Abandoned Mine Exploring with Tom and Julie

A Sketchy Crawl Into the Mine Revealed Something INCREDIBLE

Duration: 9:02 770 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The video documents an adventurous exploration of a historic copper mine located in a scenic canyon, where the explorers navigate narrow passages and unstable terrain on foot rather than by vehicle. As they venture deeper into the underground network, the team encounters significant geological features, including massive arches, caved-in sections, and areas heavily saturated with striking blue-green minerals. The sheer abundance of copper is immediately apparent, with veins of brilliant blue ore lining the walls and covering the ground in what the explorers describe as an outrageous display of natural beauty. Despite the visual splendor, the environment presents serious safety challenges, characterized by bowing wooden boards, snapped stalls, and braces that indicate the mine is under tremendous pressure and at risk of collapse. The explorers carefully maneuver through these hazardous conditions, utilizing flashlights to inspect graffiti and historical markers left by previous miners dating back to 1917 and May 2017. One particularly unsettling discovery involves a wall featuring what appears to be a human face carved into the rock, adding a mysterious element to the journey alongside the visible structural decay. Throughout the crawl, the team expresses concern over the stability of the mine, noting that certain sections are completely crushed or have given way, forcing them to turn back before pushing their luck too far. They observe remnants of old mining operations, such as tracks and shot gates, while commenting on the presence of burros in historical photos, which highlights the long history of work in this specific area. Ultimately, the expedition reveals a fascinating contrast between the mine's dangerous instability and its breathtaking mineral wealth. The explorers manage to witness incredible veins of copper and vast pillars of blue ore before deciding to exit due to the increasing risk of structural failure. Although they do not reach the furthest points of the shaft, the journey provides a unique glimpse into the legacy of underground hard rock mining and bunk cutting techniques. The video concludes with a final appreciation for the stunning blue walls, emphasizing that while the mine is largely compromised and unsafe for further travel, the geological treasures it holds remain truly unbelievable.

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This is a pretty view. >> It's a pretty little canyon in there. >> Yeah, look at that. We're going this way. >> You don't want to go down the canyon in the Jeep. >> No, it'd be fun to hike though. Well, this is an interesting little stretch. >> Little narrows. >> Yeah. >> This looks like a combination of bunk cut and underground hard rock. There's an arch. That hole doesn't go anywhere. This hole goes to a shoot, but it's caved beyond that. Look at all the blue on the ground, blue-green. Look right here. The ground is just blue in this area. The copper minerals are outrageous. Look at that. We're heading up here. There's mines all over the place. It's really windy. That is one black lizard, isn't it? There he went. >> Found another portal. So, Tom's going to dig out a little bit so we can crawl underneath there. >> I've already been digging for 10 minutes. >> He's already been digging. Probably getting tired. Okay. >> All right. I'm going in. >> Okay. >> If it squashes me, it squashes me. Let me just go in without my backpack for just a second. >> Okay. Do you have your flashlight? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Keep it low so you don't hit that board. Wanted to show you these boards that are bowing. As you walk in here, as you crawl in here. It's a lot of pressure. >> All right, here comes Julie. Julie, the mine explorer. She's worried about that board, and I don't blame her. I think you're past it now. >> Am I past it? >> Yeah, pretty much. She didn't like that. >> It's a little unsettling. >> Yeah, it is. I agree. Here's a nice gobbling wall. This is an older part of the mine. Look at how old that shoot looks. Nice stacked rocks, though. That's a little busted up. I don't know what though. this must be a shoot gate, huh? This thing? >> This is. >> Yeah. >> Slowly. So, what's the graffiti I see there? >> I know, I can't read it. >> Look at this green wall. This whole thing is under a fairly tremendous amount of pressure. You can see some snapped stalls and braces. So, does that Is that a person's face? >> I can't Oh, maybe. Is that like the nose and eyes? Chin. Look at this wall. >> Yeah, I know. It's cool, isn't it? Beautiful mineral veins around here. These got to be copper mines. Yeah, look at the copper. That's kind of a mess right ahead of you there, isn't it? >> Mhm. >> There's some cool graffiti ahead of you, I see. Oh boy, some nice air coming through there. May 2017. Is this a guy and his donkey? >> Yeah. >> Or his mule? >> Got to be a burro out here. >> Burro. >> Burro. Burro. >> May 2017. Wow, that's a long time ago. So, this is kind of an angle stope, it looks like. Yeah, we're probably not going to go real far cuz it looks pretty busted up ahead of us. But, we can go a little bit further. Look at all this stuff is just crashed. I don't hear any creaking right now. >> I'm stopping here. >> Okay. >> Here's another uh 1917. >> Why don't you Why don't you come back then? If you're done with the ground. Get to somewhere that's more stable. Wow, look at the blue. Holy buckets. W N 1917. Wow. This one's not even doing anything. That's not going to hurt anything. Unbelievable vein here. Look at the stalls. Few busted ones, but not terrible. I think we can go a little further, can't we? Without pushing my luck too hard. As long as I don't bump anything. Look at that huge pillar of blue. So, there was track in here, but this is going to be all we're going to get out of this one. You can see the time marks. But, this finally gave way to to the uh cabin. Unbelievable vein though. I can't believe it. All right, one last look at this beautiful wall of blue. And I am going to exit out of here before I push my luck too far. Cuz it is a little crushed up. Oh, wait a second. What's this? I didn't see this. Wow. That goes up a long ways. They worked that whole area down here. Huh. That's one big long shoot coming down to here. Yeah. Look at the blue.