Exploring an Abandoned 1870s Silver Mine in Poverty Gulch
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2024
- Finally! I made it to the abandoned Max Clayton Mine in Poverty Gulch! This was a silver mine that got started in the 1870s and was a fairly big producer of silver ore. A very small amount of copper was mined here, too. Mining operations shut down shortly after the start of the 20th century.
I joined forces with Nick from @Miner49er1 for this underground adventure in the Max Clayton Mine. The entrance to this abandoned mine was one of the more dangerous ones I have seen with overhead timbers in the portico that were severely sagging and near the breaking point from the tremendous weight of the rocks above them. Once safely inside the mine, Nick and I discovered large stopes both above and below the main haulage tunnel. It was quite a fascinating mine with impressive workings!
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NOTE: This video was shot in stunning 4K resolution at 60 fps. If your viewing device can handle it, be sure to watch this video in 4K to experience cinematic supremacy!
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#ExploringAbandonedMines
#AbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#undergroundexploration
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I’ve been watching your channel since about 2016. For some of reason I just have a slight fascination about abandon mines. I remember staying home from school because I was sick, and I just binged these videos all day lol.
Cool, thanks! All of us who explore abandoned mines understand and appreciate your “slight fascination” about them. LOL Thanks for being a viewer from all the way back in 2016.
@@AbandonedMines11you’re welcome! I respect the work and effort you put into these videos.
What state is this mine located
How many mines have you explored
What mine exploration video is your favorite on this channel?
Hell ya man! That's because abandoned mines are awesome! @@magnusclapront947
@@magnusclapront947 This particular mine is in Nevada. If I had to guess how many mines I’ve explored over the last 16 years or so, I would say it’s probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 500. There has been a handful of mines I’ve explored and documented that have become favorites. If I had to pick out the best one, though, it would be the three-part series I did on the Wicked Wash Mine. That was a cool little mine that I did a lot of research on before going to it. Ended up being about 500 feet deep on an incline with three or four explorable levels.
@@AbandonedMines11 awesome, thanks for being so kind to answer my questions!!
All square cut nails throughout too! Thanks for taking us along Frank!
Thanks for watching, John! I did not notice any square-head nails in my footage, so I’ll have to go back through and take a closer look. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if there are square-headed nails in there since the mine dates from the 1870s.
Excellent video, Frank! The entrance looked incredibly sketchy, I give both you and Nick credit for crawling through it.
I hope all is well, stay safe.
Hey, Dan! Nice hearing from you again! Thanks for stopping by and checking out this latest video. Yes, that entrance won’t be open much longer, I think. I was glad that Nick and I were able to get the mine documented as best we could. Definitely ended up being a cool little mine to explore. As always, thank you for your support.
goodness gracious holy cow i'm shocked to see a new upload here. your videos of shadows passing in caves, chains swinging on their own, whispers only the camera heard etc are some of the scariest things ever documented. happy to see you still doing your thing.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! Yes, I’m pretty much back to uploading on a much more regular basis now. Took the last year or two off and wasn’t uploading very often. Thanks for your support!
Love the rock colors in this mine! Thanks again for exploring for us!
There were some nice colors in this mine, that’s for sure. I’m glad you noticed them. Thank you very much for your support and interest.
Thank you for uploading such a fascinating video. I appreciate all you do, from Wales, UK.
Hey, Phil! Thank you very much for taking the time to watch and comment. I appreciate it. It’s nice having a fan all the way over there in Wales.
Interesting mine. Dodgy entrance and exit that might go any time.
Thanks for the tour Frank.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for all of your support here on my channel over the years. 👍
Hello Frank started to watch this explore and poof you said else ware you got a new camera boy it looks like you are getting every detail spot on and your lighting is Great this makes the exploring more and more like we all are in your (pocket) and not missing any thing your detail along the way is more adventurous.Exporing mines one never knows what we shall see even in a spilt second .p.s. I was in a big mining area by a pond and seen on hill side water was coming out 3/4 of the way up took a picture on 35mm camera got developed and seen about 15 images of faces and skulls in the picture but did not see any of them when picture was taken it made my (HAIR) stand on end .Any way glad your back 🏆⛏️🤔
Thanks for checking in, Case! Your story about seeing all the skulls and faces in a developed photograph that weren’t there when you took the photograph is pretty chilling! Thanks for the feedback on the 4K video quality and the lighting. I appreciate it. Always upgrading equipment when I can afford to and when the technology allows it. Sounds like you enjoyed the video! Thanks again for your support - I appreciate it.
This mine has an interesting layout, i never knew that wood tracks were a thing.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, the wooden ore cart tracks with metal strapping were much cheaper than buying real tracks made out of metal. It’s cool that these wooden tracks are still in this mine because they probably date back to the 1870s or 1880s.
Awesome video Frank ...
That Portal entrance looked very sketchy with debris from a recent collapse .also that mine has been extensively worked with alot of tunnels
Thanks for your comment! Yes, turned out to be a somewhat extensive mine with a lot of upper levels in the stopes. We weren’t able to access any of those, unfortunately. The ladders just weren’t in the best condition. I appreciate you taking some time out of your Sunday to check out my video - thanks!
Nice another great mine exploration there! Always take care my dude!
Thanks! Will do!
A very nice entrance, and a nice mine, with some potential i guess.
I think so too. Thanks for checking in, Rolf!
This was such a great mine to explore! I'm glad we were able to get out and have an adventure. It's alway a pleasure hanging out with you!
It certainly was an adventure! I still can’t believe it had been two years since we had gotten together. This ended up being a cool little silver mine. Will be looking forward to your video of it to see things from your perspective. Thanks for stopping by, Nick!
Nice little video! Your channel was the original channel that got me in to mine exploring videos ,ages ago and since then have watched thousands of them from all the different explorer's on TH-cam plus I have actually been down some lead mines here in the UK.
So thanks for the inspiration and good to see you back exploring!👍🏼
Thank you!
Very cool, Alvin! Yes, I think I was one of the first if not the first explorer to start posting videos on TH-cam all the way back in 2008 or whenever that was. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this for that long. Glad I was an inspiration for you, though! You’re not the first explorer who’s told me that. We’re all in this together, and we’re doing a good thing by getting these abandoned mines documented on video before they are gone forever. Stay safe over there across the pond and keep on exploring!
Yep ,I was watching those early ones! Lol
Those Dry mines look lovely compared to the soggy old things over here!🙂
I hear you about that! Yes, the desert climate out here certainly preserves things pretty well. I’ve watched some of the UK explorers’ channels and, yes, a lot of their mines are seriously wet!
Good to see you back at it Frank!
Thanks, Jeff! Thanks for watching and commenting. I appreciate the support.
Whoa, portal looked sketchy! Flat strap! Awesome! Thats always cool to see! Maybe that wierd curve was from some wind somewhere? Hence the tumbleweed?? Interesting stringer veins. Good edit bro!
That definitely was one of the more sketchy portals I have seen in recent years. That mine won’t be open much longer, that’s for sure! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the video, Todd. I appreciate it. Yes, the wooden ore cart tracks with metal strapping are interesting. This was a silver mine, so I’m not sure if those stringers I pointed out had anything to do with the silver that was being mined.
those wood tracks are mad
Aren’t they, though? As I mentioned in the video, that was the cheaper way of getting ore cart tracks instead of buying ones made out of metal. Thanks for watching and commenting!
❤❤Thank you for doing the translation. I understand your words because of the translation
You’re welcome! Thanks for letting me know that the translations help you out.
@@AbandonedMines11 ♥♥🫂
Very much enjoyed this explore frank and the details you show us 🙌🏻
Thanks 👍
I love your videos. Thanks for sharing them.
Hey, Erick! Glad you enjoy my videos and are getting something out of them. I appreciate hearing that. Thank you very much for your support. More videos coming soon!
Really awesome stuff as always!
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! I appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Early gang! 🎉 This mine is so cool ❤ The stringers and the muck plates were neat finds.
Thanks for your enthusiastic support! Yes, the muck plates are quite common in these mines. Such primitive technology, but it certainly worked and got the job done.
I've seen those types of rail here in Bituminous and Anthracite Coal Mines. Haven't seen the metal atop the wood though, just straight up wood.
Wow! I have never seen a wooden ore cart track with NO metal strapping on it out here. Not once. That is pretty cool that you have wooden rails back there with no metal strapping on them. I guess forgoing the metal strapping altogether is the absolute cheapest way of getting ore cart tracks in one’s mine. Thanks for watching and commenting, King of Coal!
@@AbandonedMines11 hahaha, the King has added his two cents! Ya, saw it in an actual Colliery (Company owned) Anthracite mine once. Saw it in a bootleg independent Bituminous mine once too. I have a video posted, think it's called something like "the ultimate bootleg independent Bituminous Coal Mine experience" hah! The rail is cool as hell. Small ass mine too, reminded me of the original Willy Wonka movie when they were walking down the hallway and it was getting smaller and smaller. That mine was like that, with wooden rail. Was like a mine for babies, lol.
Yes, it seems the smaller mines were more often using wooden ore cart tracks out here. The bigger, richer mines could afford the metal tracks. I’ve been in some mines out here where the tunnels were extremely low, and we literally had to duck walk and things like that. I don’t understand why they would make such low clearance tunnels.
@@AbandonedMines11 Ikr? It's madness. I've been in such mega low hell tunnels and workings here. Literally death crawls as we call them. Crazy how all that rail sits out your way abandoned though, it's like in mint condition. That mine rail is worth mega cash today. I posted that video on my community tab btw, if you're bored, it is shown at the 5 minute mark till like 6 min mark. Glad you got me to remember the wooden rail. I gotta get up to this spot again here, a massively rural mountain spot in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Picturesque is an understatement. I wish I could show the outside scenes, but it'd dox the mine...
Apparently that stoppe did reach the surface with the tumbleweed laying on the tracks indicating so.
Good observation, Michael! Either that, or it blew in from the main haulage tunnel that we entered by. Either way, there was a ton of airflow in this mine which is very reassuring. Now that I think about it, it’s quite rare to find tumbleweeds inside these mines! Thanks for pointing that out!
Thanks for showing us history!
You bet! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment - I appreciate it.
Awesome!!
Thanks, man!
I love finding wooden doors inside of mines. Cool info about the wooden rails, I didn't know about that! I've never seen a metal chute gate like that before. Were you able to find any open stopes higher up on the mountain? Awesome video!
Nick scouted higher on the hillside and, yes, did find several openings but most were inaccessible due to collapses. Yeah, the wooden ore cart rails with metal strapping pop up every once in a while when exploring these abandoned mines. Primitive technology! Thanks, man, for stopping by and checking out the video. I appreciate it. Hope to see some new vids from you soon, too!
God damn Frankie it's good to hear your voice and see all these videos Man.... always need you my brother 😂
As always, I appreciate your support here. Next time you’re passing through Menifee, let me know!
Now that looks like fun
It sure was! Thanks, Jeff, for checking out the video.
Muito bom, acompanho seu canal desde aqui do Brasil, já estive no Chile lá existem muitas minas idem a esta, espero algum dia ir novamente a uma que fui e era enorme e te enviar o vídeo, logo mais vou novamente aos EUA e pretendo fazer algumas explorações como esta sua, claro com todo cuidado e cautela. Like
Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Yes, I’ve heard there are some mines down there in Chile where you live. Sounds like you’ve done a little bit of abandoned mine exploration yourself. Keep going!
Nice great video
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your support.
thanks Frank. i was going to say i was right there with you and then you said it. actually it looks like im in front on my screen. lets go again.
I appreciate your comment! Thank you. I’m very grateful that viewers like yourself are able to follow along underground with me. Thanks for all of your long-time support here on my channel, too!
Very interesting channel❤
Thanks for visiting, Deena! I appreciate it.
Hi Frank i really enjoy your channel... I look forward to many more videos... Hey stay out of caves with swinging chaines and weird noises💀💀💀.
Thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoy my videos and are getting something out of them. Thanks for letting me know.
is your friend ahead of you at 9:26 right before you say “we just came from that way” there’s a shadow of someone is walking across your shot. pretty neat.
Hey, Travis! Thanks for your comment. You are the second viewer who has pointed out something strange around 9:25 or 9:26 in the video. I looked at that spot but I don’t see the shadow you are talking about. Nick was not down there with me. He had already explored that drift on his own and was waiting for me back at the four-way junction. If you could be a bit more specific about this shadow you’re seeing and where it is in the frame, that might be helpful. I am just not seeing it for some reason.
@@AbandonedMines11 I see that too... especially if you slow the video to 0.25 speed, right at the furthest point ahead in the tunnel, there clearly is what looks like a figure going right to left behind the corner... probably the shadows from the light and angled walls, etc, but it definitely looks a little spooky!
@@AbandonedMines11 I played it on a large screen tv- there’s someone else with a white shirt and blue jeans at the end of the tunnel walking left. for real. thanks for taking a look. love your videos
I still don’t see it, but I’m watching it on my mobile device. Nick was not wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt. He was wearing a long sleeved, plaid button-up shirt and a different color of pants. I know it definitely wasn’t blue jeans and a white T-shirt.
Greetings from Algeria
Greetings from USA 🇺🇸
Hello! Thanks for chiming in all the way from Algeria! I appreciate it. It’s nice to have you here.
Good video man still driving the old Toyota? I bet it’s got a million miles by now
Thanks for the comment, Mike! Yes, I still have the Corolla although I don’t drive it as much these days because I have a second car. I haven’t checked the odometer in quite some time, but I think it was approaching 440,000 miles if I’m not mistaken.
Did you ever address why you semi-quit a few years back? Was it a bad experience? I watched this channel religiously for years and was surprised to see it come to an end, especially after you had mentioned upcoming videos of mines in Mexico. I'm glad you came back, though!
Hey, Jessica! Back in May 2017 when I announced my “retirement,“ I really was getting burned out on exploring abandoned mines. At that point, I had been doing it for about ten years or so. Pretty much nonstop, too. If you hung around back then, you noticed that I really cut back the number of videos I was uploading in a given year after that point. I was still getting out there but with much less frequency than I had before. However, I’m back in the saddle now and hope to be putting out new videos on a more regular basis going forward. I probably won’t reach the frenzy that I was doing back in 2016 or thereabouts when the channel was going gangbusters, though. At any rate, I appreciate viewers like you who have hung around for the long haul and who continue to support my work here. Thank you very much! Stay tuned for new videos coming very soon!
@@AbandonedMines11I get it Frank. So much work goes into this hobby brother.
You got that right, Jude! The mine in this video is about 450 miles away from where I live. That’s a 900 mile round-trip for a ten minute video. On top of that, we had to follow an old miners’ trail up a steep mountainside that was rocky as hell and then follow an old mining road on top of the mesa back to where the mine’s portal was. And you saw how jacked up that portal was to begin with! But it’s all worth it if people are enjoying the footage and getting something out of it. All I need to do now is get your ass out here and in a couple videos. People I’ve spoken to out here are very curious about the King of Coal.
@@AbandonedMines11 hahahaha that's funny about the mythological Coal King. 🤟The 900 mile round trip is epic A.F. Did you stay in a hotel?! The hiking I get, but the driving is rough! Wow! Dedication there man. Everything out West is far I noticed the one time I got out there. Was a week of just driving, lmfao. Meteor Crater (think it's called that), Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Petrified Forest Park, Canyon Lands Park, Monument something, Arches in Utah, Salt Lake in Utah, Silverton Durango Railroad trip (went by some abandoned mines going up that MTN, I was ready to hop off the train to go look at them, lol) and some other places, did that all in 6 days, was madness. Spent like 30 minutes at every site, wasn't my trip, was just a tag along, total 💩 show.
Nick and I actually camped out for a couple nights. There were other accessible mines (BIG mines) in the area that we checked out, too. I’ll have probably three or four videos total from the entire trip. Regardless, it’s still a 900 mile round-trip. When I was starting out back in 2010, I was going to the mines that were much closer to my home for which I could do day-trips. But as time went on I explored most of those and had to keep going further and further out. Now I’m crossing state lines - sometimes not once but twice! One of these days I’ll find myself back there in Pennsylvania where I expect to be granted an audience with the King of Coal. LOL
good to see ya back at it frank .that entrance wasn't much of a welcome
Thanks, man! Yes, that entrance probably won’t be around much longer. It’s already partially collapsed as you saw in the video. One more of those and anybody wanting to go in there will have to bring a shovel - or anybody trapped inside will have to dig their way out! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Jeff Williams just did a video about the geology in these types of mines, and it looks pretty similar to the example he was using of those thin contact zones and how those old timers worked the fault lines.
Hola Frank, sigo tus videos hace muchos años desde Argentina. Cuándo harás un video mostrando tu cara para conocerte? Un saludo amigo!
¡Hola Alex! Gracias por todo su apoyo a lo largo de los años desde Argentina. De vez en cuando puedes verme en videos hechos por algunos de los otros exploradores con los que he salido. 😀
That's a sketchy mine opening!
It sure was! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the video, Danny - I appreciate it.
I want to see a TH-cam colab with Frank and Shango066
I've been looking at used cars to replace my 2001 with 115kmi and for what people want for their rolling junk... I'd still be better off repairing mine. That's always been the case every time I think about selling one of my vehicles. It pays to do care and maintenance.
I agree!
@@AbandonedMines11 lol thanks. That was supposed to post on a ProjectFarm video not here! (Your video was next on my playlist) Dios Mio! I appreciate your work, I've been watching for idk... Years!
👋
Thanks for checking out the video, Lincoln!
Whats amazing is back in the 1800s they still had the ability to SMASH through mountains and make these tunnels
Very true! While researching this mine and others in the area, I found an old photograph from the late 1800s or something like that showing a mine inspector in one of the mines using a handheld candle for light!
@@AbandonedMines11 Those guys had such a hard life. I can't even imagine especially without any real safety guidelines like OSHA
Yeah, I’ve mentioned before in other videos how OSHA would never approve of the working conditions in these
old mines. Things were so unregulated back then - and very dangerous!
there are countless
😦😦😧😧😳😳
Thanks for your comment!
Look 9:25 😱😱😱😱 What's that?
Hey, Eric! Another viewer pointed out the same anomaly that you pointed out. However, I have looked at that spot in the video and don’t see anything. Nick was not with me at that point in the video. He had already explored that particular drift tunnel and was waiting for me back at the four-way junction so we could get out of there and move onto the next site. I wish I could see in the video what you say you saw.
Hello my friend any idea what was that whispers voice in that mine back year
Abdullah! Good to hearing from you again, man! It’s been a while. But then I haven’t been posting many videos recently. But don’t worry - I’m back at it again! Thanks for all of your support over the years. Regarding the voices, some have said they are jinn.
@@AbandonedMines11 I am really carious about this mine is they Jin or they lost souls coz in end of that mine I see something suspicious
Bit of the sniffles there mate? Found it distracting to watch, so i turned off the sound.
Yes, use the closed-captions instead. Unlike most TH-camrs, I am very careful to edit the closed-captions in all my videos so that the grammar, spelling, and syntax are correct. And I translate the English closed-captions into 16 or 17 other languages, too! Sorry for the sniffles. The high altitude I was at, the exertion, and the dry air is something I’m not accustomed to being that I live at sea level. Happens to all of us. As a matter fact, in my previous video, we all had the sniffles as we were hiking around the mountain! We were laughing about it and wondering why that was so.
Couldn't have been easy finding miners to go digging in 'Poverty Gulch.'
Very true! I do believe there are some old mines in the Funeral Mountains in Death Valley National Park as well. Sometimes a name is just a name, and sometimes it isn’t… LOL
Aye can you go searching for the M Cave again? At your last video on 5:07 it looked like u could’ve been under a hatch or door was under the dirt.
Thanks for your comment! I think I’ve pushed my luck as far as I can regarding the M Cave. My buddy Don didn’t re-enlist in the Air Force last year, so access to the base is very difficult for me now.
The iron staining at the entrance looks promising.
Hey, Drew! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the video.