Where its dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew, the dangers are double and the pleasures are few, the rain never falls and the sun cannot shine.... but thanks for exploring the Silver reef Mine, sweet channel keep up the muckraking & be careful.

i bet you always feel a slight bit of relief when you finally see the portal again. I could never do this, you're so brave.

You should carry some glow sticks with you. They're cheap, easy to carry, don't require batteries, and you can't ask for a better friend in a dark place. Just remember to buy some new one's every few months.

A deep endless tunnel of total darkness... that reminds me of something. Oh, yes... life.

you should get a laser pointer to probe the depth of some of those holes.

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter

I started to laugh about their ventilation pipe being held together with duct tape, 'till I had to give myself a face-palm: THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT'S MEANT FOR!

That was a Sullivan rock shoveler that you found; it was the first air-driven mucker produced. I think it dates from the 1930s.

The color you see in complete darkness is not black, but a dark gray called eigengrau. Just a little fun fact.

I've been pretty deep in a cave where the lights go out. They say there is only two places in the world where you can experience total darkness; the deepest depths of a cave or an ocean. At first it was a pretty cool, but odd feeling. Then you think your eyes will adjust, they don't then is when your mind takes over and it's an uneasy feeling. Cool video

Nevada, you say? If you see a large, vault-y looking door, just turn around and keep walking

A friend and I would explore caves around Mt Shasta years ago. I recall being about an hour down one cave when our only flashlight died. Talk about "Oh shit" Why were we down there with 1 flashlight? The obvious answer is "Stupid". Anyhow...It was the first and only time I have ever been thankful for being a smoker. My friend and I both had bic lighters...and we used them to slowly climb our way back to the surface. Many years later and much wiser, my son and I were exploring caves at Craters of the Moon...and the blackout trauma was still with me...only this time, I had 3 sources of light, a bic, and extra batteries.

Like how the pipes are falling down and corroding, but the duct tape is still intact!!! haha.

i blacked out last night whilst exploring, luckily i had my phone for a torch to guide my way past a couple deep winzes on the way back to the portal Keep exploring, from Australia :)

Those flashes were droplets of water that were falling from the ceiling. That part of the mine was slightly damp, I remember. Took me a few minutes to realize what those flashes were myself after I edited the video.

always have a buddy when u explore 😀

Would be trippy if you got back to the gate and some buddy put a lock on it!

Watching your vids reminds me of my twenties (I’m 49) when I used to explore old mines and smugglers caves on the east coast of Scotland. It’s a great feeling to be deep underground exploring. I don’t do it now because I ran out of places but I’m so glad that I did. But I’d definitely recommend to anyone to go with at least one other person as these places are some of the most dangerous on earth.

this is the most preserved mine I've seen in your videos,great find!

I've recently found your channel and have enjoying your videos very much. I love exploration and you do a great job documenting your adventures. I notice you have nice and easy camera movements which makes it easier to watch. I did enjoy that last bit about your light sources and your backup lights and batteries. I was curious if you carry light sticks with you also as an alternative. Maybe if you do you could drop one in a hole to try and see the bottom? Just curious. Thanks for your time and videos. 👍🏻 Adam

Did anyone see the McDonalds cup on the shelf? 9:10

Like your narration and video skill

Nice to hear the use of technical mining terminology.

i was blown away when you picked up on film a empty bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale it happens to be a long way from home my home town of Newcastle up on Tyne where generations of hard working pit men and ship yard workers would get a liquid lunch that brown ale was a lot more potent then what you get state side . I wonder how many of our four-fathers would have made of that .

I once went to a mine, and in the 1800s some guy went locking for his dog in this mine and his torch ran out. He followed the airflow, then a stream to the exit.

Wow, having no lights in a mine would be terrifying. I don't personally know much about mines or anything but I really enjoy your videos, they're very insightful. I've always had somewhat of a fascination for mines and caves. :)

When I watch your videos. I can pause the video. An just stare at the screen and hear hammers and shovels hitting stone and hammers hitting anvils, carts rolling through, people talking and shouting. I wish I grew up a miner back in those day. It's so freaking cool. Love your videos.

Glad you got braver in later vids. The “I’m not gonna go up/down there” was killing me. Lol the Canadian Frank is always up to go anywhere physically possible.

Absolute darkness is a little freaky... been there done that years ago out at Calico... Really no way of explaining it other than actually experiencing it... Another nice one...

One of the more interesting mine videos of yours. So much stuff in there

I can't imagine working in one of these mines. congrats to the brave ones that did

These videos are the coolest videos ever. So unique. Thank you for taking the time to make and post them for all of us!

Another fantastic video. I can never get out and explore the mines out here enough, your videos fill the gaps in excitement for me!

Do you ever hear noises in these caves? I know you've had one or two obviously paranormal things happen to you. But being in these dark places must be incredibly nerve racking.

You guys are great! I enjoy spooky mine videos from you keep up the good work! ;)

Thanks for another awesome video Frank, keep 'em coming!

Just found you guys and I'm hooked. Love the videos, keep em coming! Cheers!

It’s funny, but ever since you mentioned in a previous video how sounds will either echo or absorb into the rock…indicating potential collapse locations….I cannot stop noticing as you narrate your journey in this mine. Education and entertainment, nice!!

Awesome video, thank you for the no light scenario, I was one of them who asked what it would be like

im glad im awake to get to see this vid so quickly!

This mine looks in great shape with good stuff. You need to take anything that you can. It won’t be long and mines will be gone. Either caved in or that big open pit mining. Great video.✅

The beer bottle is Newcastle brown ale .I worked at the brewery for 21 years and supped quite a few of them.

Amazing amount of artifacts left behind.

7:30 "I'm not going to climb down there" Good that you know your limits. That's the basis of survival.

This is probably great to fall asleep to. Amazing videos, been watching for hours now, love your annotations and commentary.

I like life in mines and thunder storms hours of sleep because they are so cool,,,, nice black out,reminiscent of the old man I am,,sandia man cave,,, we all came out,,,yellowish color from the iron ore

I love scary videos that I learn a little stuff in it. That's why I watch your vids, there scary and you learn a little bit out of each one

The beer bottle looks like a British beer called Newcastle Brown Ale , or as its known here, Newkie Brown. Plus it looks like it says 'imported from england'

Great video. Love seeing the new ones.

Nice find! Huge mine, definitely needs more exploration! Enjoyed the video, Thanks!

Excellent video, Frank. That is one of the farthest travels of you exploring alone that I have seen you do. I'm sure that somebody knew where you were. That shot of total darkness reminds me of trips to Carlsbad Caverns and Grand Canyon Caverns when they turn off the lights. Your pack must be heavy with back-up batteries. Keep these videos coming and be safe.

Pretty cool Frank thanks for the video

Have you ever ran into other people deep in the mines?

Frank that tour was excellent! Thank You! I like the wood ladders the most. Just a thought.

That's spot on with respect to lighting, lighting, lighting and more lighting as well as batteries and more backups to those batteries. I liked the helmet too, low ceils can hurt pretty bad too. You might want to think about knee protection and gloves in the event of a stumble. Safety can never be compromised.

I loved the ladders! Looked like some kid went all crazy with an Erector set!! Yea You'll have to do that one again to check out the other levels, place was huge. The mucker was a very rare find indeed. Wouldn't want to be near the bucket when it's coming back, knock your head off!

I just loved operating Emco 12B, 21 and 30 mucked back in the day. Pound to Pound they moved more muck than any other mining machine. If you were set up with a car pass and motor train it did not take long to muck out your round.

Great vid as always. eagerly await all Your videos

It has to be difficult to stay calm and collected. Nice work !

Amazing mine! I might have to see this one for myself someday! Very rare to see a mucker as you said, nice find and great video!

really enjoying these vids

WOW! Frank that was intense, omg, I loved that tour, especially the winzes and depth, kinda reminded me of the Calico Mine Ride at Knotts Berry Farm I remember venturing off-road on my way to Vegas looking for a mine to explore, and a lady cop stopped me out there and said be careful because there’s a lot of undesirables that hang around mines, it’s very dangerous, so be careful out here! Did you ever get scared venturing into one of these mines? Like you may run into some basket case or drug makers? Geez you are Chuck Norris of mine adventures

Another nice video!

great videos always

Love your videos great footage.

beautiful mine

Great video, love the mines you select and narration you give. You give the excitement of the explores and a history lesson of the people that worked there...

Great explore hello from Lightning Ridge NSW Australia (Opal country)

Another excellent video as usual. I was thinking while watching that someplace there is a warehouse with no shelving left. It looked like almost everything that was metal was built with shelving racks.

This mine was massive and so mutch left very nice to see. hope you return and check all levels.

Nice find on the old food cache. Your heads up on lighting made me take stock of my pack....I need more batteries for my backup light!

We have an old mucker very similar to the one you found, at our experimental mine. Our mine-rail network was abandoned some time ago and we mostly use Bobcats and a dozer to move muck, so all of the old ore cars and similar were discarded or left around the mine site.

You need to notify a mining museum about that dozer and have it hauled out so people can see it.

Absolutely Terrifying. This is why you don't explore these Mines unless you know what you are doing. Thank you from Australia

I've restored and rebuilt several muckers for mine operation. they are the main way of loading ore in the carts in these smaller mines. the miners will run them right up to the face and load the bucket. then run a ore cart up to the back of the mucker. the mucked the rotates the bucket assembly on the top and throws the ore in the cart. the mucker can also spin for the wider tunnels.

Someone needs to make a roller coaster like those mine tracks!

thats one cool old mucker, would probably still operate if you hooked it to air and re-greased a few areas. the machine shunts forwards, the operater fills the bucket and than flings the ore into a mine cart waiting behind the mucker. there still widely used in small scale mining as there easy to operate and cheap to maintain

fantastic find :)

thank you

I live in NY and sometimes explore the national park in upstate when I go camping but this is so much cooler lol I would love to someday in the future go and explore these kind of places too. Some people might think it is just a mine but still a ton of history, like when I find a tremendous boulder in the forrest I think this probably ended up here during the glacial retreat of the last Ice age when the Ice carved out the mountains going back towards Antarctica. I love history even little things I think you gotta have a good imagination to appreciate this stuff. I love this channel awesome vids guys! Thank you!

Oh almost forgot great vid I'm subscribed as of now thanks and be super safe going into those places.

Dude I couldn't do that on my own your so brave amazing loving your videos awesome I wish I could go on one of your mine adventure amazing 😄😄😄

My grandma lives out in Northern California where good mining was a big part of history, she's got a book that tells the life in a first person view point of a donkey and how life was like for it spending most of its life deep inside a mine

That 'mucking machine' is an air powered scoop that drives into a pile of muck, fills the bucket, backs up to a waiting ore car, and then throws the bucket up and back to fill the car. Notice the big springs on the inside back? They're shock absorbers. Without them the bucket arms would smash the back out of the mucker. That's how much power those things have. One of most common ways to get hurt while using that machine is to have your head to far forward when the bucket comes up. It's an air powered machine that usually uses a 50 foot long 2" bullhose. The operator stands on a stand on one side of the machine and operates two levers. 6 functions, up, down, forward, reverse, left, and right. (the machine swings about 30 degrees to either side). These machines are found in tracked mines where they are used to advance the drifts. Sort of a mechanized shovel... Me, I've used them to clean up spils on haulage levels where we loaded ore cars from main ore passes. It's a fun machine to operate ! BTW, mucking machines are NOT LHDs. Entirely different machine. LHD is more like a low profile front end loader.

Love the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle

Its long ago but still a awsome Video You showed the danger in this mine and the fazination of doing what you do All the best stay healthy Yours Frank

I know how that feels when you lose light..Lost my headlamp down a shaft south of Ely.Nv.... Thank God for a pocket full of Mini Chem Lights and a few big ones...

Another wonderful video. This mine looks great, although those incline shafts looked a little sketchy to me (especially with the chain ladder). You may want to be roped-in for your return trip.

These tunnels.. everytime I watch one of your videos I can imagine a horrific humanoid creature coming from a bend in front of you.. its just the perfect setup. Also, at the moment you turned your light back on in this video.. :| my mind is just ready for the scariest crap to go down

This mine definitely warrants an extensive revisit.

That green gate must have a story! Perhaps their was stuff stored in the tunnel behind it that the mine owners didn't want the miners to access without permission. Dynamite maybe?

I once saw an "Open Hole" sign above my girlfriends bed, was she a Miner?

Funny place to find a NewCastle!

I Love this video! Please do more videos like this : ) 5:57 that is very intresting, I've never seen something like that :3

i love your videos!

Frank That is a Sullivan overshot mucker , it operates as follows . The miner would run the bucket into the muck pile and fill it using the tram lever in conjunction with the dipper lever scooping up a full bucket of muck . then reverse to the ore car and use the dipper lever raising the bucket up and over the top of the mucker the dipper arms would hit the back of the mucker body on the springs thus ejecting the muck straight into the waiting ore car . Repeat until full .next car ect ect . Most mucking machines would have a pintle hitch that one could attach the car to the back of the mucker the miner would ride on the step as he operated the mucker . A trammer man would push out the loaded car to as siding and bring in an empty repeating the process until the round was mucked out or you had a full turn of cars to haul out, usually a battery or compressed air operated loco Would run the full cars to the dump pocket in the mine or at the portal . An interesting side note is the most widely used rail muckers were Eimco 12B's . However Joy, Gardener Denver and Sullivan also made overshot rail muckers. Eimco 630 tracked muckers were used to muck out shafts they operated on cat type tracks instead on wheels and for a time held the record in shaft sinking operations . One other type of mucking machine used in large stopes was manufactured by Atlas Copco it was called the "Cavo" it ran on rubber tires and had a 5 ton hopper on the back , kind of like a self loading dump truck , the bucket would raise up and over the machine and eject its load into the hopper . When the hopper was full you ran it to the ore shoot and dumped then return to the face for another load . They weren't liked much because of the 2" bull hose needed to supply the compressed air to the mucker was a PITA!!!!! Always in your way no matter where you ran it . All in all every single machine was better then hand mucking ! Cheers

ever thought of bringing glow sticks and laying them down as you go in the event of a blackout? pick them up on your way out then hit the club ? maybe just keep a few in your pocket so you have some light that wont rely on electricity

This mine is definitely worth a return visit. It seems to have been mined at different intervals in time. Out of all your videos, this one by far seems to have the most artifacts left behind. Bet you that mucker still works! I imagine it would probably take a full day to explore all of its levels and tunnels but so far, to me, it sure seems to merit a return visit. By the control panels and outlets and trouble light, it seems that it has not been that many years since it was last worked. A remarkable mine. (yes I did get the first number but it will not help me here in Canada LOL)

The 3000 shelving is called slotted angle.Is used for more than making shelving

Love these vids you do...awe-inspiring, mesmerizing, fascinating and terrifying! Especially when you demonstrated what a potential black-out might be like. You are extremely brave to do what you do, but I'm glad you do it because I'm hooked and I look forward to watching all these explorations. This history is fragile and won't last forever, so thank you for preserving it!