on a shooting range. Thanks for the helpful information. I have heard before that it can cause a headache and that doesn't sound like fun.
That was a colorful mine indeed, ...lots more exploring to do in the area.
Interesting to still see snow in the hills above...sure do appreciate you both sharing your adventures with the rest of us...be safe out there my friends...atvb...woods
Hey Dave, thanks for the nice comment. Yes, lots of exploring of mines and other stuff in this area. There was still some snow there although this was from late in April. The view of Boundary Peak from here was really cool. It was completely snow covered.
The copper mines and ore veins can be very colorful and beautiful to see. Good to hear from you and we hope all is well in your world!
You may be interested that we found an abandoned mine on Pilot Peak in Mina. It was completely caved in and took us a few weeks to dig out the drift & shaft. My father placed a claim there. I remember we found a perfectly preserved steel wheelbarrow in the back of the mine. There was still quartz with veins of gold running through it so Dad got a D4 Caterpillar, and we build a road to it! As far as I know, the road is still there. We spent a few summers digging and made a living with the gold we found, then he sold it for enough money to retire! He sold it in the early 80's I believe.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing it. I'm guessing the road and mine are still much the same as when you worked it. We just found a steel wheeled and spoked wheelbarrow a few days ago. It was 400 feet down a shaft that we dug out along with a few other cool items. Thanks for the awesome comment!👍😁💰
What outstanding luck. Or persistence. Since that is one of the more productive districts in Nevada you would almost expect luck or persistence to pay off.
@@davebeckley2584 We went prospecting every weekend and were quite surprised to find it one Saturday. Digging it out was a major job with no promise of a payout but it worked out. I remember my Dad kept joking about how one miner probably killed his partner, and we'd find his skeleton under the rubble. One Sunday I told my Dad I was going to climb to the top of Pilot Peak from the mine and he said okay. Near the top, I did find an arm in a tree. It scared me pretty bad. It was from the shoulder to the fingertips and all bleached white. I couldn't get back down to the mine fast enough and never went exploring again on my own.
A photo would have been great to show the nay-sayers !@@CarsandCats
I tried to subscribe , but , UA-cam says I have too many subscriptions !!!! Thanks for posting this mine exploration video !!!!
Thanks for watching and trying to subscribe, Ken. 👍👍
Hello Tom and Julie, Just found this video. It showed up in my home screen of suggestions. Anyway, always it was nice seeing a video that is new to me.
Thanks, Stephen. You might find some videos you haven't seen if you scroll through our playlists.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring im definitely going to do that
Really enjoyed the videos of you going up the roads. I need to get back to doing that stuff again someday. Thanks for the great concert.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video, John! I hope you can get out there and do some stuff again soon. Appreciate the comment.
Wow great find Tom!!!
The bright turquoise blue looks to be precipitated Chalcanthite! Nice find
I'm not very knowledgeable in the geology field so I'll have to take your word for it. We come across some very colorful ore deposits while mine exploring. You might like our video titled 'Exploring The Kaleidoscope Mine'. It's a wild looking and very colorful vein. Maybe you can identify some of the minerals. The thumbnail says' A Most Colorful Vein'. Thanks for the comment, Lee!
Chalcanthite is a possibility, although usually it will turn to a flaky white powder in the presence of air in a very short period of time. The Chalcanthite samples I've pulled out of the ground would turn into a pile of white flakes in a few short weeks.
Thanks for the info.
Smelling nitro in an adit with that many cardboard nitro boxes certainly isn't a surprise. I've explored with people who couldn't stay in a mine that either had recently blasted or had sticks of dynamite left haphazardly laying about leaching nitro into the box or the ground. These people would get throbbing headaches. I liked the fact that you provided sufficient light for the audience to see not just a hot spot but the surrounding area. Illumination is often lacking in exploration videos regardless of the good intentions of those exploring. Another major plus is you appear to have a means of camera stabilization. Some videos have recorded a trip through a mine that appears as if the camera was attached to the explorer's knee as they recorded. I apologize in advance for being critical over one aspect tho, maybe two, but I'm compelled. Should your campanions or your head interupt the path of even a small stone in it's journey from the roof, or actually the back, of the adit to the floor the potential exists for a couple things to happen. Small rock; leaves large painful knot on the scalp accompanied usually by a string of X rated exclaimations. Large rock; Friends and family deeply saddened, Bureau of Land Management installs a bat gate or worse, blasts the adit shut so there will be no more exploration of this adit. In other words, hard hats are of great benefit to all who explore mines or even caves. The floor is covered with the evidence that gavity is an equal opportunity destroyer and while you may say it's none of my business, to a degree you're right but in the sense that an injury is a tramatic event to all involved one of those involved indirectly may have had that adit on their schedule to be explored. The BLM are very dedicated to snuffing out any vestiges of our history others might enjoy seeing and I, for one, enjoy your videos. One other issue you may have already considered and dealt with is an air sensor. Bad air is not all that often encountered unless you are exploring the far reaches of a mine especially if it has only one connection with the surface. Hydrogen sulphide, rotten eggs to most, is kind of a rarity since there is usually little, if any, organic material to produce it. More common is the bacteria consuming the wooden ties and cribbing, commonly called bug farts. Maybe not that common, it might have just been the people I hung out with. Anyway, O2 is required and depleted thru the rusting of metal objects and ore cart tracks so you'll most often have an alarm when the oxygen is insufficient to sustain life. O2 meters have gotten so cheap that they're disposible now and it's always a good idea to have one. Thus endith the sermon. I enjoy the videos and I want everyone to be able to continue making and sharing them. So, thank you for sharing. Be well. And if there are any grammar errors you should suggest I get a proof reader because I'm no damn good at it myself.
Thanks for the great comment. Dave! I don't see any glaring grammatical errors, although I never did that well in grammar class. You will be happy to know we have made the relatively small investment in helmets. We went with a climbing type helmet, versus a hard hat, for the lower profile they have. I got tired of bonking my head and actually did have a small rock fall from an open stope and land on my head. We also carry an O2 meter. You are correct that they have become fairly inexpensive and disposable. Ours lasts two years then you chuck it. We also have worked hard to get the lighting right, which is not easy. On many of our first mine explores we weren't even close to having enough light, and then later on, too much of a spot. I think we have it figured out now. I got a chuckle out of you saying many mine explorers videos look like they had the camera on their knee. I do my best when shooting the video to be still and not swing around more than necessary. Good editing can help, too.
Had many powder headaches in my time. We operated a mine on Pilot Peak.
@@CarsandCats One of those mines is the place to go should you be in the throws of a heart attack. Dilated blood vessels and all.
8:21 That's the Mother Lode of explosives boxes! Very cool to see that.
I had the same thought. None made of wood, though. There must have been a lot of blasting going on, maybe higher up on the mountain. Thanks for the comment!
I have a video like this where the bat flys directly at me in a mine. Lol! Made me think of it. It's one of my recent videos.
Hi Jeremy. It's always a little startling when a mammal unexpectedly flies at your head. Once you're ready for them, it's not too bad.
I don't know if you've seen this video of ours, but it has some fun bat scenes. Thanks for watching and commenting!
ua-cam.com/video/6WWSHob7rRo/v-deo.htmlsi=eSjpXwbFoBxTSND-
Think the blue color is Azurite, a copper deposit. Could be wrong though. Have ran across that in several mines here in Colorado. The bat bouncing off your noggin, he's just making sure you're on your toes. Nothing like the smell of dynamite in the morning.
That’s not the first bat that has hit me in the head. They don't bother me but do get your attention when they run into you. I always like the colors in the copper ore, whatever it is. Glad you have had the pleasure of seeing it. The smell in this one must have come from all those boxes although I'm fairly certain there was no dynamite left in them. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the tour!!!
You're welcome, Gary. Thanks for watching!
Enjoyed this one. I spent a total of four weeks (1 week per year) exploring the Mina area, beginning in 2004. There's a lot to see in the area. Funny, though, we never went in the Pine Tree. Maybe it's time to go back!
Also, you are lucky to have such a willing partner (wife), although she doesn't talk much! :-D
I'm glad that you have had the chance to see Mina.We like the area, too. We were just there for a few days last week. I have a few more videos of Mina area mines. Thanks, Jim!
Oh yes, Julie is a great partner. People usually like hearing her if I can get her to talk.
Great video, Tom! I’ve wandered around in the hills outside Mina but never heard of this particular mine for some reason. I have to look it up and see where it is exactly. That was a really nice canyon on the way in. That core sample rack was interesting. Never have seen one like that. “There’s a strong smell of explosives.” Love that line of dialogue! LOL Also liked, “Taste that, Julie. Maybe it’s delicious.” LOL
Thanks, Frank. I have to tease Julie a once in a while to keep things light hearted. This is up Dunlap Canyon to the east of Mina. There are a few more up that way that we visited and have yet to upload. If you go west from Mina there are a boatload of mines in Douglas Canyon. We made a two part video of that as well called '10 Mines One Loop'. We spent two weeks there in april.
Awesome videos
Thanks, Aaron, we appreciate it!
I love things ac ssociated with Copper ores, especially Turquoise, I am hoping 2023 I will be albe to make a trip inot the copperr area of Nevada as I have Jeep Wrangler 4x4. This location looks interesting to visit and sample, record history, I need to get a divsion of mines for Nevada open and closed claims report. Core sample are excellent to see what the mineralization is at depth.
Yes, the copper bearing mineral veins are hard to beat for beauty. Hope you get to see some in person. Thanks for commenting!👍👍
I always scratch my head about these kinds of mines. The ore zones appeared to be pretty high grade. Maybe they've already run some of those samples through a lab and the results weren't promising so they walked away? Possibly another factor is mineral processing -- even IF the owner proceeded with mining the high grade copper -- where would they send it to extract the copper? They've either gotta build a mill on site (extremely expensive) or they would have to contract with another copper miner nearby to run their ore, and pray the shipping costs and mill royalty rates are economical. And on top of it all keep fingers crossed that copper prices can remain high. Mining is so expensive!
I think the more recent mining work being done in this area was higher up the mountain from the drifts we looked at. I'm guessing that many of the samples were from higher up, too. There were some roads that looked much newer going up that way.
Our mine on Pilot Peak was very high grad and if I remember right, was around 2oz of gold to the ton of ore.
A lot of those samples look really old. I imagine that after looking at them they decided it wasn't worth going after the ore at the current time.
When we were in this general area I talked to some locals who said there was currently drilling for samples taking place. Not right at this mine, but within 10 miles or so. I can't remember if we even saw a date on these samples. I think some of the samples might have been from higher up the mountain and being stored in this adit.
They left a lot of stuff, crazy!
Yes, they did. Thanks, David.
Good video Tom, Julie...!
This one gets the record for most ore samples and dynamite boxes. The copper vein also has some nice color. Thanks, Dale!!
just subscribed I like exploring things like that 😊
Hi Kenneth. Thanks for subscribing. Here is a playlist with some of our favorites.
Our Favorite Mine Explorations: ua-cam.com/play/PLBirOpgY-NV_n393pa-mL4RNYBMYUs04f.html
looks like you are on top of things
Thanks, Kenneth!
Lots of colors in the rock
Yes, this is a colorful vein. A lot of the copper mines are like that. I really like to see that when mine exploring and they are always more colorful in person...just like a sunset. Thanks for watching, Andy!
When you say “bull” at the end of the video, are you talking about a bighorn sheep?
There was a huge steer at the water trough that we had to get by to get to the motorcycle. It was a longhorn and it was a sight watching Julie shoo it off. I'm not an expert on cattle by the way so maybe not really a bull but it had huge horns. We didn't see any bighorn sheep but I hear they are around this area. Thanks for the comment!
Would be interesting to see what these look like in UV😊
Hi David. It's possible there might be some in there that fluoresce. Here is a link to a video of a mine with nice fluorescing opal. Thanks for watching! 👍😁
ua-cam.com/video/4Juhec_dbYU/v-deo.html
Fascinating old copper mine
I like exploring copper mines because of the colorful mineral veins. Thanks for the comment!
Gotta be careful of old dynamite because when it sweats, the nitroglycerin comes through the wrapper and if you handle it, it can affect your heart.
That's good advice. Not only that, you can get a mighty headache just from handling the paper or the box it came in. Thanks for the reminder!👍😁
Got to be careful with old dynamite, it sweats nitroglycerin, simple touch would be your last one.
Yes, that's good advice. We didn't see any dynamite, but there sure were a lot of boxes. Thanks for the comment, Clayton!
Very colourful minerals in there. Julie does right to let you “test” ahead for bats and wild animals. Any danger from bat diseases that you are aware of? There was a local man here last year that died after being scratched by a bat, resulting in some type of serious infection. Be careful out there!
Yes, this is a very colorful mineral vein. Copper mines are usually like that with more green and blue colors in the minerals. Have you watched our video of the Kaleidoscope Mine? That is one incredible color blast. I generally try to not disturb bats when we see them. We are invading their home to start with, but, worse than that, the white nose syndrome can be spread to them which by all accounts has been devastating to bats. I have had them hit me in the head a few times but have never been scratched. Oh yeah, Julie is always trying to get me eaten by a lion in these mines by having me go in first. She is the star of the show though, and I'm just the cameraman, so... Thanks for watching and supporting our channel.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring I'll check out your video of the Kaleidoscope mine sometime soon. Interesting how all those samples were left behind at this mine. I guess they didn't find what they were looking for in them. We have bats in the trees and cliffs near our home. They emerge just before dark, swooping this way and that, eating insects. They are fascinating to watch! They say if not for bats we would be knee deep in insects. We don't live in fear of contracting anything from them but are cognizant of the rare risk. If you do get attacked by a lion in one of those mines, please toss the camera over to Julie, that would make for a spectacular video! :)
@@EverydayProjects Yes, the bats are very beneficial as far as insect control goes. I believe the samples are being stored in these adits and come from somewhat recent core drillings somewhere higher up the mountain. They ask visitors to the mine not to disturb the samples, so I don't think they are done with them yet. It's always interesting to me how mine operations start and stop as the price of the commodity rises and falls. I'll make sure that Julie gets the video of me lion wrestling if that happens.
Becareful they say just a static charge can blow up the dynamite because it sits there over time and deteoriates causing it to become Easyer to blow up with just a static charge stay safe
Yes, good advice. I know dynamite can become unstable and start to sweat. Thanks for wstching!
That bat would have scared the crap out of me... I would have seen that as a bad sign ... LOL HA HA HA
You should watch our video of the Dracula Mine. It is full of bats. Thanks for the comment, Nephi.
Taste that, funny.
was that orange flower a paint brush?
We see a lot of red/orange flowers that are called Indian Paintbrush. Did I ask Julie to taste something, I vaguely remember that.
I liked all the dynamite boxes wonder how old they were?
Good question. Since they are cardboard they can't be too old. 1960's or 70's maybe?
Going up the canyon at about 1:14 there looks like an animal running to your right along the canyon floor. A jackrabbit or coyote? Do you happen to remember?
I looked back at it on a phone and didn't see anything. Maybe on a bigger screen something could be seen. I don't recall seeing anything at that time. We do see a lot of rabbits and coyotes. Thanks, Julie!
"smelled like explosives" Discharged explosives or leaking dynamite?? 🤔 Big mine.. At least you could stand up in that one.
I should have said it smells like phosphorus, or matches, rather than explosives. I'm not even sure what leaking or sweating dynamite smells like. I'm guessing the odor has something to do with all the explosives boxes in there. There must have been 100 or more. It is nice on the back to be able to stand up straight. Thanks for watching and commenting, Max!
I smells like bananas. the phosphorus odor could well be residue for discharged explosives or perhaps sulfur leaching into the mine. One look at those boxes would have turned me around... lol.
Thanks for the info, Max!
Tom and Julis,Mine Explorer/ Bat Whisper. .lol
If you want to see some bats you might like our video of the Dracula Mine. Yes, that's the real name and there are hundreds of bats in it. Thanks for the comment, Joel!
Do you ever worry about cave ins? That’s mostly what I worry about when I explore old mines
Always. You have to be prepared for it and use your best judgement when to not enter a mine. Always mark the outside of the portal with something to let others know someone is inside. Bring extra water, food and clothing in case you are trapped. Bring a small shovel with you inside to help dig yourself out. Thanks for the comment!
Any abandoned mines near Beatty Nevada?
Hi Phil. Yes, there are a lot of mines near Beatty. The Rhyolite area is very close.
At 15:48, the res stuff looks like mercury oxide or sulphide-was the fibrous stuff asbestos?
I'm not that good at geology so I can't give you a definitive answer, Gene. Thanks for the comment, though.
The Trojan Powder company (Explosives) ceased operations in 1967 according to wiki !
Thanks for the information, Allen, This mine kept them busy for a while.
They switched to making condoms, and now instead of causing explosions, they contain them!
Its appears this may of been a cdf mine
Yes, maybe it was.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring very soon this mine will fulfill its secondary job. Cdf was the precursor to fema but where fema went wrong cdf hit it out of the park.
Why keep the samples? It seems to me, that once you've gleaned the necessary information from them, they wouldn't be worth keeping. And the way that they are kept doesn't seem to lend itself to revisiting the data.
Good points you make. I don’t remember if I show the wooden sample racks out in front of this adit. Using them would seem to keep the samples more organized. I do think the samples in the dynamite boxes would still have useful information obtainable from them. I'm sure it's costly to have the core samples taken and I don't know if they log all the results from the samples or not. Hopefully, someone who knows something more about core drilling and mineral samples will chime in.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Thanks for the reply. I saw another video of a tungston mine were they kept samples in a similar fashion. I've got lots of questions so don't be surprised if you hear from me again.
Most likely the samples are awaiting processing. Running all of those samples through a lab is very expensive -- tens of thousands of dollars. That's a lot of money for the average small time miner. And if the lab results come back not very promising then someone just spent a lot of money for nothing. And if the samples have already been run through a lab then they have to be stored as evidence if the owner wants to prove a measured mineral reserve.
That all makes perfect sense.
They say some of them mines still have dynamite left behind in them becareful
Oh yes, we have seen sticks of dynamite in a few different mines. Thanks for the comment, Annavita!
I wonder if that stringy little crystal was tremolite? Hopefully not.
I don’t know whats that is. We see it once in a while. Thanks for the comment, Jim.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Live your videos. I could spend an entire day watching them.
Thanks, Jim Bo. We appreciate you.
What were they mining for ?
Copper.
I remember an old B&W movie about a man trapped in a mine, I think Kirk Douglas was in it. Anyway from Westren movies and TV shows like "The Big Valley" and "Bonanza", bad things always happened in those old mines. I wonder/worry about oxygen deficient atmosphere if old air/ventilation shafts have been sealed or collapsed. I would carry an oxygen meter/ alarm because you guys will just pass out and that will be it for you.
We carry oxygen meters although it is very rare for us to find bad air in mines. I think a collapse, or fall, are both higher on our list of dangers than bad air. Thanks for watching!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Stay safe 👍 Do you do prospecting as well?
@@celticman1909 We do very little prospecting.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Enjoy watching your exploration. That lead me to gold panning and prospecting videos. So I'm getting a little bit of da "gold fever". Ha, ha. Take care.
@@celticman1909 We've done some panning, and some drywashing. The gold we've found is so small it hasn’t been worth the effort.
Omg funny 🤣 lol
It's not kind if explosion I had in mind
Trojan EXPLOSIVES
I thought it was a cave full of condoms...
In the thumbnail I did not bother to read the full text on the boxes. I thought it was weird to have something like a giant stash of condoms in the middle of nowhere, in some random cave.
Haha, I see why your channel has the name that it does. Those would have been some horny miners to need all those condoms. Thanks for the funny comment!
Thank you
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
I used to live in mine I was a bartender at the silver Queen I think that's what it's called The silver Queen silver King whatever place is closed down now I heard the guy who was managing it died that's too bad I remember James Christianson what a character hes a hoot. there's an old cowboy I need to apologize to it was a neat little town I was only there for a few months but I remember it well I remember gathering around the pool table with a box of rocks and everybody gathered around to look at my rocks and they go ooh hhhhhhhhhh lol you know you're in the right town. bunch of good people they helped me out whenever my car broke down I was broke man when that car broke down I didn't I just put my last 20 bucks in the gas tank they put me up in the motel and I woke up the next morning there was an envelope under my door with 20 bucks in it for breakfast I guess it was great though these people were awesome. I was going through a rough time if anybody from mine or remembers those days I just want to say hello and thank you all with any luck I may pass through there soon far better off than I was then. on PS yes I still believe the moon ran into the Earth in fact I'm certain of it now and can forensically prove it. I will challenge anybody to a open debate that I will make more sense than plate tectonics with this low and slow lunar capture theory I don't know what the hell to call it it's obvious this shit though you got concentrations of Mass on the earth underneath the Pacific extend from the Philippine played all the way to South America and it's 6775 mi from tip to tip from the first to the last bounce it's exactly half of that far from lunar pole to pole the circumference of the Moon is 6,770 MI or whatever it's almost the same exact distance except the scars on the moon only take up half of the Moon that's because the moon wasn't rolling it was skidding half as fast as it was moving I remember the the words of Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott you stuck his head out he said it's all smooth there's no rocks there's no boulders the tops of the mountains are rounded there's no sharp edges huh not a single ear perked up at mission control everybody was giggling and high-fiving and smoking cigars they weren't listening they were looking but they weren't seeing why the hell you imagine at the base of the lunar appenines.... with cracks running around the planet called rills... they still don't know what caused to those duh it almost broke into a dozen pieces that's why. all right I'm almost up taking up real estate on this man's post but y'all take care
Thanks for the interesting comment and Mina stories, Dave!
The white fuzzy stuff is zinc oxidizing
Thanks for your input on that!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Next time you find some put it a bag and take it out in the sun if it disappears it's zinc. That's just a fun experiment you could try.
@@me5768 That does sound like a fun experiment.
I'm going to Nevada.
There are a lot of mines in Nevada.
Blasting wire and ore. You are or were in an active mine
Thanks for commenting, Thomas. This is not an active mine. The mine is full of samples from a more recently worked open mine farther up the mountain. I don't believe that mine is currently active either. 👌
Aahhhhhh bats!!! Haha
yee hawwwwww........!!
Hey Cheyenne!😊
i sure hope those bang bang boxes are empty tom.
They are all filled with ore samples. You still don't want to fool around touching them too much or you can get a bad headache. Thanks for commenting, Kevin!👍👍
What year is your T wub
It's a 2018. Thanks for asking.
I'd be worried about radiation myself
There is never a shortage of things to worry about when mine exploring. Thanks for watching, James!👍
are you a former minor? how did you and Julie get involved with this?
I was not a miner. We were doing a lot of hiking in the desert and started exploring the mines we came across while hiking. All these old roads and trails usually end up at a mine or a spring. Thanks for the question!😁👌
You shouldn't show old explosives it let's people know where to find stuff like that not smart.............
They are cardboard boxes full of rocks.
no comment
Thanks, I think, for not commenting.
nice video!
Thanks, Ken.