Historic mines

[sheahanmcculla]

I was wondering if anyone searches around historic washington mines for metals? It seems the old miners could have been hasty in there recovery efforts, and left some good minerals around for others to find. From what I have read there still is value in a lot of the mines, but it was too costly to extract at the time. Maybe modern small scale efforts would pay off?

Any thoughts would be great!

Thanks
Sheahan

 

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[allen_idaho]

The problem with historic mines is that they are very unstable and definately not safe. I can't really advise going into one. Most have been closed off for safety, to keep adventurous fellows such as yourself from wandering inside and dying.

Then there is the rattle snake angle. A lot of abandoned mines make great nests so they tend to be filled with angry diamond backs. Another safety issue.

If you are talking about searching mine pilings or former sluicing sites, then by all means it is a good idea. But going into old mine shafts is a terrible idea.

 

[lgadbois]

A group of experienced adventurers that call themselves "Northwest Explorations Underground" have visited many of the historic mines in Washington. They wrote a very informative book titled, "Discovering Washington's Historic Mines." It was published by Oso Publishing, Arlington, WA. in 1997. You might be able to get a copy from them, or from the library.

In general, the advice to stay out of old tunnels is a good one. Some of them are all right, and have been regular stops for fun loving hikers. Most of the mines were big time money losers, and some never shipped any ore to the smelters. Some of the mines were used to "mine" the wallets of investors. The mines on the West side of the Cascades do not have rattlers. You won't find any values in the tailing piles of most of the mines in Washington.

The richest and most productive areas in the state are the placer claims at Liberty, the placer and hardrock mines in and around Republic, and the mine just East of downtown Wenatchee.

 

[Paul in WA]

I am very familiar with some. What area are you tyalking about?

 

[lasttoknow (Tim)]

I actually have a book from the same publisher and club. Discovering Washington's Historic Mines. Volume 1: "The West Central Cascade Mountains". Gives the location and the rating for access and ease to get to. Also gives the minerals extracted. Haven't done any exploring yet. But I'd never go inside a mine. Just look through the tailings and around the outside. I also have no one to go with me.

 

[49er]

One company has reopened up an old gold mine north of Republic for that reason. On an individual mining basis; materials permit and claim cost. Metal detecting the dump area is the only safe method here in eastern Washington I would suggest due to various critters that inhabit abandon mines/tunnels and the unknown dangers that exist is not to venture inside no matter how tempting it might be. You only have one life and it is not worth giving up for an ounce of gold.

 

[Kilika]

Sheahanmcculla -

Welcome to T'Net! Lots of knowledgeable folks on here, and friendly & helpful, too!

As to your question on historic mines, IMHO, they have to be taken on a case by case basis. Some still have values to be found, some don't. Some are OK to enter, some definately are not. If you are an experienced caver, that can be helpful, but keep in mind that old mines tend to have their own special hazards - unstable adits, rotten timbers that might look sound, deep winzes full of water (or worse, half full), and bad air that can kill you before you know what's happening. Just to name a few.

Is there a chance you might find some values that the old miners missed? I think so. Maybe. Depends. Is it worth the time to search through the old tailings? Maybe. Depends. Did they already get re-worked in the '30s? In the '50s? Are they among the most popular, like the ones alongside highway 97 thru Blewett Pass? Those have been re-worked ALOT. But... you might still find something there. Who knows? It COULD happen.

Do you know of an old mine in WA, off the beaten path, that paid well when in operation (preferably in free gold), that's relatively stable, dry, with good ventilation, preferably in western WA so no snakes, with a huge tailings pile that's never been re-worked, and you just need someone to go with you? Hey, count me in!! But seriously, people hunt old tailings all the time, and sometimes even get some really nice finds. Go for it. Just be careful out there.

Happy Hunting-
Kilika

 

[lgadbois]

For gold mines in Washington State, the State published "Gold in Washington, bulletin #42" in 1955. It does a good job of listing the historic placer and hardrock mines by county. Where there was commercial production, the book gives the reported development and production information.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper commissioned L.K. Hodges to do a book called "Mining in the Pacific Northwest." It was published in 1895. This is an authoritative book with detailed development, production, and geologic information.

At the beginning of World War II, all gold mining was shut down in the United States by Government order. Over 90% of the mines that were closed never were reopened. Many of the underground mines became flooded, and the associated machinery was unusable. The costs to restart the mines often exceeded the potential returns, and many of the mining companies went broke or out of business during the war. Even if a mine could be profitably operated today, the start up costs would be enormous. It is no accident that the very best mining areas have been closed to commercial development by creating wilderness areas. And we will continue to see access to our forest and mountain lands reduced as population growth is forced into existing cities, and environmental regulations control the use of public and private lands.

 

[DFXtraveler]

I agree with the danger aspect. My family did alot of placer mining and dredging in eastern oregon when I was younger. Only a couple of miles from our claim was a old small scale hard rock mine (around 1920 or so)with a tunnel that went into the hill side about 500 to 600 feet and of course we were very adventurous at the very back of tunnel was a wooden box with about 3 or 4 dozen sticks of dynamite. even worse than that is that there was a nest of some unknown animal on top of it and you could see where the unknown animal had been chewing on the sticks. the front of the cave has since caved in yet another problem with small mines. always use caution and the buddy system.