This video in our continuing series exploring the great 16 to 1 Mine covers the lengthy 1000 Level on foot and via rail... This level really has it all – historic mining equipment, gold-rich stopes, another ride on a mine train (this time including a derailment) and plenty more of Duane’s great stories.

We will also be making some connections to the lower levels of the gold mine on the 1000 Level as you’ll see where the pipes from the modern pump that is presently dewatering the mine head toward the surface as well as where the rusted pipes from the historic pump we saw on the 1700 Level make their long run to the surface.

One particularly interesting aspect of this level is a section where the old timers drove a winze down… Fortunately, they left the hoist and other equipment behind and so we’re able to get a good glimpse of how they operated and the way it looked when they did. Interestingly, not a lot is known about how much gold they recovered from this section.  

I’m glad that you were able to see a ride on the mine train with Duane in front of us on the trammer (the electric locomotive) so that you can see how they are operated. One definitely must pay attention! The derailment was an unexpected and exciting bonus to that ride.

A few comments in the last video criticized me for sometimes repeating what Duane said and for not always keeping up with him. Tough crowd, huh? Obviously, I would rather have Duane narrate whatever it is that we are seeing and would prefer to have the camera perfectly angled to include both him and the feature being discussed. However, when he is walking ahead while I am contending with changing batteries, changing lenses, avoiding hazards that are more difficult to notice when one’s attention is focused on the camera, dealing with water in the microphone, cleaning mud off of the lens, adapting to video equipment failures, changing lights and also trying to show every unique nook and cranny of the mine…well…it isn’t always easy to deliver seamless perfection with Duane carefully staged – bathed in mood lighting and wired up to deliver perfect audio - in every scene. Oh, and please don’t forget that unlike Duane and Jake, I am having to climb around these steep, slick obstacles without the benefit of using either of my hands since one hand has a camera and the other is holding the lighting equipment. This also slows me down relative to them. To perhaps convey the difficulty in filming underground - I shoot photography and video of frontline combat for a living. And, believe it or not, it is far easier to film while being shot at, mortared, etc. than to film underground in a mine. Filming underground in a mine is one of the most difficult video tasks one can set out for themselves.

Also, the reason that I sometimes repeat what Duane said is that I have no way of knowing at the time what the camera has picked up or not if Duane is speaking rather distantly from the microphone. So, in order to try and make sure that everyone in the audience heard what was said, I will repeat it if there is any doubt.

Ha, like I said, tough crowd…

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Our guide on this tour, Duane, has a YouTube channel of his own in which he has posted videos he has taken in mines where he has worked. It can be found here: [ Ссылка ]

For more information on the Sixteen to One Mine or even to buy physical gold or stock shares from the company, one can visit their website at: [ Ссылка ]

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All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so adjust those settings to ramp up the quality! It really makes a difference.

You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: [ Ссылка ]

You can click here for the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines: [ Ссылка ]

Thanks for watching!
 
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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them – nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.

These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever.

I hope you’ll join us on these adventures.

#ExploringAbandonedMines

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