How Old Is That?

[Quinoa]

Yeah, an intelligent person would logically think that at first. But, it took me about 8 years of messing around with this stuff to change my mind. I just happened to get lucky and notice some things other people weren't I guess.

 

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[Quinoa]

Heh, I took a friend that is hard to convince of some of this stuff ( although he has seen and heard first hand of other people searching and finding these things, having owned a metal detector shop for many years) to that particular mine I posted and showed him a bunch of stuff. When we got to the mine he said the heck with that, he saw the tombstone shaped rock directly above the backfill and didn't want to have anything to do with it. It's really a stella or information stone, but I suppose the spanish could have had their own meaning.

 

[sdcfia]

Heh, I took a friend that is hard to convince of some of this stuff ( although he has seen and heard first hand of other people searching and finding these things, having owned a metal detector shop for many years) to that particular mine I posted and showed him a bunch of stuff. When we got to the mine he said the heck with that, he saw the tombstone shaped rock directly above the backfill and didn't want to have anything to do with it. It's really a stella or information stone, but I suppose the spanish could have had their own meaning.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sounds like he had a good reason not to open the place up - it takes work. Actually, re-opening a backfilled adit is not so difficult. The plug at the drift's ceiling level (top of the backfill pile) is generally not so much to deal with. Guess he didn't have much reason to believe anything worthwhile was there.

 

[Quinoa]

No, he was afraid it's trapped out because of the tombstone. Along with the skull image that was looking up at it from down below. Probably more of a chance of just being unstable inside though.

Yeah, you can see the backfill right up to the top of the cieling, there is no apparent plug.

 

[Quinoa]

Here's one that the backfill has apparently settled quite a bit. You can see about 15 feet back in. Not a great picture of it. I never took much of an interest to it though, there's other places nearby that are more interesting.

 

[sdcfia]

No, he was afraid it's trapped out because of the tombstone. Along with the skull image that was looking up at it from down below. Probably more of a chance of just being unstable inside though. ...

Yes, the potential instability is one of the main reason that the states decided to seal off all the old workings that they could get to on public lands. That and the danger to cattle - a big deal in the West. This remediation wasn't unselfishly done for the good of mankind and cows. Open workings are an "attractive nuisance" - a potential legal liability against the government. Entering an old mine is risky business for even the experienced, and your pal's hesitance is valid, IMO. However, if I truly thought there was anything of value in there, you can bet I'd at least enter far enough to evaluate situation. I doubt your pal thought that much of the site.

Re "death traps". Wouldn't you think that the trappers would put their traps in place with no warning to potential future intruders? A tombstone? Really? That's a bit mawkish isn't it? Methinks your pal has been reading TNet posts and fantasizing things that very likely aren't there. Makes for a good story though - something to talk about.

 

[Quinoa]

Actually my friend doesn't read Tnet, he's never been on it.
Eh, I suppose it would be worth opening up, but I'm no miner. I'd generally mostly be interested in seeing if there was ore or bullion stored or cached out there, but I already know there isn't. That would be downhill from it back by the trail with a bunch of pesky markers around it that most wouldn't recognize. One leads you to the mine as well. Kinda of a two faced thing I guess.

 

[sdcfia]

Actually my friend doesn't read Tnet, he's never been on it.
Eh, I suppose it would be worth opening up, but I'm no miner. I'd generally mostly be interested in seeing if there was ore or bullion stored or cached out there, but I already know there isn't. That would be downhill from it back by the trail with a bunch of pesky markers around it that most wouldn't recognize. One leads you to the mine as well. Kinda of a two faced thing I guess.

You don't have to be a miner to see if anything is in the old mine. All you need is the ability to operate a pick and shovel for a few hours in order to provide an opening large enough to enter over the thin top of the fill pile covering the entrance. Then, a few minutes with a flashlight and you've checked off one of the possibilities on your list.

If the place is empty (extremely likely), then you can assume the State sealed the entrance. If the old miners hid the entrance, maybe something good is still inside. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sounds like you may be lacking motivation. If so, then perhaps the original premise is shaky - ie, hidden valuables.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

If yer still a bit squeamish, pony up fer one of these bad boys.







Then ag'in, ye can Go Big or go home by ante'n up fer tha coop de gracias, Lidar.

 

[sdcfia]

You can buy the same drone used in the Barrick video off the shelf for about $1,000. Its avoidance detectors, return programming software, flight plans, etc. allow it to fly blind when it loses its line-of-sight connection - same as in those old mines. Cool stuff. That spherical cage would be a little extra. An acquaintance has been using one this year in the Caballos with intriguing results in hard to access locations. Pretty nice putting a hi-res camera into places that a human might not be able to access. When the video is played back, it seems that much more can be seen than that which a guy on foot might notice while concentrating on his footing while negotiating dangerous terrain. And GPS coordinates to boot.

LIDAR (spinning laser data collector) has been around for quite a while and is very capable in static environments. Costs more, but mounted on a drone, does more too. Unfortunately, it's use in AI-driven cars has resulted in some serious snafus. Seems like when things around it are moving around (traffic, pedestrians), LIDAR has tended to make too many fatal mistakes.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

Yessir, ain't they purty? Nice little tools to add to yer toolbox. Lightweight ta pack in, 'bout the same cost as a mid grade metal detector, and easy ta operate. I like both versions, but tha smaller one with the hamster cage has GPS, and works better in tight spaces...more maneuverability, gives a better close up detail view which the larger LiDAR unit can't do.






But that LiDAR 3D mapping sure is the cat's meow if yer need'n more spatial data and have the room for a bulkier, less maneuverable unit.

 

[Quinoa]

Yeah , I have a scope camera like you use in sewerlines, in fact I was going out today to get something very interesting to show, but the road out there was rutted and muddied up from kids that I decided to turn around part way there. Perhaps when it dries up or freezes over again. Pretty neat cameras on a cable, I was going to order a really long one in the next few days as well, they are handy.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

Yeah , I have a scope camera like you use in sewerlines, in fact I was going out today to get something very interesting to show, but the road out there was rutted and muddied up from kids that I decided to turn around part way there. Perhaps when it dries up or freezes over again. Pretty neat cameras on a cable, I was going to order a really long one in the next few days as well, they are handy.

Yep, handy for short runs and confined spaces like a sewer pipe or drain, but are only maneuverable to about 8 ft in your application before they get wonky. Past that not so much. And the cams are only between 2 to 5 megapixels, with a visual field of 4 to 16 inches accordingly. Useless for inspecting anything much past the opening, no matter how long the cable. Reckon if you were jest making a straight shot, like a pipe or drain, they might be useful. But ye never know, ye might get lucky. Maybe they got lazy and left it jest inside the opening.

 

[whistler84]

I wonder if its a cedar post. The red in the center of the trunk, it seasons very hard. i still find an occasional post like this, hunting old homsteads. They are tough lasting trees

 

[Quinoa]

Yes Ol kentuck, you are correct, most only focus a few inches , I have rentals and have watched all the sewer line cams, But I have an older one not made for that which does about a foot or so, just not high res. I wasn't going to drop it in on a old mine though. I'm still looking for something that will focus further, perhaps taping a mini blue tooth type camera to a cable might work, just one more thing to figure out and experiment on I suppose.

 

[sdcfia]

Yessir, ain't they purty? Nice little tools to add to yer toolbox. Lightweight ta pack in, 'bout the same cost as a mid grade metal detector, and easy ta operate. I like both versions, but tha smaller one with the hamster cage has GPS, and works better in tight spaces...more maneuverability, gives a better close up detail view which the larger LiDAR unit can't do.

But that LiDAR 3D mapping sure is the cat's meow if yer need'n more spatial data and have the room for a bulkier, less maneuverable unit.

The miners want an accurate calc of rock volume removed from their stope, 'cause that's how their paycheck is figured. The blue collar guys, that is. In the previous generation, the company would hire surveyors with the old fashioned optical gear to do pretty much the same thing. Those LIDARs also do a fantastic job of creating 3D models and rendered videos of buildings and archaeological ruins. I saw some really cool stuff they did in, I think, Istanbul. They can gather 10 million data points in a couple hours, where the old way maybe took weeks.

In really tight spaces, like caves, pyramid chambers, etc, they have all sorts of little cameras on fiber optic cables, etc, available. But, for general purpose exploration and snooping, the drone is all a pilgrim needs. More than enough to size up the situation with those hi-res Go Pros attached. Of course, a guy sometimes has to resort to low-tech tools - like a pick and shovel - to satisfy his curiosity.

 

[Quinoa]

If there was enough light, my cable camera could see like any camera could. If you use it outdoors, it will see everything you see. It's dark spaces that reduce it down to about a foot, even though its has small led lights attached. It just not enough light. I may see if they have advanced any in tech for low light. But I might just tape an extra light to it, thanks for the conversations, got me to thinking about putting that cable camera to better use.

 

[Quinoa]

So what happens when you film something that isn't supposed to be there on one of these cameras and post it on a public forum?

 

[sdcfia]

So what happens when you film something that isn't supposed to be there on one of these cameras and post it on a public forum?

Depends. Most camera gear nowadays embeds GPS coordinates in the electronic files. Supposedly, you can turn off location registration before recording. That way, the location of your find is then not available in the file - supposedly.

Then there is the nature of "something that isn't supposed to be there". This premise is subjective, depending on the rationality of both the discoverer and the viewers. IMO, human nature tells me that there is close to zero chance anything known to be "important" would be posted on the internet. Not that some wishful folks aren't just fishing for ideas or attention.

 

[cyzak]

So what happens when you film something that isn't supposed to be there on one of these cameras and post it on a public forum?

CYA