How dangerous is it to explore abandoned mines, in reality?
Picrel is the only way to access a large gold mine near me, since its main entrance was destroyed to keep people out. I climbed down in to it but sketched out and climbed back out before exploring the whole thing. I really want to go back down but I keep psyching myself out.
Apologies for the shit pics, they're grabs from video I took.
This is about 50m down. The small white dot next to the wooden support top-middle is light from the outside world. It was so fricking steep that in some sections I just slid down on my ass. Genuinely had some concerns about my ability to get out.
This is facing down from the same spot as the last pic. I must have gone down almost 100m but at no point could I see the bottom/end, even with my frickwow $300 head torch.
This mine is in the outback but not suuuuper remote. The nearest settlement and phone reception is a 40 minute drive away.
>It was so fricking steep that in some sections I just slid down on my ass. Genuinely had some concerns about my ability to get out.
Forgot to ask in my first post, is that your vehicle in the first photo?
If so, a couple hundred metres of rope tied to the bullbar and couple of ascenders would help you get up even a near vertical wall (google Prusik knots and practice with them somewhere safe first).
>"Bad air" contains poisonous gases or insufficient oxygen. Poisonous gases can accumulate in low areas or along the floor. A person may enter such areas breathing the good air above the gases but the motion caused by walking will mix the gases with the good air, producing a possibly lethal mixture for him to breathe on the return trip. Because little effort is required to go down a ladder, the effects of "bad air" may not be noticed, but when climbing out of a shaft, a person requires more oxygen and breathes more deeply. The result is dizziness, followed by unconsciousness. If the gas doesn't kill, the fall will.
>When entering a mine on a steady downgrade, a person may not be aware of elevated CO2 until his mouth reaches the CO2 level. By walking into the area, however, the person has mixed the stratified gas with the good air above. The resulting mixture may be incapable of supporting respiration, and the person may not be able to evacuate the mine.
http://npshistory.com/publications/mines/amlsafety-2003.pdf
Yeah, not really sure how you can avoid that. Pay attention to your mental state and gtfo if you experience confusion, headaches or shortness of breath I guess.
This guy suggests an open flame test in one of the links but then you've got the risk of detonating methane pockets. I guess those would be rare in an abandoned mine though.
http://cholla.mmto.org/mines/badair.html
>This guy suggests an open flame test in one of the links but then you've got the risk of detonating methane pockets. I guess those would be rare in an abandoned mine though.
depends what kind of mine. I think coal mines might be more dangerous than gold for that, but gold ore is often found in the immediate vicinity of asbestos is wandering around mines might not be healthy. The biggest danger is always going to just be falling into a hole you didn't see.
>I think coal mines might be more dangerous than gold for that
They are. The methane comes from the breakdown of coal (and oil or other organic material) by microbes. The only other place you might find it would be in mafic/ultramafic geology where it's generated by serpentinisation.
It can be transported underground quite a distance through water but that's very rare.
>How dangerous is it to explore abandoned mines, in reality?
>Genuinely had some concerns about my ability to get out.
gee, i dunno anon
This is about as far down as I went, save for walking down a tunnel to the right. It was less steep from here but seemed like an endless sea of step-downs. The deepest shaft in the area is supposed to be ~300ft but it felt like I was much deeper.
This is what the ridge line that the mine is in looks like, for anyone who is interested.
Pretty dangerous I reckon. Also cool af though. There were some abandoned coal mines near my hometown that a few of us used to explore as kids, nothing as deep as your pics though.
I'd suggest telling a mate what you're up to and asking them to phone the police with your location if you don't check in by the evening. Bring along a rope to mark your route (both for you to escape and for rescuers to follow - nb this should be a second dedicated navigation rope if you're already using one for loadbearing) and a couple of tourniquets to stop you dying from bloodless in the event of Aron Ralston-ing yourself. There's still the chance of you falling to your death but at least that's a sudden death, the above precautions should be sufficient to avoid dying slowly over days because you're too injured to climb out but not injured enough to die.
And at least two light sources.
Genuinely appreciate the advice. Probably just gonna nut up and do it, this weekend. One thing that also bothers me is reading stories of people passing out in caves and mines from 'bad air'. I know you can get detectors for that, but I'm a scrooge.
Send pics I'm genuinely curious as there's no places around me like this.
Any pet shops nearby?
Sorry, meant for
kek, just don't tell them what it's for
>How dangerous is it to explore abandoned mines, in reality?
If you don't know what your doing, extremely.
>I'm worried about bad air
Good tips to remember is to not kick up dust or water as gasses and other contaminants may be inside. You can find battery powered carbon monoxide gas monitor's at home depo or on Amazon for 16 bucks and IRFORA's portable air quality monitor has a CO2 measuring feature, it's sold at walmart for 17 bucks.
Here's a good packing list:
>Food and water for 3 days
>3 sources of light one with a hand crank.
>multiple battery packs
>50ft of heavy duty rope
>First aid kit with cloth bandages and splints
>an emergency whistle
>CO and CO2 monitors
>chalk or tape to track your progress
Lastly ALWAYS bring a buddy with you, it can save your life. Take things very slowly and look out for unstable area's and slides. It's not hard to break a ladder and fall 200ft in a matter of seconds.
Good advice all around. I say a cheap detector for poisononous gas or low oxygen is your body. If you get a headache, or start feeling drowsy, or get short of breath - Get out ASAP. Do not take a nap, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Also, carry several backup flashlights secured to your person.
Helmets are very good.
Spray-paint, chalk, or tape are great for tracking your progress.
Something to add about larger mines - Sometimes multi-level mines have vertical shafts, covered in wood decking, that are covered by fallen debris from the ceiling. These are called "false floors" because the wood underneath can be so rotten as to collapse easily and plunge you down like 50 feet. So consider carrying a stick and testing the sound of the floor beneath you. If it sounds hollow, go no further.
kek what an absolute brainlet post
thank God people like you don't actually go outside
>detector for poisonous gas or low oxygen is your body.
Absolute moron take.
Many poisons and dangerous gasses are without scent, and one of the symptoms of lack of oxygen is confusion, turns out you get really dumb when starved for oxygen.
I'd say a reliable detector is essential, it can alert you before the symptoms become so bad that escape becomes difficult or impossible.
I know folks who explore mines without detectors. My buddy has been in like 50 of em. What I'm saying is, if you feel even the slightest bit off, you should get out.
Idc if I'm moronic, I'd rather be a moronic feral PrepHoleist than a seething midwit.
Honestly, you're both.
It doesn't sound much different than being alert for nitrogen narcosis while SCUBA diving.
God damn, bruh. You're a legitimate fricking moron. Your IQ is actually sub 70 isn't it? You are the reason that certain fire departments and SAR teams have to specialize in confined space rescue.
I believe the thing about gas in the air is you won't feel it
your lungs only burn when you hold your breath because of carbon dioxide
anything else in your lungs and your body won't know the difference
you'll just pass out while breathing whatever the frick and if the air on the ground isn't any better, or worse, you'll never wake up again
h2s gas smells like sulfur / rotten eggs
carbon monoxide and methane are odorless
i think these are mostly issues with coal mines. reading about this on wikipedia the vast majority of mine deaths have been in coal mines which seem to be the most dangerous.
Get a gas anal and a EEBD, if the Gas An detects something bad, hold your breath put the EEBD on and run
what happens if you're in the mine and it rips a deep, loud, guttural fart? (gas release)
>braaaaaap
Imagine the smell
use somekind of atmosphereanalytictool/warningsystem
Bad air in gold mines seems to mostly be an issue in wet mines. In the outback it should be nice and dry so I'm guessing you'll be less likely to die. I only found one story on youtube about someone specifically dying of gases in an old mine and that was a scuba air pocket situation.
it depends on where you are, the ground conditions and how old the mine is.
You could have gas down there, H2S will kill you quick if your not careful. False floors and old timber can drop you into voids and no one would find your body. Just stay out of mines unless you actually know what your doing.
>Just stay out of mines unless you actually know what your doing.
*you're
Also, this is bullshit. How can you ever know what you're doing if you don't do it? People who are experienced with caving and mine exploration are super gatekeepy and insular. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice.
were not being gatekeepy, its to keep people from going into dangerous situations and killing themselves. Go right on ahead, go wander down a coal mine and die from bad air. At minimum if your going into an old mine, know what they were mining. I dont go in coal mines, they are to dangerous.
How is one supposed to learn these things in a safe way? Not being snarky, genuinely curious
By knowing someone who already knows how to do it in a safe way and is willing to teach you. The only person I knew who ever explored an abandoned mine was the hazmat nerd for the local fire department who did spelunking as a hobby, I imagine that's where he got most his skills.
Extremely dangerous
I know there's one anon dedicated to this who pops in to PrepHole once in a while with a bunch of pictures from his recent explorations. Very well experienced and knowledgeable, I hope he comes back soon
Low points and enclosed spaces are a recipe for disaster. There could be iron in there that rusted and consumed all of the oxygen, or the rock could be leaking some toxic gas. Personally, I would not go down there without some spare air. I think the classic option was to use a candle. If it goes out you leave, quickly.
OP here, I'm going down today. I only care about my safety for selfish reasons - my life isn't really important to anyone else. Will report back.
Wear a helmet. Bring an oxygen/ poison gas detector.
Bring at least 3 light sources.
Watch out for holes in the floor and loose rocks in the ceiling.
Don't touch old sticks of dynamite.
Tell someone where you're going so they can find your body.
>Bring an oxygen/ poison gas detector.
You know how to calibrate it and what to test for don't you?
>are those nitroglycerin cry-
>checks filename
Yeah, nope. That's terrifying.
Shake shake shake shake shake it
Is there any safe way to actually handle this or is even touching it putting your life on the line?
send a robot to blow it up
If those crystals snap or break, that can be enough to set the whole lot off.
>be air force eod
>small county bomb squad calls to ask for help
>they got a call about 10 boxes of "some sort of dynamite"
>really they just want someone to help move boxes since two of their guys are out after crashing dirt bikes
>nothing better to do in the shop so we drive out
>go with a deputy to check the boxes in the hayloft of a barn
>doesn't even look like explosives anymore, just a 1x1 ft box full of rock candy
>nope the frick out and some firefighters come out to burn the barn down
Made a real good thump and basically disappeared the barn when it went off. Please don't touch.
>no experience mine exploring
>no equipment
>not willing to purchase equipment
>already having trouble moving around the mine
You're going to die in that hole. Let friends know where you're going so that the local cave rescue people can find you before the corpse starts putrefying.
He died.
dedz
No fricking way would I go down there. All it would take is a rolled ankle and a few wrong turns, and then it's a pitiful fate of perishing completely alone, in a cavernous mausoleum of your own discovery. There would be a moment where your last torch goes out leaving you to scramble around in the rockpiles in complete vain. You would think of your mother, and all the times you had as a kid, in complete silent terror.
Why not just take a couple mile of string and secure it to the top, you can follow it back out?
or just brig a lethal dose of fentanyl in case you need to go painlessly for any reason
Anon pls don't go, I care about you. Also your mom is gonna miss you
honestly it's not that bad, just dont be an idiot
gets pretty dusty tho, might bring a bandana next time
another picrel
Hey, OP. I know which mine this is. I wasn't sure if it was the same one, but that picture of the fence and the sign is a dead giveaway. I live maybe twenty five minutes away. I have been inside it myself. I posted my shitty pictures of the interior a long time ago in one of Mine Anon's threads.
Stay out. They blew the entrance, and I didn't understand that until I went in. If you look at the supports they've been sapped, and the ceiling is in shit condition. I went down to the bottom of the collapsed entrance, where the floor turns into the ceiling and blocks you from going into the main tunnel. There is a lot of bad advice in this thread. Stay out of that mine, find one that is safer and not already structurally compromised from demolition efforts. If you've made it to this one, then there are other explorable tunnels and shafts not far from you. I won't give up the locations, but they are easy to find.
But please, OP. Be safe.
Sounds like you two should link up
I would prefer OP just be safe, and stay out of them. In this state, depending on the mine and where you're at in it, SAR may not come get you.
Mole people.
I'm not OP actually, just another mine explorer. Noted though! I did get to the point where you're crawling on loose rubble and the ceiling is low. Not safe!
I'm stealing some advice from a rockhounding youtuber here: there is a paid service called gaia gps that has a ton of useful overlays. One overlay shows a map of past and current mines plus prospected sites and what minerals they're used for. The records it uses are public so there's probably a way to avoid paying money/using the service.
no experience with caving so I'm just going to throw this out there and ask if bringing a compressed oxygen tank in case of bad air is a good idea?
Probably ore expensive and heavier than just carrying appropriate sensors and fricking off when they beep.
Only use for an O2 tank would be if you planned to keep going even past that point.
OP, if you are still here, please reconsider. Abandoned mines can be extremely dangerous, and going alone increases the danger significantly. Don't put your family through the trauma of having to find your body in a mine somewhere. There are lots of caves you can explore that are much safer.
As long as you're vaccinated, you'll be fine.
Hell is a real place and you can go down there and fight the demons.
There's something about being underground that draws me to it. Maybe I'm a dwarf in another dimension. I've always wanted to explore things like that but I've never done anything but well maintained caves and such.
>How dangerous is it to explore abandoned mines, in reality?
Probably one of the more dangerous things you can do without a gun.
This might be the dumbest post in the thread. What the frick do you think you're gonna need a gun for hundreds of feet underground in a potentially unstable environment?
>Misunderstands post
>Claims other guy is dumb
Exactly, of course you need a gun in case you get ambushed by a pack of cave Black folk. So dumb
>Black folk
You are a fricking moron. Go back and read my post. Try to understand it. If you can't understand it, try pic rel.
>Hurr durr I said something moronic and now I refuse to explain myself
How stupid are you? Does acting like a moronic 12 year old really make you feel smart? What a fricking loser.
>Hurr durr
Hey I thought you got permabanned for shitposting repeatedly?
it's like this pal he was saying the only outdoor activities more dangerous than "exploring" old mine shafts all involve firearms.
now get going you don't want to be late for moron class
Still seething huh loser?
Hahaha. You were an easy one
I wouldn’t worry about it
That kangaroo will try to drown you or the dog if you get too close to it
Rakes are real and they live down there. There's also lot of glowie activities, if you are in a cave and see something that looks remotely like a ventilation shaft infraestructure in good condition, get out of there asap.
>How dangerous is it to explore abandoned mines, in reality?
"This is something I'd like to try" - no woman in the entire history of humanity
Until you tell her it's not a good idea for a woman to try...
OP is dead isnt he
If you’re fully knowledgeable, physically & mentally capable, here is what you should do and some reminders.
1. Don’t go in moron, one error and it could be your life on the line.
2. If you do go, tell a friend or multiple people of where the site is exactly, when you arrive, are about to enter, and when you plan on leaving.
3. Purchase a reliable 4 gas monitor meter. H2S, O2, CO2, LEL (explosive gasses like methane) reminder that CO2 has no scent, H2S & Methane smell of sulfur, high concentrations of it renders it odorless due to it paralyzing your scent receptors. You have 10 seconds to react in confined spaces if you lose all sense of smell. Evacuate immediately or you’ll lose consciousness. Make sure O2 levels don’t fall under 20.5 (asphyxiation occurs under 19 or exceeding 22)
4. Bring multiple light sources, even a hand crank one or one that can handle high impacts. And wear the strap around your wrist, pussy. The goal is to not lose one.
5. Energize and wear your appropriate gear, a compact bag with essentials such as food and water to last you, safety helmet with a light, knee pads and gloves with some grip you trust. Never forget tourniquets and coagulants.
6. Educate yourself, learn about your surroundings and the history of the cave if it’s known. Not every cave / mine is the same, especially varying on the minerals present. Gold is usually accompanied by quartz, asbestos, rarely mercury, and other trace materials.
7. Stay skeptical on structural integrity found within caves / mines. They’ve been rusting or rotting away for decades.
8. Follow and listen to your intuition, if you feel as if you’re not up to the task, then don’t go for it. Your life is more important than exploring the earths crusty gold filled bunghole. No shame in enjoying from a distance.
There’s more that I probably missed but this makes the most sense to me
Op died.
>Purchase a reliable 4 gas monitor meter
See
Stop telling people this. It's bad advice. They have to be calibrated and you need to know specifically what to calibrate them for. Not every mine has the same atmospheric hazards either. Everyone that keeps posting this is the kind of person that thinks they're too smart to die, and ends up doing something incredibly idiotic and gets themselves killed.
Not every monitor has to be calibrated, you're not measuring levels you just need to know if it's present. Frick off you stupid obnoxious homosexual.
Nah, frick off with your bad advice, you illiterate moron. Stop trying to talk about stuff you have no idea about. Especially with something as hazardous as this. Stupid fricker.
Lmao looks like I nailed it and you're a stupid monkey who doesn't know what he's talking about. Why don't you provide some proof stupid monkey? All this information is readily available, a couple minutes on google can show anyone how dumb you are.
Black person don't go. Seriously do not. You will die, I'm warning you. If you are going before you descend do sure take a last look at the sky because that is the last time you will see it also tell your family where you are going so they can bring out your corpse
If you are seriously asking this, on fricking PrepHole of all places, you have no business going into an old mine. There are so many things that could kill you and no one would ever find your body. Don't listen to the morons in this thread telling you to take gas sensors and and a ball of string. Abandoned mines are dangerous even for professionals with training.
have a few shots from UG in an old silver / gold mine I wander around often in the summer. This mine is fairly safe inside the mountain, but the portals / adits have gotten substantially worse since I first visited. I ve mucked out 2-3 dozen wheel barrow loads of fallen back out.
pic related, this is a filling station below a set of stopes, notice the false floor below the stopes. The stope below goes down almost 300m, through multiple levels of workings. If you fell, no one would find the body.
christ dude
i wish i had the balls to do this stuff
one of the open portals to this mine, about 100 meters of the main drive is totally timbered in a tube of wood. Its horribly twisted and probably going to cave in eventually.
You are a braver man than me anon. I can handle heights and I can handle being alone in the woods. But claustrophobia I cant deal with.
underground is honestly pretty comfy, the only bit i hate / wont do is look down stopes / open voids, it gives me vertigo.
>go inna mine
>find gold
>profit
nah never works that way, talk to a professional spelunkler that rents owners land to dig a 2'x2' hole with a snorkel rebreather and airpipe and exhales to get around rocks he pins up with telescoping levers(2+tons on a 300lb holding leaver etc)
shits dangerous, and even if you told someone where you went before listed missing, odds are you've died by the time help arrived
tunnels are closed off for a reason, often it's air quality alone because of methane or coal(underground fires that last decades, silent hill etc, one in russia still going strong)
so if you want to go into a tunnel, go into a prepared one that's been scoped out with a guide
tl;dr
just dont die going into one, often they're closed because people died
is there still gold in there?
>a ton of vertical shafts with no warning signs or barriers, so you might fall into an open shaft and die (or worse, be crippled, a hundred feet underground at the bottom of a hole, and nobody knows where you are)
>old miners frequently remove the wooden beams supporting the tunnels when they're done mining so they can reuse them, so high chance of dying in cave in or just a rock falling on your head
>gasses can easily build up and Hitler you
>if your flashlight gives out or you get lost, you die
excellent idea OP
But there's still gold in there!!
They're not going to leave any big nuggets lying around in there but a lot of old mines do still have left over stuff that was uneconomic to get at, sometimes whole veins discovered that they never got in to. Uneconomic in the sense that you might have to basically reopen the mine truck out tons and tons of rock and find someone to process it for you. Gold is worth lot more than it used to be though. I'm in quite a gold mining area and there's one or two old ones that are being looked at for reopening. Tunnels all over this place but never been down one..
Maybe stick to caving, even that can be a bit dodgy without wondering about the air quality, random vertical shafts, unstable roof old explosives and crap
can you go down mines or caves using a dynamic rope, like they use for climbing? i have a buddy that does sports climbing and he could lend it to me for a weekend. it's a dynamic rope meaning it stretches like 20% of its lenght or something like that, but only if you fall on it i think
>can you go down mines or caves using a dynamic rope, like they use for climbing
pretty sure that's called canoying and they rappel with climbing ropes
You want to use a static rope for this purpose (canyoneering too). You'll hate yourself using an ascender on a dynamic rope
>using an ascender on a dynamic rope
is this a prusik, or something else?
yeah a prusik or a mechanical device
Is OP okay? Those pictures look like such a fricking deathtrap especially sans professional equipment and training.
All the reasons in this thread are why picrel is the only kind of abandoned mine I’m going anywhere near
Pretty fricking dangerous "in reality" dear redditscum. If you are asking this question you have not done enough research and preparation to avoid death, hope it's peaceful
This guy bought a ghost town and spends all his time exploring old mines. https://www.youtube.com/@GhostTownLiving
>I seem to be the only one noticing that OP hasn't replied since stating he was going to just do it days back
He got himself Nutty Putty'd
I tried looking in the 'Strayan news but couldn't find any missing person reports that would match OP. Guess he didn't tell anyone what he was doing.
gotta love white people trying to climb or crawl into hell
Fricken white people and their
*shuffles deck*
Dangerous exploration
RIP OP. Hopefully some dumb homosexual who is thinking about doing this shit reads this thread and it scares them out of it.
Hopefully someone goes down there and gets a fortune. 350 million dollars near me left over in an old mine
They didn't dig these things for a laugh
They did it for gold, and there's plenty still inside.
What do you think the Arrow on the rock to the left means?
I know it leads to the crevice and mine opening, just wanted to know if anyone here has found any similar markings on their mines?
Some markers that I found on Google Earth by tailings and trails made to a base camp from the top of the ridge.
One set was split in half pointing right at the opening.....it has some ornate carved images on the faces and shows the group that was mining there....large firebird on the left rock
At the top are cave entrances that drop down from above into the main entrance.
This one had a huge snake's head and hissing tongue waiting when you crawled into the area.
Was an amazing find....the whole place was set up this way.
Here are two mine openings, with their heart stones facing each direction, next to a massive #2
Entrance is to the left of the massive boulder there with a gap showing....they filled it in with tons of boulders that we had to move away and roll out of the crevice, while at the back was a shotty concrete mix of mud, lime, and stone from around the area.
Mostly this was easy to break with the adze and the drill went through it easily....this is right before we were hitting the wall, and removed the rest of the boulders
This is the mine that Jacob Waltz once described saying, "You have to look through the eye of the needle to find my mine".
That's so cool
Can take the Gateway Trail in the Superstitions off Bush Highway starting at the base of the Stewart Dam, and hike into the canyon about 1.5 miles.
This is all within a 40 minute drive from downtown Phoenix
Along the trail are over 10 mine openings up to the Arrastra
Passed that following the canyon trail up through about 6 switchbacks and some steeper terrain, you get to a clearing at the top where a campfire ring is seen and a field of soft golden grass is used as bedding for a camp.
The place is littered with mine openings from the Spanish, in what is known as the Peralta Mines.
Moving to the areas on each side of the trail up are openings that Waltz described.
He was telltale in his descriptions as he mentioned elements of the entire area you hike through and the mines that were made there are also described so you come to reason that he was talking about more than just one mine.
I will post more pics along the trail....here are at least 5 or 6 openings
Oh shit that's great to hear. My sister and I will be in Phoenix for 4 days late next month. A early morning trip to a mine would be something we would do. Sadly it looks like I tore a ligament in my knee that might need surgery. Depending on how rigorous the hiking/crawling/scrambling is it might be OK or impossible. But I'm out in Phoenix to visit family often enough. I'll keep your post for future research.
Anyway your writing style reads like a good travel blog or article. Thanks for delivering on request my man.
I could read about exploring mines all day. They only do quarries around here. The old coal pits have fun fossils though. I would love to go back out west. So many good out hobbies. If you have any more pictures and stories to share I'd appreciate it.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with checking out abandoned mines. They are made safe when the company is done with them so all this hand waving about how dangerous they are is just people trying to keep you out so they don’t get crowded.
Truth is they are fun as shit they just don’t want you down there.
Proof of that is there’s loads of them out there and almost no one dies. Frickin one by my house kids go down there and play.
People will be like you need training or you need a rope or some shit but they are just trying to sell you junk you don’t need. Skip that, go have fun bro.
This one is nice and has a stone head/face posted on the entrance on its own pedestal. The entrance inside is carved out to appear like a heart shape. Really nice chamber opening with caves and tunnels that go back some feet.
This entrance is marked with a large carved pictograph on the climb up beneath it, as if it holds some meaning.
The entire path up you encounter large stone carvings on boulders you weave around and each holds a map to the caves on either side of the canyon.....the one here at the trail to the opening was a tall pillar shaped like the image of an old Spanish miner.
Don't go down there if you live in the states. Caves are not only dangerous by themselves, down there you can find Rakes and the worst kind of glowBlack folk if you go deep enough. If you don't believe me, compare the map of missing persons and a map of the know cave systems.
What do when you run across these homies?
Just be as quiet as possible. Also you'd know if you were in a bat cave
Pretty sure OP is legit dead. He said he was going in ages ago and never came back to show pics.
Reminds me of that guy that was stuck upside down in a crevice for 28 hours before rescuers gave up and left him there to die. Frick that shit.
OP confirmed nutty puttied
What sort of animals live in mines?
mostly rats, snakes, bugs etc. I ve found porcupines in workings too a number of times.
how would you make unsafe mines safe again? my first thought would be rock bolts progressively. genuinely curious about how they can verify integrity of such structures and the duration they are deemed safe.
Series of stress tests and then reinforcements where needed, ventilation too
that depends on a lot of things. The type of ground your working in determines how you need to stabilize. For example, if your in rock that is competent (ie its not fractured or heavily faulted, its solid) you only need to rock bolt and put up mesh to prevent widow makers. Making an old portal or adit safe can be tricky, its often done by simply scooping out the previous portal supports if their not stable, and replacing it with a totally new, modern planned supported one.