“Palin” Mine

I had been asked not to say much about this mine other than it is standby status awaiting the price of ore to become profitable again.

It does have some neat equipment inside, mainly a hoist that was used to haul ore cars up from lower levels. Also, it was used as a Civil Defense shelter and has many supplies still inside. This was a fun place to explore.

Since my first visit, this place has been trashed. The Civil Defense supplies and equipment have been removed. Enjoy my photos. That’s all that’s left.

"Palin" Mine

102 photos

The walk in.

We find some old carbide writing.

Oldest carbide writing here is from 1925.

1926.

Long walk in.

Still walking....

Our first switch.

Equipment at a junction.

Lots of tunnels.

Ho ho! What is this?

Civil Defense supplies from the 1960s!

Civil Defense Sanitation Kit

Kaolin Mixture with Pectin.

There is a lot here. Medical supplies, food, sanitation....

And boxes and boxes of crackers. Or Survival Ration Biscuits, as they are called.

Survival Ration Biscuits circa November 19, 1963.

Ventilation pump.

So we decide to open one up. The biscuits are in an air tight tin container.

A taste test of 1963 survival biscuits was in order.

You can tell by the look on Dan's face just how good they are. The chemical after taste leaves much to be desired. Kind of reminded me of particle board sprayed with pesticide. We are not convinced you could survive on them.

Chemically goodness.

Ventilation fan put in for the fallout shelter.

Ventilation fan.

Ramp in the stope works.

First time I've seen a "Chinaman Hole" sign.

More ramps.

Boxy is on the phone again.

Side rails for allowing ore cars to pass each other.

"Can you hear me now?"

Main Breaker.

Parts bin. No, I don't think that is blood. Probably spray paint.

Checking out the maps.

Double track.

Which way to go first?

Keep aisles and exit free of materials.

"Caution, do not ride on winze train." Too bad, as I expect that would be an exciting ride!

Boxy has found something.

Hydraulic rail switch.

We find an intact electric hoist!

Dan at the controls.

Hoist for pulling up ore cars from the lower levels.

Myself at the hoist controls.

Boxy at the controls.

Perfect condition and ready to go.

Hoist station phone.

Hoist bell.

Elevated rails into the older workings. Not sure exactly why they are raised.

We found an old Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper sitting in the back of the mine. The date is February 10, 1962. Big news about U2 pilot Gary Powers on this day.

Be careful about your feet!

Mine Air pump.

Dan at some more civil defense water barrels.

There are a bunch of bedframes stockpiled here as well.

Explosive bunker.

Hydraulic powered chute gates.

Escapeway.

Dan in another explosive storage room.

Explosives are everywhere.

Another junction room. There are many.

These boxes now hold ore samples.

Core samples.

More vents.

Timbered drift.

Main winze.

Heading down to the lower levels.

Down and down.

At the fourth sublevel where it crosses over the inclined winze.

Ore chutes along the main inclined winze.

Air compressor tank.

Gauge for the air lines.

Bottom level.

Drill steel and cables.

One of a few slushers we found. This is the best one though.

Here is the scoop end of the slusher. A slusher is a simple device that would drag blasted rock closer to the operator.

Scoop.

A Bobcat! This was a surprise. You never know what you will find underground.

Big stopes need some big lighting.

Magazine, explosives, dangerous.

Winch for a slusher.

Another scoop.

At another sublevel cross-over. Stope galleries are off to each side. A slusher sits on the bridge.

Slusher and scoop.

Drill and shovel.

One of the main slushers.

I had to take her out for a spin.

Bobcat.

Headed back up.

The hoist.

Main winze.

A look back down.

Boxy has some great lighting.

Ore car siding.

Taking some photos.

Hoist operator's view.

Looking through things

Lots here

Dan makes a find.

Sodium bicarbonate and Sulfadiazine tablets. It's whats for dinner.

We found a stope room with a lot of cribbing.

This is an amazing amount of cribbing. It must be 40 ft tall and over a hundred feet long.

It was a maze of timber.

It's surprisingly extensive.

You could get lost in here.