I get the feeling this is going to be an amazing series. I think as you observed and so did someone else a long time ago, that a great deal of time and energy was put into chasing the elusive next big vein. Cerro Gordo has a few tunnels that remind me of this mine and there is a big copper mine near the great lakes that was producing huge chunks (multiple tons) of native copper that must have had the same feel about it too
Appears to have Aluminum Phosphate mineralization! The large rock with Miners’ graffiti occurs as Igneous; Volcanic origins. Thanks, Justin Best, Dr. Lauren
The rock art is very interesting because it looks like the same tapping technique the ancient ones used to create Petroglyphs in the southwest desserts.
"Deep Enough" is a phrase also commonly used in the oil patch. It was usually applied to wildcat wells that came up dry. After all, wishing and hoping that just a few more feet would bring in a gusher is a normal human emotion but this phrase injects a note of caution, reallity and reason. Those in the oil patch often apply the phrase to other life situations.
Back in the 90's, Magna reopened the Ruth pit near Ely. As a shovel operator I dug through many wood lined raises like the one you found in this video. The wood was a major detriment to the drying process in the mill and contributed largely to the mine closing again in '98. It was always my understanding that the undergound miners who were previous to the open pit would shoot up into those raises then slush the muck out. Highly doubt that's how your raise was used. Just throwing you some info about wood lined raises.
Thank you for leaving this comment. It must have been pretty interesting to dig into the underground architecture that the old timers left... Perhaps I am biased though because I like mining history and operating excavators. It is wild to me that old wood largely contributed to the mine closing again. I'll bet the old timers that made the raises in the first place would not have imagined that! Did you ever punch into any giant stopes or uncover ore cars or other interesting artifacts with your shovel? I was talking to some guys that work in the mill at the Rio Tinto Boron Mine and they said that a couple of times old ore cars from historic underground workings had ended up mixed in with ore going into the mill and had done tremendous damage.
@@TVRExploring We would dig through all manner of underground relics but they were relatively rare and destroyed by the blasting. You'd just see a crumbled up rusty tin can basically. I remember digging up some track. I. don't believe the rock stability lent itself to stopes, hence the wood raises The mill process was bubbling. Prior to the concentrate being loaded on the train, the ore would be dried. this was done by applying vacuum to a large "metal sponge" cylinder. The sponge was permiable for water while the concentrate was scraped from the outside of the sponge as a semi-dry product. The wood would plug the sponge. It's my understanding that they still have those same issues but, the price of copper is better for the situation Another problem was the stacker. As I recall they advertised it as the tallest stacker in the U.S. A lot of the ore was in a ryolite clay which, would compact upon impact with the feeder pad therefore, the feeders couldn't feed due to bridging. there was almost always a D10 up on the pile trying to feed the mill. Magna engineers really F'ed up with the mill design. It would have been fine with hard rock, it sucked with wood n clay. The other big factor was a japaneese guy cornering the copper maket and getting found out. copper plunged from $1.25 to $.65. Our costs were running about $1.20. we never had a chance. BHP bought the mine in about 96 but, even that powerhouse couldn't save the place. WHen I was at Kennecott Utah Copper one of the guys dug up an air locomotive. It looked a bit like a steam locomotive but, the "boiler" was actually an air tank. The op who found it tried his best to preseve it but, nightshift came in and knocked it off the bench into the pit. I'm a bastard coal miner now so I get nothing but hate and boredom. No underground workings around here. This guy has a treasure trove of old photos regarding KUCC. It was the first major open pit but was also littered with underground workings. KUCC eventually bought out all of the little claims and became the biggest pit in the world. www.youtube.com/@binghamcanyonandcopperking6339
On your recommendation, I'm ordering a copy.of that book. It sounds like it will complement a similar book (With the Men Who do Things c.1913) in my library. Looking forward to the next episode! Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦
I have popcorn, you got popcorn at 10:01 😉 That drift seems to have been backfilled from the inside of the mine. Could have served as a point of egress in an emergency but there must have been another way to the spot you were standing when you found the calcite overhead.
I may have just slightly exaggerated the distance of the walk past the temple ruins to reach the mine... A gold star to you for correctly identifying the location featured in the introduction. You're the only one that got it.
0:02 Why does that look like a 2nd century Roman road surrounded by ancient ruins that include a temple to Jupiter at the end of the "road"? Seriously, I can't be the only one who sees it.... Also, the black rock formation @0:36 with all the graffiti looks kinda like an old volcanic flow or something.
You may well know far more than me but I don’t think there is a muezzin calling to the believers like that in the ruins of ancient Rome 🙂 Mediterranean may be correct, but I would guess Middle East first, in the past we have been treated to similar glimpses of the creators life. To me it appears as if serving the country in the military is nearly a prerequisite for mine exploring. I respect that and consider it a good start to the thrills underground. Vocabulary and drive are aligned as are at least basic skills in rock climbing and planning and last but not least plan/schedule. In WWII many miners joined the navy as they were used to cramped spaces and having to endure harsh conditions in every way. Some came back, many didn’t.
@@seldoon_nemar If he had uploaded this video and claimed to have filmed those ruins while on vaca in Rome, Greece or Iraq, I would've 100% believed it.
@@HighlanderNorth1 (he's been to all those places and filmed intros there for giggles to use later. He's also found mines covered in snow on tropical beaches)
@@HighlanderNorth1 He does have videos of some quite out of the way places. You don't get much more out there with mine exploring videos than opening with a scene from the Panj River (I think) on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. And Justin has worked as a freelance journalist in some fairly sketchy places in the past. If you were wondering, the opening scene is Roman ruins in Sbietla, Tunisia, called Sufetula back in the day. I'm not too sure what that was about. Maybe just a bit of obfuscation, as Justin and friends usually don't like revealing mine locations.
You're the second person to say something along these lines. When I edited the video, the volume was the same across all video clips and when I listened to it on UA-cam just now, the volume was the same. You're saying there was a wild difference between the intro and the rest of it?
THANK YOU TVR Peace & Enlyghtenment Alwayz Dezert-Owl from OHIO USA Author / Translator / Journalist Polymath / Professional Speaker / Available for Interviews
I have heard no tale of the Balrog entering the world once more, so they have yet to delve to the depths of the times long past. Clearly the greed of man has some limits yet.
Its been open for 130 years in an earthquake zone, notice the floor has no ground fall (rock from ceiling) i would argue skydiving scuba and mountain climbing is more dangerous.
I am APPAULLED that the former owners of so many of these mines-etc...are allowed 2jusst abandon these dangerous sites...and leave them open with no warnings-or what they were..zero history...hillarious!!!!
I get the feeling this is going to be an amazing series. I think as you observed and so did someone else a long time ago, that a great deal of time and energy was put into chasing the elusive next big vein. Cerro Gordo has a few tunnels that remind me of this mine and there is a big copper mine near the great lakes that was producing huge chunks (multiple tons) of native copper that must have had the same feel about it too
Looks like a fun explore, Hope you post something soon. It's a desert out there for good mine explores.
Appears to have Aluminum Phosphate mineralization! The large rock with Miners’ graffiti occurs as Igneous; Volcanic origins.
Thanks, Justin
Best, Dr. Lauren
Thanks for the teaser video Justin and crew! Can't wait for part 2, hoping it is sooner than later. Happy New Year, and please keep on keeping on!
Pretty featureless at the start than twisty dark tunnels ahead. Pretty cool. Old mine. Great history.
The rock art is very interesting because it looks like the same tapping technique the ancient ones used to create Petroglyphs in the southwest desserts.
Checking it out now....
Great Indiana Jones intro.👍
Can't wait for PT 2 , your explores are the best ever mate
11:46 it's surprising that the wood doesn't burst into flames with that light!
Just bought a signed copy of "Deep Enough". Thanks!
I hope that you enjoy it. It reads like a novel given the author's many adventures during his life...
Cool, can't wait for part 2. ... Thanks guys, take care and be safe
Danke fur das Hochladen sehr interessant
"Deep Enough" is a phrase also commonly used in the oil patch. It was usually applied to wildcat wells that came up dry. After all, wishing and hoping that just a few more feet would bring in a gusher is a normal human emotion but this phrase injects a note of caution, reallity and reason. Those in the oil patch often apply the phrase to other life situations.
In the egg shaped part at the end they used a slushier? you can hardly walk there by the looks of it, looking forward too part 2.
Great Video guys !
Upon second thought, perhaps the darker, and shiny mineralization is Galena, an ore of Lead.
Dr. Lauren
Thanks, Dr. Lauren! Yes, this was a silver/lead mine. So, the galena makes sense.
Back in the 90's, Magna reopened the Ruth pit near Ely. As a shovel operator I dug through many wood lined raises like the one you found in this video. The wood was a major detriment to the drying process in the mill and contributed largely to the mine closing again in '98. It was always my understanding that the undergound miners who were previous to the open pit would shoot up into those raises then slush the muck out. Highly doubt that's how your raise was used. Just throwing you some info about wood lined raises.
Thank you for leaving this comment. It must have been pretty interesting to dig into the underground architecture that the old timers left... Perhaps I am biased though because I like mining history and operating excavators. It is wild to me that old wood largely contributed to the mine closing again. I'll bet the old timers that made the raises in the first place would not have imagined that! Did you ever punch into any giant stopes or uncover ore cars or other interesting artifacts with your shovel? I was talking to some guys that work in the mill at the Rio Tinto Boron Mine and they said that a couple of times old ore cars from historic underground workings had ended up mixed in with ore going into the mill and had done tremendous damage.
@@TVRExploring We would dig through all manner of underground relics but they were relatively rare and destroyed by the blasting. You'd just see a crumbled up rusty tin can basically. I remember digging up some track. I. don't believe the rock stability lent itself to stopes, hence the wood raises
The mill process was bubbling. Prior to the concentrate being loaded on the train, the ore would be dried. this was done by applying vacuum to a large "metal sponge" cylinder. The sponge was permiable for water while the concentrate was scraped from the outside of the sponge as a semi-dry product. The wood would plug the sponge. It's my understanding that they still have those same issues but, the price of copper is better for the situation
Another problem was the stacker. As I recall they advertised it as the tallest stacker in the U.S. A lot of the ore was in a ryolite clay which, would compact upon impact with the feeder pad therefore, the feeders couldn't feed due to bridging. there was almost always a D10 up on the pile trying to feed the mill. Magna engineers really F'ed up with the mill design. It would have been fine with hard rock, it sucked with wood n clay.
The other big factor was a japaneese guy cornering the copper maket and getting found out. copper plunged from $1.25 to $.65. Our costs were running about $1.20. we never had a chance. BHP bought the mine in about 96 but, even that powerhouse couldn't save the place.
WHen I was at Kennecott Utah Copper one of the guys dug up an air locomotive. It looked a bit like a steam locomotive but, the "boiler" was actually an air tank. The op who found it tried his best to preseve it but, nightshift came in and knocked it off the bench into the pit.
I'm a bastard coal miner now so I get nothing but hate and boredom. No underground workings around here.
This guy has a treasure trove of old photos regarding KUCC. It was the first major open pit but was also littered with underground workings. KUCC eventually bought out all of the little claims and became the biggest pit in the world. www.youtube.com/@binghamcanyonandcopperking6339
Very cool adventure
Thee ol bait and switch intro. This one was definitely in the Florida hills.
Yes, you're absolutely right. It's amazing how few people seem to know about the extensive Roman ruins that are found in the hills of Florida...
@ I know my Florida mountaintops.
@@MikeOrkid Indeed, you obviously know the country better than most!
@ 🤫
On your recommendation, I'm ordering a copy.of that book. It sounds like it will complement a similar book (With the Men Who do Things c.1913) in my library.
Looking forward to the next episode!
Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦
I hope that you enjoy it. I think it is a great read...
Ok. That first 15 sec is put on. 😅😊😂
@2:42 it says "Reynolds Rix & Co, 18 & 20 Fremont St. San Francisco - cant make out the bottom
I have popcorn, you got popcorn at 10:01 😉
That drift seems to have been backfilled from the inside of the mine. Could have served as a point of egress in an emergency but there must have been another way to the spot you were standing when you found the calcite overhead.
We are in for a treat! Thank you very much for sharing your adventures 😀
no msha in that era. those dudes had some balls to climb that ladder
At 1515 right where you just had to turn the camera off what was the hollow bag or item you were at?
Nice One
Pretty sure that mine is not just past Sbeitla, Tunisia.... 🙄🤣
I may have just slightly exaggerated the distance of the walk past the temple ruins to reach the mine...
A gold star to you for correctly identifying the location featured in the introduction. You're the only one that got it.
0:02 Why does that look like a 2nd century Roman road surrounded by ancient ruins that include a temple to Jupiter at the end of the "road"? Seriously, I can't be the only one who sees it....
Also, the black rock formation @0:36 with all the graffiti looks kinda like an old volcanic flow or something.
I just assumed he was in rome
You may well know far more than me but I don’t think there is a muezzin calling to the believers like that in the ruins of ancient Rome 🙂
Mediterranean may be correct, but I would guess Middle East first, in the past we have been treated to similar glimpses of the creators life.
To me it appears as if serving the country in the military is nearly a prerequisite for mine exploring. I respect that and consider it a good start to the thrills underground. Vocabulary and drive are aligned as are at least basic skills in rock climbing and planning and last but not least plan/schedule.
In WWII many miners joined the navy as they were used to cramped spaces and having to endure harsh conditions in every way. Some came back, many didn’t.
@@seldoon_nemar
If he had uploaded this video and claimed to have filmed those ruins while on vaca in Rome, Greece or Iraq, I would've 100% believed it.
@@HighlanderNorth1 (he's been to all those places and filmed intros there for giggles to use later. He's also found mines covered in snow on tropical beaches)
@@HighlanderNorth1 He does have videos of some quite out of the way places. You don't get much more out there with mine exploring videos than opening with a scene from the Panj River (I think) on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. And Justin has worked as a freelance journalist in some fairly sketchy places in the past. If you were wondering, the opening scene is Roman ruins in Sbietla, Tunisia, called Sufetula back in the day. I'm not too sure what that was about. Maybe just a bit of obfuscation, as Justin and friends usually don't like revealing mine locations.
REYNOLDS & RIX, 18 and 20 Fremont Street, San Francisco,. HYDRAULIC GRAVEL ELEVATORS. etc. ID'ing the big trough.
Real de Catorce? Visited there many years ago.
Thanks for blowing my eardrums in the first 5 seconds.
You're the second person to say something along these lines. When I edited the video, the volume was the same across all video clips and when I listened to it on UA-cam just now, the volume was the same. You're saying there was a wild difference between the intro and the rest of it?
"Reynolds Rix & Co 15 & 20 Fremont, St' San Francisco. Cal.
THANK YOU TVR
Peace & Enlyghtenment Alwayz
Dezert-Owl from OHIO USA
Author / Translator / Journalist
Polymath / Professional Speaker / Available for Interviews
👍
I have heard no tale of the Balrog entering the world once more, so they have yet to delve to the depths of the times long past. Clearly the greed of man has some limits yet.
what people did in the name of GREEED!!......why leeeve this terribly unsafe series of caves open?????amazzzing................!!!!!
Its been open for 130 years in an earthquake zone, notice the floor has no ground fall (rock from ceiling) i would argue skydiving scuba and mountain climbing is more dangerous.
"Not" Thats what she said i herd
I am APPAULLED that the former owners of so many of these mines-etc...are allowed 2jusst abandon these dangerous sites...and leave them open with no warnings-or what they were..zero history...hillarious!!!!
It takes quite an effort to get there, not easily accessible.
Does it rain much there
Your mom said I was deep enough