JeepAndrew’s Abandoned Mines Thread

Fascinating, just seeing these sights in their unmolested state.
Nice job!

 

Nope, the big ATL in Georgia.

 

Ohh gotcha. cool man! Atlanta NV is a semi-active site with a huge mill on-site. I’ve only ever seen photos of it.

 

No water? WOW

 

@taco 16

 

@85straight

 

@Oneluv13T4R

 

Thanks for sharing, such an awesome thread.

 

Yeah I wish that the one you, Carey and I went to see wasn't flooded. It would be awesome to explore those lower levels!

 

Continuing pics of the compressor and hoist house...

Jason lending some scale to the massive flywheel/drivepulley of the second Ingersoll-Rand air compressor. Interestingly, this one was driven by a huge electric motor via a rope "belt" composed of a large 1.5" diameter rope that was wound back and forth between the motor and compressor pulleys many times. This thing was massive!


Here, you can clearly see unique rope/belt system strung between the large flywheel and much smaller motor drive pulley in the background, as well as the crank, rod and cylinder for the first stage of the compressor.




The drive motor for the compressor. 75 horsepower induction motor, running on direct 2,400 volt 3 phase power. The smaller belt-drive unit to the left next to the motor is a DC generator (called and “exciter”) that provides a constant 210v DC “field” current to magnetize the electromagnets in the rotor of the main motor.

**An interesting bit of info, modern vehicle alternators work on that same DC excited field principle, with current to the coils on the alternator rotor controlled by a voltage regulator and or ECM/PCM.**

The “stator”, or outer stationary windings in the motor, use the 3 phase 2,400 volts with the rotor electriomagnets to create rotation. Modern induction motors do not require exciters or the DC field current to operate.

The rope “belt” can be clearly seen, along with the unique rolling tensioner far right. This tensioner carriage was on miniature rail wheels and counterweighted off camera with almost 2 tons of counterweights!


Both compressors, standing side by side. Two different compressor models from the same company, probably from different eras! You can see the massive expansion tanks above each one, as well as a really neat old-school pressure gauge on the nearest tank..


Nearby, was the operator's booth for the hoists. Control levers and even the original operator's chair still in place!!

 

The hoist signal bell on the operator’s booth. Wires ran between this bell and the various station levels in the main shaft, to pull cord switches. The miners used a modified Morse-code system by pulling the cords on these switches, which in turn rang the bell in a certain code, depending on how the hoist cages needed to be moved (move cage to 200 level, slow descent, raise cage, hoist to surface etc). These systems of code were all later standardized for each given US state.

The control booth and part of the massive double-drum Nordberg hoist.


A chart showing the production rate of a section of stope on the 1500ft level of this particular mine, dated July 25th, 1951!


Another shot of the Nordberg hoist!


Side view, showing the two huge 100 horsepower electric drive motors and common shaft (left), huge brake calipers and drums, and the large depth indicator (cartwheel-looking thing at far right).


One of the two 2,400 volt 100 horsepower hoist motors!


A closer view of the depth gauge, which indicated the approximate location of where the cage was in the shaft at any given time. Each of the small numbered “slugs” around the cartwheel indicated a level (or shaft station) in the mine.

Using this gauge in conjunction with the signal bell, for example, the operator may get a signal from underground to “move cage to 700 level”. The operator would then engage the hoist and move (up or down depending) the cage to the called-for level. As the cage approached the level, indicated by the depth gauge, the operator would slow the speed of the hoist to nearly a crawl, and when the cage was in place at the station, the miners would send a “STOP” signal to the operator’s bell. The operator would stop the hoist and lock down the drum brake, and await the next signal. It’s a really neat system and I’ve seen it in place in hundreds of mines.


This was a very unique recording device that recorded the weight of loads on the cages during a working shift. It used a soft metal drum and needle to record pulling pressures on the hoist cable, and was similar to Thomas Edison’s original patent for the phonograph (record player).


In the pic below, a piece of supplimental equipment for the hoist, was this massive electrical resistor. Basically a 100,000 watt toaster element, this huge resistor was part of the braking system for the hoist. This huge apparatus was part of what’s called “Dynamic Electric Braking”.

Let me explain; when cages were being lowered into a shaft, gravity was allowed to do the work (obviously). This descent would very quickly get out of control without something to slow the drop. Typical braking systems were not a good solution to this at all (think about riding the brakes down a long mountain road, and how bad a situation that can be if you burn them up). Also, as a byproduct of running out the hoist cable under gravity, the electric hoist motors became generators, spinning backwards and producing electric current. It was discovered that shunting this current through a “load” (like a huge resistor) would create a mechanical load on the motor, that would counteract the rotation of the motor. A good example of this is plugging in a large appliance to a generator and hearing it bog down. This principle is a very efficient method of braking, and is still used in electric locomotives and large mine haul trucks to this day!

 

@dtaco06

 

Amazing stuff. Thanks for posting your adventures.

 

One of the destinations on my visit list!

 

Andrew, nice write up! Fascinating

 

Sub'd! This is amazing stuff! Thanks for sharing.

 

Just got back from an exploring trip to southern Nevada... Here’s some teaser pics!

 

PLEASE READ!! ***Okay, so I’m going to make an exception and break one of my cardinal rules on this one, and reveal the site name. The ONLY reason I’m doing this is because this site is extremely well known and popular historic site and I will be uploading surface structure pics that are very easily recognizable and can be reverse-searched. If you do decide to visit this site, RESPECT IT AND ITS HISTORY by NOT engaging in destruction, theft or vandalism. And, due to how extremely unstable and hazardous these mine workings are, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO INTO THE MINES WITHOUT PROPER GEAR AND EXPERIENCE!! Many parts of this mine require dangerous and treacherous rope access to see and attempting to get into these areas without said gear would be suicidal. This will be the only time I post a site name on this thread***

DELAMAR MINE AND GHOSTTOWN, NEVADA

This place has long been on my list of “gotta go tos”, and I finally had the chance when the group arranged for a three-day exploring “free-for-all” over Labor Day weekend. So, I drove 9hrs up from Tucson, AZ to see what all this fuss was about.

The gold deposit that would later become the massive Delamar Mine was discovered in 1889 by two rancher/prospectors, John Ferguson and Joseph Sharp, where initial gold assays yielded between $75-1000/ton for ore. When rumors of these values spread, a rush was made to the site, and two mining camps were established next to each other in the area; Ferguson and Helene.

Ferguson flourished, and in 1894, a man by the name of Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar from Montana purchased the Ferguson mines for an estimated $50,000, and renamed Ferguson Camp to Delamar, and moved the newly formed town over the hill to the east. This move dealt a death blow to Helene, which forced it to be abandoned that same year. The Delamar post office was established in August of 1894, and over the next year or so, the town exploded with growth. By 1897, the population was over 3,000 people and the town had saloons, stores, theaters, offices, blacksmith shops, and all the amenities you could think of. There was even electric power and running water from facilities built in Meadow Valley Wash, 12 miles east of town.

The town thrived under various owners until 1909, when the first shut down occurred due to falling gold prices and ore value. The town was abandoned entirely at this time. A short 5 year long revival occurred, beginning in 1929, and the town sprang up once again, although not comparable to it’s former glory. In 1934, the mines shut down for the last time, never to reopen to this day.

The mines in Delamar, and some smaller surrounding mines, were a huge success over their production years. The deposit was massive. Gold and silver ore were found in mind-boggling quantities. Between 1895-1900, Delamar produced $8.7 million (period values) in gold. Total production up to final closure in 1934 amounted to approximately $14,250,000 in gold and silver. Adjusted for today’s inflation values, it would be nearly a billion dollars!!

Today, there are still some remains of the former boomtown. Many stone ruins, foundations, and partial remnants of the mills and processing facilities are still scattered throughout the valley. The mine itself is absolutely huge; over 20 miles of workings spread across 13 levels, with massive stopes and long, endless drifts. So far, it’s been an amazing site to explore.

Delamar, circa 1897


Comparison of then versus 2011.


Site and underground pics to come soon!

 

To me, hearing the history of the sites is just as fascinating as seeing your pictures. Thanks again for sharing!

 

x2

Good read and waiting on more.