Guest Gripper Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Hi Gents, This weekends mission is scouting/detecting a placer drift mine. In through an air shaft, yeah, ropes and all. Might be as dangerous as driving there (know what I'm saying?). My question is: does anyone have advice for detecting these ancient channels in drift mines?(other than it's dangerous/scary/yikes/etc.) Experience? Thanks, GripperSD2100 11"monoPS, my mining buddy found gold in quartz with a eureka gold recently, real nice specimen. Need to bust out the XT18000 soon. The SD doesn't even make a sound on this rock...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedrock Bob Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Been doin it for years. Keep your air monitor on at all times and any time the oxygen goes below 20% get the hell out. Ventilate if you can. Hanging walls in a placer drift are often unstable and keep an eye out wherever you see a lot of fallen muck as this is where things are unstable. Dont work the pillars too hard and always wear a headlamp around our neck in addition to the one on your head.Other than that it is a walk in the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Put me on your life insurance!...I'll even chip in the premium.......Placer ground + drifts= dead guy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I hope you know what your doing,If there are crackes along the ceiling ,Dont go in,It aint no walk in the park,I go in to old mines alot. but i inspect the lid,Poke the at loose stuff,Also alway ready to run out,it is a choice and not a good one, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Pan Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Definitely not an endeavor I would recommend for a novice. NEVER alone!If you do go in the mine, take 3 guys and have one wait outside.When it comes right down to it, you can't be too carefull.I have a shaft and adit on my claim. The workings were going straight downwhen it was active. I'm working on an idea for getting some samples from thebottom of the shaft, without, going inside. I have a good plan together but it's still a year away before I can attempt a sample. I could get a sample sooner but that would mean going down inside. Sorry, nope, not me. Oh ya, it's full of water too. :yuk-yuk: Sure, I can pump it out, and I gave it serious thought, but who knows how weakthe walls have gotten. I think I can use a make shift cable drill and an "elevator"to get some samples. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvchris Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 If you do take Bedrock Bobs advice then be sure to take Uncle Ron's."don't work the pillars to hard" lol, working the pillars is the same as removing shoring. The most dangerous miner is one with a callous "walk in the park" attitude. They're the ones who most often take risks and dangerous shortcuts. In fact MSHA data identifies the most injuries/deaths groups as new miners and surprise, the most experienced miners simply because of the "been doing it for years" attitude.Find out where the ore (gravel) was processed, sample the ground/tailings around the lowest portal.This is one of those thing that a person needs proper training and a team of professionals to survive and prosper at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gripper Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Thanks for the replies. My friend and I didn't end up rappelling into the air shaft after all. It turns out that an easily upset skunk lives in there, and he sprayed the heck out of our rope as soon as we threw it down. All I can say is that we almost couldn't breathe from the skunk stench flowing up out of the hole. I am sure some of you know what I am talking about. What to do about the skunk I don't know, but that project is on hold for now. I am a timber faller/climber by trade. Osha's #2 most dangerous job. So I might die trying to pay my bills or doing something I love (mining), but who the heck knows! My livelyhood is centered around calculated risk, not avoiding risk all together. I'm not trying to beat my parents to the grave but a long and boring life running from every risk sounds like a prison sentence to me. Bedrock, what kind of oxygen monitor do you use? I have looked at the posionous gas detectors for mining/confined spaces but have yet to buy anything. I try to only spend time in mines with positive ventalation at this time. Plenty of those where I live. I walk away from adits about 50% of the time, mostly because of evidence of cave ins. Right now I am typing on a computer, not swinging the coil. Time to change that. Again, thanks for the replies.Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I'm not superstitious, but if that's an omen, it couldn't be much more clear what it means. -sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I was in the Virginia City in 6 mile and had the floor disappear out from under my feet and ended up having to pull myself out of a 100's a feet deep ore shaft that was covered over with dirt over rotten timbers. Nuttn' more dangerous as falling and smashing up against the wall and your headlamp don't even reach the bottom of the hole!!! 1 word of advise--put good sized knots in your rope to get footholds on to hoist your butt up on as much MUCH easier than freestyle :twocents: and partner up or perish like those fellas last year lookn' fer the Dutchmans hoax,never did anyone find even a trace of them left!!! ---John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I was in the Virginia City in 6 mile and had the floor disappear out from under my feet and ended up having to pull myself out of a 100's a feet deep ore shaft that was covered over with dirt over rotten timbers. Nuttn' more dangerous as falling and smashing up against the wall and your headlamp don't even reach the bottom of the hole!!! 1 word of advise--put good sized knots in your rope to get footholds on to hoist your butt up on as much MUCH easier than freestyle :twocents: and partner up or perish like those fellas last year lookn' fer the Dutchmans hoax,never did anyone find even a trace of them left!!! ---JohnWe see that over and over here in Arizona... The Superstitions have a habit of making folks vanish without a trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Wiseman Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 The ceiling is called the back and hanging wall in hard rock is the east or higher wall on a vein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Last time I went into a tunnel was about 25 years ago...I was chipping samples out of the footwall when a huge section of the hanging wall came down...Missed me by about 2 feet...Since then I made a deal with God, I don't go into tunnels and He don't make me! Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gripper Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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