Not gonna lie, I felt a sense of relief when I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

You would never get me in that hole I got spooked just seeing you doing it.

I love the desert. People think it's dead but it's full of life. I was exploring a similar mine in the western Mojave, about 200 feet in when an earthquake rolled through. We were out in about 8 seconds....

I was literally shaking watching you go in . No no nope no thank you 🤣

That was to be a main haulage adit. It was driven in across the grain of the rock and crosses several veins, but none were worth developing. The material in the waste rock pile was 90% country rock of no importance. Only where it crossed a vein was of interest. But after they crossed the area where there was an outcrop on top and found nothing, they gave up. (old miner) This is the most common mining result. edit: that stuff on your fingers is clay.

I've explored about a dozen caves with research colleagues, but never a mine. They were always exciting to explore but I was always a bit relieved to walk/climb out of them. I don't think I would walk into an abandon mine without a companion. I felt total relief for our Desert Trails when I saw the light coming from the entrance. Whew!

There’s just no way I would ever go alone into some mine…😬

I explored lots of mines in Arizona. When I started getting into bigger ones I worried about quality of air and didn't have money for the right gear so I stopped going into the big ones. Lots of fun! Some shafts are still accessible to accidentally fall or drive into where I explored..Be safe!

Whoever drove it were good miners. No overbreak, straight as an arrow in the early feet, consistent arch.

A tunnel of broken dreams.

That was amazing!!! You are braver then I could ever be, going in all the way to end. I think I would have gotten maybe 15 ft in and freaked as I ran back to exit. Lol

No way would I have stepped into that tunnel 😮 my heart was pounding just watching the video.

A fair amount of silver ore in thinner veins. As a miner, I can’t stress enough how incredibly dangerous that is. Please don’t do that again.

I can't help but remember the experience of Aaron Ralston who had no one with him and didn't let anyone know where he was going. He got his hand pinned by a rolling boulder down inside Blue John Canyon and was stuck there for several days. No one knew where to start looking for him. He only got out by cutting his hand off at the wrist and was able to wonder out and find other people for help. I sure hope you'll explore with another person staying out of harms way. Hopefully someone knows in what area you are exploring and your expected time of return. Other than that - it was an interesting tour.

The deeper you got, the creepier I felt

First viewer. Thank you for sharing this. I’m having a panic/excitement attack watching it. I love exploring.

That slick "mud" you encountered is most likely bentonite clay. It is so greasy that it was used to lube wagon wheels as long as it was kept wet. If you find some that's dry, put a fair amount into a container and add a LOT of water. A few hours later, it will have absorbed the water and swelled to an astonishing size. That's why it hasn't caved in, as soft as it is. If it ever dries out it will though.

'be safe' just walked 300 feet into a dead air mine by self

As always you knock it out of the park! Thanks for the hard work.

So many great spots like this out there... shocked more people don't go out and look around for this type of stuff

Small scale mining is fascinating, especially the level of industry focused by a few human beings. The miners at this site didn't leave much kit behind. It was a clean getaway.

Spent a few years in desert locations while in ARMY..............the Mojave is truly an incredible place!

Wow, that’s a long tunnel. I’ve come across a lot of exploratory mines here in Tucson mostly limestone it appears some copper, but nothing like this pretty cool😊🌵😎

Very neat to see. I don't think I would have gone in for fear of animals or possibly gas. Especially being by yourself. Hope you let someone know where you were heading at least. Stay safe, thanks for the video.

I enjoyed the video. I've recorded about 1500 historic mines mostly in Montana, Idaho and Nevada, but those days are over. Listen to "My favorite Martian", he has it right. BTW, the giant pile extending out in front of the adit portal is not tailings, the proper term is waste rock. Tailings are what come out of mills or placers. Just a small detail.

Hi, A nice find. That clay vien is called fluken pronounced "flooken" as in book or cook. Its a crossvien composed of clay. Its notoriously dangerous for sudden caveins, though this one is way too small. The bad ones Ive seen were 2-3 feet wide +. As far as I know its caused by a fault where 2 rock faces move & rub against each other over time thus grinding to clay. The flat exposed faces of the rock is usually very smooth & shiny. I love your videos. Cheers Daniel.

Wow! That was amazing!! Thank You for sharing.

Very neat work by those who dug it.

kept waiting for a pair of red eyes to be reflected in the darkness ahead, lol . . .

8:21 First time visitor to your channel so seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel” was really awesome. Cool video 👍🏼

Oh my goodness! My claustrophobia would have kept me to within 5 feet of that mine entrance. Going along with you, I kept saying, "No...no...no!" Thank you for letting me see what was in there, but I did expect Gollum to pop out at any second!! You are way braver than I ever was, even in my youth! Good video!!

Cool mine. Thanks for taking us along!

you are my hero bro ... i would never go inside by myself

I absolutely love watching your videos, I really like the desert, the feel of it, and all of the exploratory vibes I get. I’ve always wanted to do these types of things and would love to accompany you on one! Lol Keep up the great work and I’ll keep enjoying you’re professionally put together pieces. That cave was a little creepy, I’m surprised you went in that far all alone:)

Thank you for the Video , its nice to see that You are doing so well .

I just came back from a jeep trip there ( early march )we parked for the night on the tailings and two of us slept in the mine instead of our tents because the wind was fierce and cold. I wear glasses and had to take them off near the end of the adit because of fogging ,very warm place to sleep. Thanks for the video

Fascinating video.

It's an exploration drift a couple hundred feet long, but it looks barren of any pay grade. Just another unsuccessful gamble, probably took a month or two, quit and moved on elsewhere, I imagine. I've got a friend who's now mucking out an old drift originally planned to intersect successful workings above it in Pinos Altos, NM. They abandoned the effort about a hundred years ago due to an economic depression. My pal hopes to intersect ore extensions from up above. One man job,: uncovered adit entrance, cleaned drift, built new timbered portal, fabricated beautiful steel door, shored up bad ground inside, laid old salvaged track, built a new steel tilt ore car, and spent a lotta time dealing with the BLM. Why all this work for a 70 year-old man? "Always wanted to do what the old timers did", he says. He'll begin extending the drift and/or working a couple cross-faults pretty soon.

I think you should give a call to a friend before you make entrance into a mine like that and at least give them your approx location and time , just in case the worst happens.

What an adventure!!!!

wowww, THAT thing goes very deep. seems to be like you walk w not fear at all

Thanks for the walk thru.

I'm thinking you just broke a bunch of survival rules exploring that day. Unless you told someone you were going into an abandoned mine by yourself your taking a risk with your life.

Super cool!

Cool little tunnel.

What a cool mine. Very safe. Puts me in mind of a mine we'd explore up on scratch gravel hills in Montana back in the early 80's. Fun times.

Wow that was amazing find i enjoyed it. i guess it used to me a mine at some point.

6:18 Imagine turning around to go back out and it's another dead end right in front of you.

Counting your steps that would make the length of the cave 600 ft or more. Takes a little moxy to charge straight ahead.

Nice video thanks

You crazy going in there that deep.

I enjoyed your video. I"m not much of a cave or mine explorer, but you made it look fun. Thanks!

That looks like jeepers paradise!!

Yeah, you want to avoid old mines, in some places what you Think is an old mine, or hole in the ground may in fact be an active claim, and in the middle of nowhere you may attract lead.

That was fun

that would be really cool to explore

So many caves, mines and old tunnels across the old world

We all need to start sharing videos of how boring the desert is, the last thing we need is more people out there. 🙂

Wow!

Was I the only one saying “turn around right the EFF now, buddy!”? As a kid in New Mexico, late 1960s, we used to explore the old mines around Orogrande. We came out of there with loads of gorgeous turquoise and iron pyrite.

This gives off the vibes of an ancestral tomb in Morrowind.

That was a pretty cool video. Kinda like being there...

Nice hike! Was almost expecting a shaft to drop out at the back.

nice mine !!!

This guy is a bolder man than I am.

WOw you found a mine in the desert, one of thousands, I'm gonna subscribe to your channel

Nice truck man!!😊

The veins of "mud" or "powder" are fault gouge. The wet ones have tapped into some water and are in the process of mineralization. Many veins are ancient faults (or cracks) that have mineralized over hundreds of millennia. Faults are cracks where the 2 sides have moved and ground against each other forming the fine gouge.

Before even starting the video I see a pile of mine tailings. Yep it was, but what is strange, who would have dug a tunnel almost or more than a hundred yards into that mountain when the earth had no discernible type of rock that would actually hold Gold.

Most people think they only need worry about the ceiling coming down: the worst thing is the floor giving way due to disintegrated shoring of lower levels. Be safe people.

Nice trip. Hope you had extra Flashlight but not likely.

Cool video😎

FLY-OVER COUNTRY! I've flown over these areas many times and have seen the roads out in the middle of no where and wondered what it would be like to sojourn through the area.

Finally getting the views your content deserves 👏

Just one more foot of rock to blast out and I'm sure they would have hit the Motherlode!!!!

Nice video bro. Keep it up!

Walking down a strange, abaonded mine shaft unannounced and unprepared seems like a 'begging for a long, painful death' situation.

I love caves and I love your videos

In the 80s before the gazillion new developments in AZ there were many mine shafts and vent holes southside of South Mtn. in Phx. Some were flat ground level vertical access holes deep deep deep and uncovered. We were riding motorcycles zoomed right past one, easily would have fit a mini bike and a kid straight down. We stopped and dropped a rock to see how deep it was, insanely deep. Now they are covered, but in the 70s and 80s, they were a hazard, some fun, but some deadly.

I do believe the location to this mine is 100 miles North then 25.5 miles west now you have the starting point good luck ⛏️🏆🇺🇸🤔

Thems some mighty big gopher holes you found there mister... :)

oh sweetie thankyou for sharing no apologies necessary for me here .. much to see huh!!

That slippery "clay" reminds me of the consistently and feel of wet borax in Death Valley.

I would be scared to death to go out into the desert by myself like that. You’ve got all those scorpions and rattlesnakes and no thank you.

Cool

Well, I do hope they got something after the HUGE effort to dig this mine. I wish he had counted his steps.

Pretty cool people haven’t trashed that mine shaft.

Nice beautiful 🤨

Underground mines can present a radiation hazard to miners. Without proper air ventilation, radon can collect in the mineshafts, where it is inhaled by miners. The operators of uranium mines must take special precautions to protect miners, such as pumping radon gas out of the mine and replacing it with fresh air. I would worry, often a cavalier attitude about what you can't see is the thing that gets you. The Pacific Coast Borax Company was the last ones to work this particular site and 11 men lost their lives in only 7 months. The absence of bats and mice should have been a warning as you ventured in. Ever hear the expression curiosity killed the cat, you my friend are the cat.

I worry about Rattlesnakes wondering around in those places. Yikes! LOL.

Very brave man handling any thing found in those mines without knowing what it is. I've seen Mercury and asbestos mines that would give you all kinds of health complications.

I was waiting for something with long fangs to jump out at you

This is the first time I've watched a video from this channel so aside from the channel's name I didn't really know what the channel was about before watching. After about 30 seconds of him being in the cave I was expecting this video to be a shock video. You know where you get so enthralled in watching the video and then without warning...BOOM!! a monster pops out forcing you to change your pants. I'm glad it wasn't! It was an interesting video thank you!

Wow

Great walk with you! Love being subscribed. I bet water is not far away...

That's a well-constructed adit. Plenty in the Nevada desert and agreed there is little reason for anyone to be there a hundred years later. I explored more than a few when working for a mining company in 1990. The started nowhere and ended nowhere, when the vein(s) played out. Surprised how deep this one goes. Had I GPS back in the day I'd have kept records but alas not so much. What you picked off the walls appear to be on fault line(s) they were following...I'd bet if you had that assayed it'd come in relatively rich in Ag (a guess, from the consistency and color)! I'm an optimist and as others indicate might just be clay / junk. BTW, USGS 7.5 and 15 min sheets used to have these marked (shafts, adits) but far from "always!"

Woopi!!

I was counting your steps. Lost count about a 100 going out but your pace was definitely faster going out than in.

I feel your pain. This weather even in Tennessee is killing my sinuses and throat.

Light at the end of the tunnel. Whew.