Treasures At The Rainbow Mine - Part 3
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- čas přidán 15. 09. 2020
- I am off of the fire lines and can finally relay some of the history of this wonderful gold mine to you as I now have the reports in front of me… The rich quartz vein that made the Rainbow Mine its fortune and glory was discovered by accident in 1857 when a group of miners running an adit for an underground placer gold mine in Chips Flat stumbled across it. Perhaps needless to say, it got their attention.
The mill and other equipment we saw outside (in the first video in this series) date from a boom period during the 1880s. The amount of gold being pulled out of the mine during that time (including one chunk of free gold that measured two and a half feet long and one foot in diameter!!) allowed for a - at the time - highly technologically advanced mine to be developed with the 10-stamp mill, the first Pelton Wheel and one of the first aerial tramways constructed by A.S. Hallidie. The whole mine was running on electricity in the 1880s! Yet, many people believe we didn’t even have electricity harnessed yet during that time…
After the 10-stamp mill was completed and the Pelton Wheel was running, stockpiled ore was run through the mill and in just four and a half hours, 149 pounds of pure gold were recovered! Do the math on how much that would be worth in today's prices...
The famous North Star Mines Company of Grass Valley worked the Rainbow Mine from 1921 to 1925 and the Sixteen to One Mine acquired the property in 1943.
There are actually upper workings to the Rainbow Mine as well that were also tremendously rich, but it is my understanding that they are not accessible. The upper and lower workings were connected by an internal shaft (a winze) and I suspect that that section where we were blocked from proceeding to the end (where all of the water was cascading down from) may have been the winze in question.
Around the middle of the video, I show a map of the underground workings. I know the map looks like spaghetti, but there is a logic to it. That main line going down the middle with the dashed lines in it is the main haulage adit that we followed. Also, near the middle - do you see that chamber where “hoist” is marked? That is not the first chamber where that awesome headframe was, but that is the chamber where that second flooded winze was (the winze with the gradual decline and where the frame and ore bin had apparently toppled forward). The map kind of makes it seem as if the workings leading off of that winze are on the same level as the main haulage adit, but if you look closely, you’ll see that they run underneath the main haulage adit. All of those workings that are shown there run off of that winze and they are all underwater. I would love to know what is down there. The same holds true for all of those raises and stopes we passed too. Hopefully, the layout and the structure of the Rainbow Mine make a little more sense with that map included.
*****
All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD
As well as a small gear update here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
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. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand - bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.
So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
thanks for having Duane along . I could talk to him for hours about mining and compare US to Canada experiences in the deep .
I'd bring Duane along to every mine we visit if I could!
Always good to have Duane along for expert knowledge. Love the wooden air ducts!
Yes, I wish we could bring him along on all of our abandoned mines!
Again I am amazed at what the heck went on on in those holes!!! Thanks!
It's pretty extraordinary...
The amount of quartz that spiderwebs through that mine is amazing! It's so beautiful to see!
I thought that looked really cool...
Really Thank's Duane for the Miner's Knowledge and the time searching for that allusive Quartz vein totally lost labor definitely a Crap shoot in those days!!!; )
My mining partner, Joe Langston toured the 16 to 1 in the late 1990's and filmed it to bring to out miner's meeting. I was president of the North Central Cascades Miner's Assn. in Liberty, Wash. at the time. Joe is gone now but I'm forever thankful for that film trip down in the 16 to 1 mine.
Duane is a walking mining encyclopedia. I really enjoyed the information 😊
If the work ethic and fortitude ,that these men had in them to do these extraordinary things , could be passed on to our children the world could be a better place .
100% right. I could not possibly agree with you more...
Thanks Justin & Duane a very interesting explore
Greetings from Clay County, Missouri!
Thank you and thank Duane for taking me along on another exciting adventure!
wait, fire lines? wow THANK YOU, again! 2 weeks on; 2 days off? Keep up the good fight & TRY STAY SAFE! 366 thumbs up!
Thank you, Clay County! We were working shifts of 18 hours every day during the worst of it... It is enough to make me glad that I only do the fire stuff in the summers normally.
You guys have guts. Having worked underground in Henderson Mine in Colorado I'm used to closed in spaces but some of those drifts are really tight. My congratulations on fantastic video history and admiration for the personal energy you have put into this production. You can read about this stuff in books but your narratives and film depict the actuality of what miners had to contend with to reap the mineral harvest. Many thanks for all your work as future generations will have your product to educate them.
Thank you very much. That is exactly our hope...
Hi Justin, I'm so glad to hear you are safe away from the fire lines, are you on rotation ??. This mine was just full of so many fascinating artefacts but I think the best thing was seeing that old wooden ventilation system, it must have taken someone quite a while to make that all up. Thank you so much for taking us around the Rainbow Mine and thanks also to Duane for his never ending history and allowing you guys to go in and film, much love and stay safe. xx💖🤘
Thank you, Sue. Yes, one of the fires came very close to our home, but we were able to stop it. In the beginning we were working shifts of 18 hours on and 12 hours off. That was only during the worst of it though when all of California's fire personnel were stretched very thin.
Wasn't that old wooden ventilation system great? I was amazed that there was anything left of it given how wet that mine was and how old it was... And, yes, it must have taken a lot of work to put that system together.
@@TVRExploring I know right, maybe the reason they are still as intact as they are is because the air doesn't change much where the wood is situated and the mud also helps to preserve it. xx
@@SueGirling68 Yes, probably something like that...
Great Video. the foot pedal on the double drum hoist would act like a dead man switch. In the coal mine I worked we used timber dogs to help set them in place and haul them.
I was trying to remember the name "dead man switch" that day, but it wasn't coming to me then. You're right!
Too hot to hang but nowhere to hide topside, so seeking virtual sanctuary deep underground. Crazy wooden ventilation system! Thanks much for keeping those flames at bay!
You are very poetic 💫
Very cool seeing that Pelton Wheel! Thanks for adding the map, it gave me better perspective of where you where and how large this mine is!
Thank you for taking us along.
damnit man, you really get me with these to be continued videos :) hahaha. As always, thank you so much for making these! I'm always excited to see a new TVR exploring video show up on my feed!
Glad you like them!
Exceptional photography, perfect lighting, it's nice seeing the mineralization, fantastic video...!
Many thanks!
Many thanks!
Hi Justin You must be one of the luckiest guy on CZcams. I would love to been able to see this place live. Such great stuff there, not quite as good as the 16 to 1 but very nice. Thanks again for the video
Not to rub it in, but I definitely felt like the luckiest guy alive to be there that day! That was an incredible opportunity... And, yes, it is almost impossible to top the 16 to 1, but this was a really interesting one as well.
Wow amazing such a different world underground enjoying all your adventures in orr of ore
You and Mines of the West are my go to for mine exploring vids! Nobody even comes close! Enjoyed it as always :)
Thank you very much. That means a lot to me... He is a great guy to go out mine exploring with!
When Duane starts talking in hushed tones or whispering you know you better pay attention where you're walking and won't touch the ribs and stuff.
This is very true!
Just want to say thanks for the great vdeo's, living in the Placerville area, I have no need to explore any of these old mines , since you've done it for us..keeps us safe. Thanks
You're thick in a lot of mining history in Placerville! Hard to find accessible mines in that area though...
Superb stuff. Never a dull moment....
Another great mine!! Love the map, it really helps lay it out. The mining museum in Lead SD has a wire 3D map of the Homestake mine on displace thats beautiful! Stay safe out there yall.
A good friend of mine worked at the Homestake this year. They're building an underground lab complex using a lot of the old mine infrastructure and workings; it's supposed to be a ten-year project with hundreds of thousands of tons mined. It's a really neat mine. One of my contacts (mining equipment dealer/trader) traded for ten Wagner ST-2 LHDs when they shut the Homestake down...he's still sore about it and says it was shut down too early due to mismanagement.
Headframe Hunters , I worked a mine that was mismanaged , their greed caused a mine collapse.
@@Porty1119 yea they have a video and info on it at the museum/info center. Cool area too
@@muleskinnermining8661 I believe we talked about that operation previously. Siskyon or something like that?
Outstanding job on telling us and explaining what's what and how things worked thank you very much
Thank you very much. Glad it helped...
Boy, some areas of that mine were extremely difficult to traverse. Great viewing , thanks to all for taking us along. Really appreciate your written report/ explanation also.
Thank you for coming along. And thank you for reading the description! Not many people do...
A very nice one again, saw some interesting things like that air box.
Glad you enjoyed it
What a great mine and a great Video
Out of this place
But certainly a good guide who Shows you all up
Thanks for sharing your adventure
Yours Frank
It was fantastic to connect with him!
Amazing explore!
Thank you. Yes, I felt very fortunate to gain access to this one...
Absolutely awesome video as always.
Glad you enjoyed it... Having Duane along was great.
@@TVRExploring yes his knowledge is astounding. But when you are good at something and you do it long enough that tends to happen.
@@vincefroggatt3335 This is true...
Very cool.. I cant help but to wonder , how much fine gold is under foot in those shafts . Panning time . Thank's
Probably a decent amount!
A lovely one to explore, the ground reminds me of so many mines I looked at over here in the UK, flooded winzes are the norm here too!
A lot of Cornish miners worked this area. They must have felt right at home!
Thanks Duane
Such an excellent mine and bit of history! And, once again, Duane proves to be an amazing tour guide.
This mine definitely challenges the common knowledge about widespread use of electricity.
Justin - what did you mean by "coming off the fire line?"
Yes, I can't thank Duane enough for making this and the 16 to 1 tour happen. And, yes, this mine had a lot of money when all manner of technological innovations were being rolled out. So, they happened to pioneer a lot of these - like that first Pelton Wheel.
In the summers, I come back to California. When I am not doing mine stuff, I work with the local fire department for fire and medical/rescue calls. We had a significant forest fire in our area while I was in the process of working on these videos. So, I was out helping fight the fires and coming back off of the line during my breaks to work on these videos.
@@TVRExploring That's kind of what I thought you meant. My hubby is a full-time firefighter and is at Bobcat right now.
@@AGDinCA Gotcha. Well, he's definitely been a busy boy then if he's on that one!
Looks like a Gardner Denver slusher. I've got an Ingersoll-Rand I picked up for a steal in Fresno along with two LHDs and a stack of mine phones. I'll shout from the rooftops about the utility of slushers - in real narrow stopes and old workings, they'll do things that LHDs will never be able to, and for far cheaper.
I took delivery of two pieces of equipment yesterday - you'll want to see this stuff.
You're putting together an empire out there!
And, yes, I have definitely been impressed by the utility of slushers...
@@TVRExploring I'm not sure I'd call it an empire, but we DO have the only rubber-tire loading/haulage fleet in the area! There are several mines I've explored that have potential for near-term production, and between my underground equipment and the surface equipment belonging to an associate, we have the capability to bang out 50tpd of high-grade with a good crew.
@@Porty1119 That's at least a small empire in my book. I hope you get loads of work...
Whats intricate mine worked by hand, tips hat. Thank you for getting duanne to venture along.
great video
Thank you.
So that jack or "break" shown in the first vid looks like it's the same "locking mechanism" for those old wooden ore carts...neat!
Exactly.
That was pretty cool
As far as guides go I think Duane is the best.
21:55 No veins, but you can see something glittering (pyrites?) in the rock. Maybe thats what led them on?
21:45 That's because the vein is 24 inches under their feet, and holds the largest gold deposit in North America.
This is likely a stupid question, but if that was a skateboard, did a miner actually ride that on the tracks to get around the mine quickly? (I would've thought that was one of those things that carried tools up and down raises)
He was joking - it kind of looked like an oversized skateboard.
Crazy to think how close that was the the 16 to 1. Has to make a guy wonder how much gold is still up in those hills. When I was a kid, 50 plus years ago, I had an old timer tell me he believed there was more gold under the pavement of the old 2 lane Hwy 20 between Rough and Ready and the Grass Valley City limits than there was in Ft. Knox. He seemed serious, too. Setting the hook in a kid with stars in his eyes, probably. He did a good job setting it I remember him saying it like it was yesterday. LOL
Great content as usual, stay safe you guys.
Funny how an offhand comment can stick with us for our whole lives... I imagine that old timer was right about the gold!
Other than all the cool equipment I find the white quartz striations in the dark rock most cool.
Something about the quartz... Yes, I love it as well.
You mean a big beautiful looking winze!
Excellent work! I take it that the Rainbow and the 16-to-1 don't connect; are they still pumping that one out? Anyway, thanks for taking us stay-at-homes with you, and stay safe!
Thank you. No, they are close to each other, but they do not connect underground. I don't know what the current status of the Sixteen to One is, but I would love to know.
Last I heard, the Sixteen-to-One was temporarily closed due to COVID, not sure beyond that
any chance of punching out the foot of the mountain to drain that water out of the mine? with modern tunneling equipment no more back slushing required
get it all out ...
👍
Does the gold lie on top of the quartz or inside it? I'm always wondering why they follow the quartz vein but leave it behind like in the 16/1 mine everyone looks with wonder at the quartz but its still in the mine!
Not all quartz has gold in it... Some quartz is stuffed with gold and other quartz is completely barren.
Gold rides an Iron horse, I beleive that is flow gold and requires deadly acids to process. Different from placer gold deposits. Just an amateur hole digger!
Would you use the stamp mill shoe as a counter weight on a hoist operation?
I suppose it could have been used for that. Really, that's about the only sensible suggestion I've heard so far for why that stamp mill shoe was in there... Thank you.
They left behind a lot of nice quartz
Yes, looked nice, but if there was any appreciable gold in it, I'm sure they would have removed it (always possible to miss some though).
Yes, exactly. It looked delicious, but it must not have assayed out well enough to excite the miners.
goldy quarz and river of iron right ? still some good stuff?
very wet but very good
Well said!
Edit, fascinating story about the gold. Was there any report on the value of the huge free gold piece they found.? Hallidie must've been freinds with Tesla?
I read after my first comment........hope you and yours are safe, its a damn mess up here in Douglas Cty.!
1,000,000 acres burned in the State.
I don't know about the value of the free gold, but it must have been a lot!
Yes, we had a recent fire burn to within about a mile of our home and property, which is a tad close, but we're still ok! I hope you are as well!
Thanks for making the video.
Is all that dripping water safe to drink?
That depends. The water in some mines is toxic, in others it has been used for town water supply. This mine didn't seem too bad (compared to some), but I would want to get it tested if I was going to drink a lot of it.
@@daveg2104
Thanks
I did the math at today's price of over 1966 an ounce, that 149lbs of gold would come out to over 4 6 million dollars. I goofed and forgot one gold pound is 16 oz not 12 oz so I was off by over 1 million dollars.
That is pretty wild... Almost 5 million dollars from four hours of work.
Does this mine cross into the 16 to 1 mine or are they totally separate?
They are totally separate.
TVR Exploring It almost appears to have very similar rock formations. Are they near each other at all.
Glad I was never a minner. This one had so much rock not any gold very expensive one
No gold only on that last drift; the mine was very successful! Read the story under the video heading!
why do u not take a metal detector with u and scan the walls as u walk past?
The passages would have been mostly gold bearing quartz or just a fraction of the space would have been valuable to the miners?
The passage they walked along was the haulageway. The areas they mined for gold bearing quartz were up those ore passes (and maybe down those flooded winzes). An area where ore has been removed from is known as a stope - there is an area marked on that map as "old stope". If the passage was following a vein, it would be called a drift, and if the vein was large/rich enough to mine, you would see where they removed the ore body. If you haven't seen them yet, you should watch the videos of the 16 to 1 Mine (on this channel), where you can see what happens when large bodies of ore (quartz in this case) are mined out.
@DaveG Thank you for dropping the great information in the comments...
@@daveg2104 Thanks for the detailed explanation! I wish I had the time to go back and watch the 16 to 1 series.
Duane would be awesome to work with
People keep reporting squealing and high pitched noises in youtube videos. every time that happens I download the audio and there is no high pitched sustained noises of any kind, and youtube audio cuts off at 15000hz you can download that czcams.com/video/PAsMlDptjx8/video.html and see for your self.
I didn't notice it when watching the video (I'm not using headphones), but I randomly went to around 7:50 and turned the volume up, and I can hear a faint high pitched tone that comes and goes.
The stabilizer was starting to fail when I shot this video. The high pitch is the sound of it dying...
@@TVRExploring That it explains it then. I didn't really notice until I deliberately listened for it. But then, I wasn't using headphones.
What is that squeeling noise in the background of all your videos?
Wondered the same. Very clear in some scenes.
Buy him a new camera maybe it will stop
@@earljohnson7675 So it's him squealing?😂
do you ever get to find and keep any gold?
We've seen gold in some of the old underground placer mines that have caved. The miners never would have left visible gold behind though.
wow 5th..
Why is it you guys go through all these gold mines and never so us any pieces of gold? I know there’s got to be a flake in there somewhere 🤔
Because the miners would have never left behind any visible gold...
I wonder if these guys would let me come in and do some mining.. I'm also one hell of a mechanic and a rigor... no cash needed take my pay in gold
Tony Hawks grandpa worked this mine?
Little known fact...
@@TVRExploring He rode that board in to pieces.
“That oxygen meter can get really annoying at times”. Yeah... oxygen is over rated asf.