Hello! Ive decided to become a hard rock miner!

[miner don]

Hello! I've decided to become a hard rock miner!

Hello,
I decided a few months ago that I needed a big change in my life and decided I was going to be a miner. Since then I've been absorbing as much information as possible about the mining laws, geology, mining, and safety. I've been chronicling my journey via my blog, youtube videos, and facebook.

I finally have my lode mining claim as a former producing copper/gold/silver/tungsten mine about 1.5 hours outside of Seattle. Currently I'm in the process of fixing up trails and reclearing/shoring up the mine entrances.

I figured I would come here to seek out advice from people more experienced in this arena. Learning is part of the fun!
thanks,
don

 

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Don
good luck

 

[Mad Machinist]

You best bet would be to find and team up with some others who have experience in this field. Most of the time there is no learning from your mistakes, there is only a funeral. Something that may "look okay" can actually be deadly.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Howdy Don!

First off, I see that is your first post: WELCOME TO T-NET!

I'm just around the Mtn. Loop from you, in Concrete, and I used to live
just outside GF. Never prospected up there, but years back I trapped that
area from GF over the top of Spada and down to Sultan. If I read your map
(on your Blog) correctly, your site is right off the old 4022, east of Spada?

Gonna be hard going up there in the winter months, if you can even
get there, but no doubt that has been factored in already. I wish you
all the best of success in your adventure!

On another note, I certainly hope your insecure girlfriend can get some
help, as if that kind of control-thing continues there is mucho misery in
your future. (been there, done that more than once).

 

[miner don]

(on your Blog) correctly, your site is right off the old 4022, east of Spada?

Gonna be hard going up there in the winter months, if you can even
get there, but no doubt that has been factored in already. I wish you
all the best of success in your adventure!

On another note, I certainly hope your insecure girlfriend can get some
help, as if that kind of control-thing continues there is mucho misery in
your future. (been there, done that more than once).

I'm just off USFS 4052 on Deer Creek just east of Silverton. Yes access in the wintertime will be difficult. I still need to stop by the ranger station and ask for a gate key now that I have all my paperwork in order.

Regarding the GF after 15+ years of rocky relationship we finally parted ways for good. Besides now I need a GF who likes the outdoors!

Thanks for the replies guys!
miner don

 

[DizzyDigger]

Yep, I used to know the area fairly well, but that was many, many moons ago.

Used to be a road I took known as "P5000", and it went from just south of
Granite Falls all the way over the top, past Spada and then down into town
on the other side. I don't see it on Google maps. Do you know if it's still there?

Another winter issue to be especially careful about up there is avalanches.
I had a co-worker who lost her son in an avalanche not to far from the ice caves.
If inside the shaft you would likely survive the avalanche, but having to dig out
could take awhile. Having an extra pack with food, water, batteries, etc. stashed
up near the adit could be a lifesaver.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Don,

I am not trying to be an A$$ here. I am just trying to keep you alive. If you watch Ghost Mine, go back to the episode where they were rehabbing the adit they found. There was a reason they were bolting the roof.

A couple of questions for you.

Do you know what rotten rock is?

Can you tell if the rib or back is shifting?

Do you know what scaling down is?

Do you have a solid situational awareness?

Are you willing to take the time to inspect the adit on your way in after a blast or will you just run in to see what you have found?

I've seen alot of bad things happen underground and it is no place for a greenhorn to be alone or an experienced miner for that fact. I am not trying to discourage you, just trying to give you solid advice to keep you alive and learn from those that know to keep this way of life alive.

 

[miner don]

Don,

I am not trying to be an A$$ here. I am just trying to keep you alive. If you watch Ghost Mine, go back to the episode where they were rehabbing the adit they found. There was a reason they were bolting the roof.

A couple of questions for you.

Do you know what rotten rock is?

Can you tell if the rib or back is shifting?

Do you know what scaling down is?

Do you have a solid situational awareness?

Are you willing to take the time to inspect the adit on your way in after a blast or will you just run in to see what you have found?

I've seen alot of bad things happen underground and it is no place for a greenhorn to be alone or an experienced miner for that fact. I am not trying to discourage you, just trying to give you solid advice to keep you alive and learn from those that know to keep this way of life alive.

no offense taken. i'm here to learn.

there are actually 3 adits with approx. 1000 feet of tunneling. The adits intersect the same continuous vein at the different elevations and lat/long coordinates. the host rock is granite (tonalite). The shafts were sunk in the mid 1890s using 3x compressed air drills from a pelton wheel run by the 100-foot falls on the claim. THe adits themselves are quite stable. I've done some scaling in the upper adit as the first 20 feet or so are in aluvial fill before it changes to granite. That entrance is reinforced, but it needs some remediation work.

The middle adit goes into straight granite, but the 10 feet or so outside the entrance need some scaling of loose rocks around the entrance.

The lower adit is the longest of the three. It's quite stable. In 100+ years there is virtually no fallen debris in the mine. THere are a few stoping platforms though of 100+ year-old timbers which are probably unsafe at this point.

I'm still at the stage of remediating trails and securing the mine entrances. Last weekend I rebuilt all of the foot bridges that crossed various creeks since they were 100+ years old and very unsafe.

regards,
don

 

[Mad Machinist]

Don,

If you can put some pics up of the shoring. 100 year old timber doesn't always mean it rotten. Depends on the conditions it has seen and whether or not experienced miners put it up.

anyway good luck and be safe.

 

[aa battery]

CAREFULL !!!!

 

[miner don]

@ mad

There's an archive of all my mining pics on the left side of my blog
Miner Don

Here are some relevant ones though:

upper adit as i first encountered it

upper adit after some outside remediation work.

looking just inside the upper adit

Upper adit looking back toward the entrance. Aluvial/glacial fill at this spot.

further inside the upper adit. no reinforcements

middle adit entrance. There was about 6 feet of debris flow infront of the adit. As you can see so far i've dug a narrow channel to drain the 3-feet of water from the adit.

looking directly above the middle adit entrance

middle adit

lower adit pre-remediation work

lower adit current state. moving trees is hard work!

face of adit in non-mineralized rock

lower adit looking back toward the entrance

Hopefully the pics give you better insight.
regards,
don

 

[gold tramp]

@ mad

There's an archive of all my mining pics on the left side of my blog
Miner Don

Here are some relevant ones though:
View attachment 869323
upper adit as i first encountered it
View attachment 869324
upper adit after some outside remediation work.
View attachment 869336
looking just inside the upper adit
View attachment 869320
Upper adit looking back toward the entrance. Aluvial/glacial fill at this spot.
View attachment 869337
further inside the upper adit. no reinforcements
View attachment 869321
middle adit entrance. There was about 6 feet of debris flow infront of the adit. As you can see so far i've dug a narrow channel to drain the 3-feet of water from the adit.
View attachment 869338
looking directly above the middle adit entrance
View attachment 869340
middle adit
View attachment 869343
lower adit pre-remediation work
View attachment 869349
lower adit current state. moving trees is hard work!
View attachment 869345
face of adit in non-mineralized rock
View attachment 869346
lower adit looking back toward the entrance

Hopefully the pics give you better insight.
regards,
don

looks like you got a mine, out side of a few days muckin and repairing your entrance, looks like its fairly solid inside but im just looking at a pic, from what I see it looks to be of solid rock.
looks like you don't have a whole lot of water, how are your samples do they have good values?
be safe in your workings.........

 

[Mad Machinist]

don,

I had to consult the Magic 8 ball, the Ouija board, and make sure the planets were aligned in the right position for this. But here goes.


Just kidding.

You'll need this in your adventures. Mine timbering.

Mine timbering - Wilbur E. Sanders, Bernard MacDonald, Norman W. Parlee - Google Books

 

[Dustedyou]

So I was sitting there Knee Deep in Ore and tailings, Chisel in hand, pocket full of Leaverite, Sledge in the other hand and somone says they wana " Hard ROCK mine "! WELCOME to the Crusty bunch! lol

I wish you the best and don't hesitate to ask any question... Now for a clear understanding of most of us:

1. Were OLD "Most of us" and our bones don't like us much.
2. We've all spent tons of time pondering the best way to do what we need to to get out the gold, WELL and it really depends on the rock you have as to how much help we can be.
3. There are no "Dumb" Questions... Altho I have made some DUMB statements.
4. WEre all going to tell you the best way to make a million dollars... well Start with 2.

GL and may you find the next Comstock load!

 

[miner don]

thanks for the link on square-set timbering. When i started doing research into Hard Rock mining it was one of the things I came across. My issue with it is that my mine is in a higher elevation, old growth forest. Thus the trees are either 5-feet in diameter and 3/4s decayed, or too small. Had it been in a second-growth forest finding timber would be much easier. The old timers cut down most of the really nice trees 100+ years ago. I see large stumps with springboard slots cut into them all over my claim.

I'm 39 years old. Does that put me into the grumpy-old-oldtimers club or do I still have time left?

There are many reasons I wanted to do this. Squeaking out a living was just one of them. I've spent much of my life sitting in an office infront of a bank of computers as a software engineer. It's a very stressful and unhealthy lifestyle. I want to be outdoors. I don't mine hardwork. I want the exercise with a purpose. I like the freedom of no bosses telling me what to do. I like the lack of nosey neighbors telling me what I cannot do with my property. I like the challenge. I like engineering things. I want to build a pelton wheel on the 100-foot falls on my claim. The entire thing is exciting to me!

Thanks for all the questions and comments. I'm learning everyday!
regards,
don

 

[Mad Machinist]

don,

I'm only 38. But I been busted up a few times. Mining is my day job. I work for one of the big boys. Hard rockin' is just a "hobby" that keeps me out of trouble on my offtime.

That pelton wheel would work great. It would work even better if you could start with a large diameter pipe at the top of the falls and decrease the pipe size as you come down the falls, effectively building pressure. More pressure equals more torque at the shaft.

 

[miner don]

@ mad
I'm sure your wife appreciates you staying out of trouble!

I'm really excited about the pelton wheel also. It will be a fun engineering venture. According to the Altimeter in my GPS the falls are approx 84 feet high. I could go even higher upstream to get some additional elevation. I'm not sure of the flow rate of the falls. We just finished out August which is the driest month of the year here. Even then there was good flow over the falls. The local tell me that the flow rate is magnitudes higher in the winter/spring months with all the runoff.

The interesting part to me is the pelton wheel has many variables in it. Head heights, flow rate, pipe diameter, pelton/turbine size and construction, gearing, and then rpm for something like an AC generator. It looks to be a lot of fun doing all the math and making it all work!
regards,
don

 

[Mad Machinist]

don,

One thing I forgot. Since you posted up the location of your mine, DO NOT put up an assay report. Too many eyes watching this forum that would like nothing better than for you to do the work for them and then find a way to take it from you.

If you need help with the pelton wheel, let me know. I'll dig through the Machinery Handbook and get you the formulas.

 

[miner don]

@ mad.
thanks for the heads up. I'll stop replying to all those personal messages enquiring about assay reports for the mine then!
regards,
don

 

[gold tramp]

One thing to think about when going at it for your self is you need only to rely on your own assay and sampling, just me hearing you have a copper silver mine, it makes me think you are getting, gold as by product, and there may not be enough values to make your operation feasible.


Before any more work is done you should sample for your self, and make damn sure you have gold in your vein.
I wouldn't worry about folks going into your mine, you most likely don't have detectable gold in your vein.

Don't know geology up there but for the most part if you are digging a copper silver you might get lucky and find a gold pocket ?
But you are going to have to hone your skills at sampling, thats the biggest thing in mining tunnel you have to stay on pay so heavy on the sampling.

every thing else means nothing if you are not getting values in your pan, then all you have is just a mine, first things first Sample.
hope some of this helps n good luck.............