Descending mine shafts?

[ScubaDetector]

The story is two people were sitting near a mine shaft wondering how deep it was. They decided to grab a log and toss it down to hear if it reaches the bottom. So they grab the nearest log and tossed it down the shaft. All the sudden they see a mule running toward them as fast as it can and jumps down the shaft also. Incredulously, they stood amazed and wondered why the heck it did that. A while later an old miner comes by and asks them if they had seen his mule. He had it tied to an old log that was nearby.

Anyway, I wouldn't chance it in a million years. Sides might cave in, full of water, gases and who knows what else. I have played in vertical mines a little BUT never horizontal. Tossed rocks down them in Utah but never thought to go down one and see the bottom.

 

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[ChampFerguson/TN]

What diameter shafts are we talking about here?

I like the GoPro on a rope + some illumination as the easiest first pass at the problem.

 

[Icewing]

Here's another option.

 

[kcm]

"IF" you decide to try something of this sort (and that's an awful big IF!!), try finding one of those rock walls somewhere, or a mountainside to climb. Get used to ascending and descending using rope. Learn about the gear. NOT ALL ROPE IS CREATED EQUAL!! The kind of rope you'll need is NOT available at your local hardware store!! (at least not in my neck of the woods)

If you're seeking treasure, I, personally, would recommend reading some of ScubaDetector's posts and trying that route. Not only is it much safer, but he has proven that it can be quite lucrative! Most people (especially in this day and age) want "easy". What he does isn't like breaking rock with a sledge hammer, but would certainly be a lot safer (and easier) than climbing down an unknown hole in the ground chasing a 'hope' of what's there.

If you had any climbing experience at all, I'd still suggest you learn ALL YOU CAN about mine shafts before heading out, and that would take a very long time, even if you are studying full time.

And finally, if this is a truly vertical shaft, then the chances are slim that any treasure is down there. "Slim" is not the same as "impossible" - there is a "chance" that something could be there. But you would be more likely to find a drift going off in some direction that still has old and VERY UNSTABLE dynamite - which could by now have very unstable nitroglycerin. Just touching this stuff or sneezing/coughing near by could remove any need of bringing up that rope!

 

[solarsmith]

you should not go more than a few feet past the end of the working vent pipe. get a gas tester . 3 independent sources of light. and how is any one in a truck going to hear a guy in a mine shaft. a small bird put down the shaft first. (yes its a real thing) drop a camera down first on a cord. radios dont work well under ground. do not go below any un cleared lose items. a 1 lb rock falling ten feet will do you a lot of damage , enough that you cant get out on your own! hard hats are for when you forget to duck not for when that hanging rock falls and reaches terminal velocity at 40 ft. never stand in a shaft with out heavy protection over your head. ( somthing that will stop a ten lb rock moving a 200 mph. ) In my shaft im making a deck every ten feet with a hatch for the lift buckets to drop through Bryan in denver Good luck.

 

[gollum]

I am glad to hear that you don't plan on actually going in. Without someone experienced with you, it would be monumentally stoopid to put yourself in that situation.

There are a ton of things you would have to worry about:

1. CO2/CO/H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide Gas). They are all deadly and are also heavier than air. That means, all the bad air pools in low spots in old mines and caves. You walk through it, you're dead.
2. Arsenic is commonly found in old gold mines
3. Hystoplasmosis. Hysto comes from birds and bats crapping in the cave/mine. The crap lands in the dust on the floor. It dries out, and fungus grows on it. You open it up, and when you walk through, your footsteps will disturb the dust, crap, and fungus. When you breathe in the Hystoplasmosis Fungus, it goes straight into your blood stream. You feel like you have the flu at first. If you don't get it treated pretty fast, it has a decent kill rate.
4. Bad Air. Air that has little or no oxygen left in it. This is what killed four people in the space of about three minutes at Oak Island in 1965. They ran a gas powered water pump over the shaft all night, the next morning Bob Restall started to climb down, the moment he inhaled the CO (Carbon Monoxide), he passed out and fell into the shaft (drowned). His son saw what happened, and thinking his dad just had a heart attack, climbed down the ladder, and the same thing happened to him (fell in and drowned). The same thing happened to two more people before they realized what had happened. Four men died that morning.

Those are just a few of the very bad things that can happen when you go unprepared down an old mine.

Mike

 

[Scrappy]

Mine shafts are usually abandoned for a reason. They're usually unstable to begin with and more so over time but I'm not an expert on that subject.

I am however an expert in confined space entry. I put crews in deep tanks and voids aboard ships almost daily. You'll need a multi-gas meter, a backup one, bottom ventilation, emergency extraction tripod, a two person rescue team with rescue and extraction equipment and SCBA's, an EEBD, and communication equipment capable of transmitting through 400' of ground.

Notify your local fire department.

And last. I don't go down there. Ain't worth it.

Steve

 

[kcm]

"Mine shafts are usually abandoned for a reason."

In my research, I'm amazed at how many shut down for "The War" of the times, only to never re-open. They're getting to be fewer now, as this has been an effective and easy way to find a ready-to-work mine. I'm with you, though. Just too dangerous - no telling what surprises exist now that weren't there when the mine was made. Definitely not the place for a random, informal outing!

 

[Hitndahed]

Well the right direction is down, and be ready for whatever creatures may have fallen down the shaft. I also recommend at least 305 feet of rope tied of to a chevy, and someone to drive it when you start screaming.

=======================================================
I would say you should have around 350 feet at least.
The rope might coil up on a ledge somewhere or the 300' might be an "estimated" guess.
When I was pit-bouncing in TAG we would ALWAYS use rope that was 50 or more feel longer that the pit was supposed to be.
There is no worse feeling that being at the "end of the rope" and not being able to see the bottom.
Or rapping off the end of the rope. (YES,,, this does happen)

 

[Ammoman]

Very bad idea! Should you decide to do anyway, be sure and tie the rope around your neck.

 

[Gravitytester]

Very bad idea. I have never gone down a mine but I have gone down a lot of wells in third world countries. Lots of things to be worried about, collapse, oxygen, oxygen quality, critters, disease and last but not least, Murphy's Law. Use a gopro and lower it into the mine and take a look. Just don't forget a light. The chance of there being anything down there is not worth the risk you take by going down there. They are dangerous places and just because they haven't caved in by now, doesn't mean they will not cave in on you.

I didn't go down these wells for fun or treasure hunting. I was EOD Tech in the Army and this was in Bosnia and Kosovo. During the ethnic cleansing they would either bury the bodies in mass graves or throw them down wells that were all over the country. When the UN found a well with bodies in it, I had to go down there to check for booby traps and disarm them when I found them. Didn't want to be that guy to tell you not to do something that I had done with out explaining why.

 

[Detecto]

Was going to write a list of reasons why, but I figured this sums it up:

 

[jeff of pa]

you'll need an Electric Hoist.
a German Sheppard.
a Camera with a good Light Mounted on it's back.
and allot of Rope.
Send the dog to the bottom
& let it roam around down there till the batteries go dead.
then haul it back up.
if the dog wags its tail when you lift it out.
it is safe for you to head down the same way.
Only with extra Light

 

[Icewing]

you'll need an Electric Hoist.
a German Sheppard.
a Camera with a good Light Mounted on it's back.
and allot of Rope.
Send the dog to the bottom
& let it roam around down there till the batteries go dead.
then haul it back up.
if the dog wags its tail when you lift it out.
it is safe for you to head down the same way.
Only with extra Light

Oh great here come the PETA heads.
It won't be long till we have to watch an ASPCA ad with Sarah McLachlan moaning in the background just to read the rest of the thread.

 

[Alex Burke]

Oh great here come the PETA heads.
It won't be long till we have to watch an ASPCA ad with Sarah McLachlan moaning in the background just to read the rest of the thread.

Mini horses were bred to work in mine shafts, just wanted to throw that in

 

[jeff of pa]

Mini horses were bred to work in mine shafts, just wanted to throw that in View attachment 1293775

actually here in PA it was Mules

 

[Detecto]

Sarah McLachlan moaning in the background just to read the rest of the thread.

Maybe I didn't love you, quite as often as I should have...

 

[Brother Al]

You afraid of these little guys.

View attachment 1259125

Yesserie ! The big fat one looks like my mother in law.