Entering abandoned mines.

[DragonsBane]

We are in the process of getting permission to access a few mines located on private property. The last time they were worked was approxamately 15 years ago. Now I know the dangers involved and we are going prepared. We are taking atmospheric monitors in with us and also taking rescue breathers commonly used in the coal mining industry. We are also taking two way radios and using a heavy rope to track our way in and also as a back up in case anything happens. Two good hard yanks means SHTF. Along with the necessary ancillary equipment like lights and hammers we should be prepared for just about anything that could happen.


I do have alot of underground experience fron Western PA where I belonged to a Mine Rescue team and am also certified in cave rescue.

The mine we are looking at was rather profitable until the previous owner was caught in a cave-in and was permanently crippled. Beleive me, we are keeping that in mind. Should prove interesting if we get permission.

 

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[Hoser John]

You got it-SAFETY FIRST and foremost to crawl through the bowels of the earth!! Rather unnerving to have the floor of a mine give way in 6 mile canyon and have a massive hole where the floor used to be and me dangling by a rope banking my hardhat against falling rocks,timbers and the like--fun as LL--but tons a au 2 u 2 -John

 

[utah1066]

That what I am planning doing , not dont know much about it, just know safety first, were can one fine the atmos pheric monitors and rescue breathers been working outside
panning etc, the more you can tell me the better off we will be

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

A long time ago I went with three Mexican friends to see an abandoned mine that had been very rich. They all had miners lamps, but me.

They entered the mine first while I had to attend to call of nature
(I had to pee).

I then entered as far as I could with the portal light, then committed the cardinal sin, I continued, feeling for small rocks and dirt. They heard me coming and yelled stop right there. I replied, "I am ok, I can feel my way to you". They again repeated "stop right where you are, we are coming back". So I did.

When they arrived with the lights, I almost had a heart attack. They had stoped out the vein. They had spanned the mined area with tree trunks, then spread crosshatched hard wood limbs covered with dirt for a working platform. This technique continued up and down as far as one could see.

Over the years falling rocks had almost destroyed the tree trunk floors. Where I was standing there were still 4 quite rotten tree trunks. They still had about 10 sq. ft of the original floor. I was in the middle of this section.

When they arrived with the lights I could see straight down for hundreds of feet. One or two more steps and I would not have been here to type this.

While i am Irish, I am not too thick headed to ever go into mine again without backup lights and rope.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[truckinbutch]

We are in the process of getting permission to access a few mines located on private property. The last time they were worked was approxamately 15 years ago. Now I know the dangers involved and we are going prepared. We are taking atmospheric monitors in with us and also taking rescue breathers commonly used in the coal mining industry. We are also taking two way radios and using a heavy rope to track our way in and also as a back up in case anything happens. Two good hard yanks means SHTF. Along with the necessary ancillary equipment like lights and hammers we should be prepared for just about anything that could happen.


I do have alot of underground experience fron Western PA where I belonged to a Mine Rescue team and am also certified in cave rescue.

The mine we are looking at was rather profitable until the previous owner was caught in a cave-in and was permanently crippled. Beleive me, we are keeping that in mind. Should prove interesting if we get permission.

Got invited in on a hunt because of similar quals. Surviving 20 plus years of underground mining gives you a clue or so on how to crawl around in a hole in the ground .

 

[centennial]

Just a few thoughts-
Dont forget the scaling bar and check the roof and walls on the way in. Watch the floor for covered winzes etc
Most two way radios have a very limited distance in mines.
Make sure you get samples of vein material to dolly up and pan off
Take some photos to show us
Have a look at the video on this forum on preventing roof falls.
Cheers Laurie

 

[dave wiseman]

Best to stay out...as the last sounds you will ever here are either a gasp for that last breath/or your own scream as you tumble into eternity.......Dave

 

[Hoser John]

Great advice Dave--only took me 1 dangle from a rope and IZE A TRUE BELIEVER---John

 

[Nullers]

11-01-09 INYOKERN, Calif. -- A Ridgecrest woman is dead after falling 100 feet into a mine shaft that she was exploring.

In the Tungsten Peak Mine south of Bradys and northwest of Inyokern west of Highway 14 just south of the 395 junction.

The Indian Wells Mine Rescue Team was dispatched to the scene and worked with Kern County Fire crews to reach Linda Marie Rose, 30, of Ridgecrest, who was found dead from the fall by rescuers.

Rose fell about 100 feet down a vertical mine shaft around 2 p.m. Sunday, according to officials.

Rose's body was secured and removed using a technical rope recovering system.

There is no word on why Rose had decided to go into the mine to begin with, officials said.

 

[Desertdigger]

I have a nephew who is on a mine rescue squad in Colorado , you just would not believe the stupid things people do in mines, the bodies when they are recovered ( a lot are not) are not viewable. I still have nightmares from body recoveries from drowndings, fires and AC crashes when I was in the USCG from '57 to '77. I quit crawling into mines in about '93 after a near miss and I know where there are some rich veins of gold and turquoise but OH those rotten timbers and gases!

Check this link and pay particular attention to the number of locks busted to obtain entry!

http://mining.state.co.us/AMLDeaths.htm

 

[Mad Machinist]

UPDATE

I lost my former screen name so I just created a new one.

We entered all three mines and they are now collapsed and sealed at the current landowners request. We made it 50 feet into each one before we pulled out due to unstable conditions.

We have a few others to check out.

 

[Hoser John]

Great to know your OK ,and they're sealed ,but bummer as a loss for some aspiring hardrocker-John

 

[dave wiseman]

http://www.arizonagoldprospectors.com/invision/index.php?/topic/168992-2-men-die-in-arizona-mine/

 

[TerryC]

Sounds very dangerous.... but also very exciting! Great danger... yet possibly great rewards! Worth it? Probably not.... but I would probably go for it. Sounds like you have the backup plan in place. Are we going to talk you out of it? NOT!!! Good luck... TTC

 

[Bunk]

I don't go into old mines any more, I did when I was young but the risk is not worth it. Some of them were not very safe when they were running. Most of the time, there is nothing of value anyway. The dumps outside are another story but even they have thier own dangers. Be safe out there!
A pocket of dead air will drop you like a rock!
Bunk

 

[Darshevo]

Went and hunted down an old mine site this last weekend with the family. There was a good bunch of tailings around, some of which had some really cool fern leaf type dendrites in them. Thought we'd found an adit, but it turned out to only be a few feet deep. Was probably much bigger at some point and was caved or filled. Quite a bit of heavy timber erected at the entrance for a test hole. Some more searching revealed an actual shaft. We took some pics of it, but couldn't get a good angle on it. There was a tree fall across it, figured I would lean out on the tree to get a good down shot. Not having been my first time out in the woods I came in from the side and gave it a test push before I was out over the shaft itself. It looked to be in good shape still, but not so. It was rotted to the core and the second I put a little weight on it it was in 2 pieces. Had I leaned out over the shaft on it I would have gone down head first. Lots of stuff to catch myself on on the way down, so unlikely I would have gotten too far, but still could have been a scary experience. Of course after that I couldn't leave it alone, so I tossed a few rocks into it and at about the 15 foot deep point they struck water. Never did get over the top of it to see if it was just a splash or if there was some depth. We'll go back at a later date with some good ropes to check it out further. The opening itself is only about 2 ft on each side. Unsure what its purpose was in the hey days of the mine, wouldn't be bringing too much material out that way.

Anyway, the moral of the story is: Be careful out there. Things aren't always as they seem. Old mines are tons of fun, but things can get sticky quickly if you let your guard down. I am pretty cautious by nature so tend to stay out of immediate danger. A lot of the time we have my girlfriends 8 year old daughter along as well which makes me that much more aware of whats going on around us for her safety

-Lance

 

[Bluegrassriver]

Any dangerous activity of this nature requires expert preparation and knowledge to reduce the risk before embarking! I used to drive race cars and you don't just put your butt in the seat and stomp on the accelarator. But you can still do mine exploring, provided you don't approach it as an amateur. From reading the stories of those who perish in abandoned mines, they all came in unprepared. I would love to do it but most of the good mines seem they would need to be dug out again and timbered.

 

[Mad Machinist]

These three mines were the first I had entered in almost 2 years. The last time I was in a mine I spent six hours with a rebreather on to recover the bodies of an 11 year old and 13 year old boy. I had my own reasons for what I did and went as prepared as possible. My reasons may be selfish, but I faced a demon and won.

Almost all of the time I would tell anyone to stay out of these old mines. The risk isn't worth the payoff.

For those who think it is cool, try spending three hours looking at the body of an 11 year boy. I left the rescue team not long after that as I could not look at either a mine shaft or a cave without seeing his face.

 

[Gold_Striker]

I will never enter an old mine no way. I suppose if I was prepared to avoid the risks. Go look it up everyone, this is something that every single one of us should know especially children.