As promised, went back to drift mine today...

[Frood]

Nice pics... Looks pretty dry and small enough to be stable....with the right ventilation, would make a great shelter...

[Anonymous]

Nice pics... Looks pretty dry and small enough to be stable....with the right ventilation, would make a great shelter...

Thanks!  These drifts are 100% dark inside, so was hoping my flash would capture the images OK!



It was fairly dry inside, but it was actually quite cool and humid compared to outside!



Stability is always an issue, and some drifts use large timber to prop up rocks.  This drift doesn't have that.  A few pieces of rock on the ground, but nothing that would kill you should it drop on your head.



Why that door is there, I don't know...  Something was locked in there at one point...  Up close, the quality of the loose rock masonry is quite impressive, as well as the fitment of that steel door!

[Frood]

To keep out bears and people...



All tunnels are humid...unavoidable.



Coat of whitewash would brighten the space up.

[Anonymous]

There are more in the area that can only be reached by foot, or perhaps on my dirtbike!  



One road bridge is gone to many of the old sites, so it's either by foot or possibly a dirtbike!

[kiebers]

Nice pics. Tell the truth now...were you looking for a little glint of gold as you were exploring? I would have probably had a humongous flashlight looking for that nugget that fell on the floor. LOL

[Anonymous]

Nice pics. Tell the truth now...were you looking for a little glint of gold as you were exploring? I would have probably had a humongous flashlight looking for that nugget that fell on the floor. LOL

That may have been in the back of his mind.

 

[Anonymous]

...and snapped a few pics with my non-pro grade camera.  From the outside:





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Possibly a storage facility for miners as oppsed to an actual mine?

[Blazor]

Nice adventure man!

[Anonymous]

Nice adventure man!

It is not something you would see where I live.

[Anonymous]

Nice pics. Tell the truth now...were you looking for a little glint of gold as you were exploring? I would have probably had a humongous flashlight looking for that nugget that fell on the floor. LOL

While gold can be found in this area, I think Silver was actually the main product of these drift mines.  You wouldn't find chunks in this type of mining...  Basically the ore gets crushed into small pieces, and then various (quite toxic) chemicals are used to 'liquefy' the silver or gold for extraction!



That said, a guy might have some luck gold panning along the creeks!  From personal experience I can state that you'd simply do that as a hobby, as you most likely will never find a nice nugget...  just a few small flakes if you're lucky.

[Anonymous]

Possibly a storage facility for miners as oppsed to an actual mine?

Highly unlikely.  Drilling through pure rock like this with the equipment they had at the time could only be justified if they thought they'd find precious metals.  Since they'd move from mine to mine (there are tons of them in the area), I would think the men and the equipment would be kept quite mobile...

[Anonymous]

Nice adventure man!

Thanks!  There are more hidden all around the area, and while I'd like to find them, I also know it's quite risky walking around in them alone, without an oxygen meter.  Even with a meter, if something happened in there, you wouldn't be found for a long, long time.  In fact, you may never be found depending on where you are!  Some of this area is remote enough that other people simply aren't wandering around.  And there's no cell service either.  It's quite sobering knowing that if something happened, you are on your own...  many, many miles from the nearest person.

[Anonymous]

This mine is excellent. You should purchase this mine and possibly one or two more. Mining could become your new hobby. You could add to your mercury collection.



Do you still have your mercury?



If you do, enjoy your mercury.

[Anonymous]

Do you still have your mercury?



If you do, enjoy your mercury.

I still have the Mercury!  It sits on the shelf, silently.  Elementary Mercury is a hit with both children and adults alike!

[Blazor]

Nice adventure man!

Thanks!  There are more hidden all around the area, and while I'd like to find them, I also know it's quite risky walking around in them alone, without an oxygen meter.  Even with a meter, if something happened in there, you wouldn't be found for a long, long time.  In fact, you may never be found depending on where you are!  Some of this area is remote enough that other people simply aren't wandering around.  And there's no cell service either.  It's quite sobering knowing that if something happened, you are on your own...  many, many miles from the nearest person.

My dad briefly talked of a cave before he died, that he found long ago. Wish I knew where it was. Said it was by railroad tracks, and that you had to crawl to get in it, but once in, it was HUGE, and that there was a second hole to crawl through, which led to another HUGE cavern. I imagine it would be ideal in the event of some shit going down.



I really think your find was pretty cool