How An Abandoned Mine SHOULD Look

Why do I feel strongly about abandoned mines being ransacked and destroyed? Take a look at how much stuff is at this mine… This video shows you what an abandoned mine should look like. And that’s AFTER thieves have already hit this mine! This is what you SHOULD be seeing at most older abandoned mines. Many abandoned mines are on public land. Do you understand how much history some people are stealing from these historical sites? They’re stealing from YOU. They’re not just stealing the artifacts, but your opportunity to see these things yourself, your opportunity to enjoy the history of these places and to learn about them… They’re stealing your heritage. States like California and Nevada only came into existence because of mining.

Fortunately, this particular mine is on private property (yes, we made friends with the owners) and the owners live on the site, which has deterred most theft. Most abandoned mines on public land used to look like this as well… It’s a shame how much has been lost.

This was primarily a lead and zinc mine, but some gold and silver was also taken out. The mine was first worked in the 1870s. So, it’s an early one… There is obviously a lot of history on this mine, but the owners are sensitive about sharing too much as they don’t want to experience more theft. So, I’ll have to wait to share more (and there’s a lot more) until something changes.

With many thousands of feet of workings below that shaft, you’re probably wondering why we didn’t drop it? We didn’t have the right gear with us on this visit and we need to do some more research, but, rest assured, we’re working on it…

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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

Several kind viewers have asked about donating to help cover some of the many expenses associated with exploring these abandoned mines. Inspired by their generosity, I set up a Patreon account. So, if anyone would care to chip in, I’m under TVR Exploring on Patreon.

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!

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Видео How An Abandoned Mine SHOULD Look канала TVR Exploring