Special Visit To The Incredible 16 to 1 Mine: Part 7 - The Ballroom

If you appreciate quartz and its associated geology, this is the segment of the 16 to 1 Mine for you… I have never seen quartz like this in any other mine that I have ever explored anywhere in the world. “Ballroom” is literal here too at the Sixteen to One, as aside from this massive section of quartz being the size of a large ballroom, the mine really did host dances and weddings underground here. In case you missed it in the video, the dance floor is currently covered up with a large amount of waste rock. So, if you can imagine it, this ballroom of quartz was even larger in the past! It would be a hell of a job, but wouldn’t it be something to see that forty feet of waste rock hauled out to open things up to the level of the dance floor?

Something that regrettably doesn’t come across so well on the screen you’re watching, given the lack of points of reference for scale, is that that quartz chamber is running off for hundreds of feet in all directions… Then, the stopes dropping off from the main ballroom chamber angle down for hundreds of feet as well to the drift levels we explored earlier. The “ballroom trail” that we climbed up was really just a stope that we followed up to the main ballroom chamber.

The work involved in getting this massive space carved out of the quartz and then getting all of that ore and waste rock (mostly ore) out is hard to imagine. I think it would be very interesting to see production figures specifically for this part of the mine in order to know how much gold was taken out of just the ballroom. In other words, I wonder if it was high grade material with rich pockets of gold or if they milled all of it down?

What the old timers did here is really incredible to me and I can only imagine what they thought as they were working their way through what must have seemed like an endless amount of quartz.

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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them – nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.

These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand – bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.

So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!

#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
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#UndergroundMineExploring

[williamwintemberg]

I can't find words that can accurately describe this video and series. All I can say is thanks to everyone who helped put this together. What a learning experience!

[insidepassageboatworks]

Actual conversation between an MSHA inspector and a miner Miner: "you can't fix stupid" MSHA inspector: "it's my job to fix stupid" Hence why you have deep water signs and random signs everywhere

[kevinsowards]

Yes Theory brought me here... i been watching every single video of this tour.. up next part 8.. man i hope he shows you guys gold at the end of this series.

[archstanton]

I've been busy with other stuff...spent the last few hours catching up. This is incredible footage. Never imagined anything like this...unreal. What a treat.

[kricketflyd]

What ever you do ………. don't stop filming .. ever. That mine is beyond fantastic. We will send you food ..

[illeodavinci]

This truly is the mother of all gold mines! The amount of quartz Is beyond Crazy, and the amount of gold the old timers found in it must have been spectacular!! No wonder the were dancing in the ballroom!!! Amazing mine, thanks for bringing us along with you guys!

[worldtraveler]

Having been someone who has done some spelunking in their younger days and marveled at the Majesty of Mother Nature in the depths of the Earth, and now I have gotten to look at this video and too realize that all the spaces that I see are not natural Caverns but mined out by the hands of man, is a whole different level of Awesome! Thanks Justin, this is a cool series.

[Westchewy]

Underrated channel goddammit YouTube promote this man

[joshbuck]

That mine is huge geez and the amount of quarts is unbelievable just wow👍

[MikeOrkid]

I felt like I had to come back and revisit this video. This one always stuck with me for obvious reasons.

[AbandonedandForgottenPlaces]

“Gly”: That is truly impressive. Probably one of the largest faulted hydrothermal intrusions I’ve ever seen underground. People that give this a thumbs down just have no idea of what there looking at. Great video man, keep up the good work.

[gingerbread]

We are watching all of this mine. It’s great. Thank you for showing this to us..

[rolfsinkgraven]

I'll comment once I can get my jaw off the floor...……………………….Wow they did a great job here, love this series.

[DaleDuffy]

This video series is really Excellent videos for the 16 to 1.

[RockyMountainBlades]

is that actually a dead person under that rock at 11:08?

[Suburbanstoneage]

The thick vein of quartz in this video made me drool. Plus, seeing the hanging wall as a fault plane blew my mind. I cam for the geology, stayed for the mine. Addicting.

[gingerbread]

Great video. Thank you for taking us along. We are enjoying all the videos.

[donaldpowers]

Simply incredible. To have beaten a hard to beat mine exploration.. and you did it.. TOP DOG

[leehilton]

I don't think I've ever seen a vein of quartzs that thick before, Another great video man. Yall be safe out there.

[indycharlie]

Well here we go, ole BG is at it again . First off, another great video and the quartz is amazing !! Now the Ballroom . He said they dug it out around the 30's, but when was it used as a Ballroom ? There must be some awesome pictures of it in use . Who went to it, the people who worked there with their wives & GF's !? How long was it operational ? Ballroom stairs ending at the 1000 and starting at the 800 . So did women walk to the stairs in the 800 or ride the rail to the stairs ? Also, 200 ft of stairs up would be a workout . I'm talking sober, fired up must have been quite the deal at closing time :D For me, I'd LOVE to see some pictures of that BR in use !!! Great series , great mine, and great editing and narration !! BG