old mine is now mapped and recorded :)

Your opening statement in that comment tells me you are more than in for a fight.
I do not like fighting, we do not like fighting.
Have a break.
Come back in three days time with a bit more respect in what you wish to communicate.
.
Sorry, got my spelling wrong.

This week we revisit a favourite mine the now infamous Bridge of Death. The guys are not wearing hard hats despite my recommendations but then hard hats won't do much good should you be unlucky enough to fall down the deep dark shaft. The so called bridge would not pass any structural tests. The hand rail is attached with wire and would not support much weight. This is a mine the general public should keep away from.

i love this mine

Oh wow! Check out the bridge..insane!

As for the helmets, I'm 6.5" and bumping my head is rather common if I don't wear a helmet. Great phptos again dean

The pics are great but certain things in them are still a worry!
If these blokes won't take on board your safety recommendations Dean you might need to consider getting some other exploring mates? There's a fine line between exploring & thrill seeking. The thrill with exploring should be finding & looking at the old underground workings. The thrill shouldn't be about the danger & these guys, from an outside looking in perspective + from what you have said, appear more thrill seeker than old mine explorer?
The bridge doesn't look like the only structurally unsound thing in there.

Caveman said:

Hi hunting the yellow the 20yo with 17 years experience exploring mines. Sounds like you have a big list of stuff to get before you can explore safely megaphone? That's hilarious anyone with any actual experience would know a two way radio will do the trick. Guessing you have never seen a gas detector either. It's people like yourself that think they know what they're doing that are the problem posting picks of unsafe actions on the Internet and defending them as safe when you don't have a clue.

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Mate where's this cave group you claim to belong with you still haven't told me im waiting ? Also i want to know why your bringing all this crap on a forum please pm me personnel message me to sort it out ive got 7years not 17 years experience as for radios they do not work when your underground ive tested it but a megaphone sure dose and can be herd for over 500meters as for answering you again i will not on here pm me or don't keep going on with it

dean65 said:

This week we revisit a favourite mine the now infamous Bridge of Death. The guys are not wearing hard hats despite my recommendations but then hard hats won't do much good should you be unlucky enough to fall down the deep dark shaft. The so called bridge would not pass any structural tests. The hand rail is attached with wire and would not support much weight. This is a mine the general public should keep away from.

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0433_zps3v2rfndx.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0430_zps5yatcwdn.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0431_zpswsw33to4.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0418_zpsjo4bpsfe.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0420_zpsi634e5e1.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0432_zpsurao6cry.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0407_zpso5yyfk0w.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0426_zpshyuzmgdi.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0423_zpsw0clitap.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0417_zpsa42wut6q.png
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj539/dean6500/Berringa/IMG_0436_zpsuoeaxggi.png

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dean where do you keep finding these people ? you can't post people not using safety gear on my page i won't alloy it mate nor should you post on a public forum hard hats and safety gear for now on or simply don't take the pics

I have added this link to the first post in this thread and for those who do not wish to go back that far,
Here it is.
American Based but gets the message across.
.
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ZehJOBeBI[/video]

Ill have to agree with hty and his last comment dean. I understand you make do with what you have but the guys within the photos you are capturing for size comparison of surrounding objects not having safety gear does change the 'tone' of the photos. A helmet and rope shown would be useful. Your not the one doing something risky mate, we can see your prepared but the non safety could encourage falseness of mine dangers.

If one of those blokes slipped, I can't see him being saved without a harness and ropes already attached, being the oldest, you could cop blame for accidents which none of us want. I think you should word the boys up on mine safety and equipment. If they are smart they will understand its far too risky like that and I personally wouldn't hold myself responsible for unprotected and unprepared explorers being the eldest of a group.

Before going into any mines I recon people should buy them toy ant farms and watch the ant s dig. You will get to see how they strengthen roof and support, why and where collapses can happen and how, ...really learn a lot from ant 'miners'.. I'd reccomend that to anyone wanting to explore mines and see just how regulary accidents and collapses happen.

I think that's a good truce for us to only post images showing safety gear used. Even a helmet at least. If there was a collapse it wouldn't save or change a thing, but for the sake of reputation and being able to freely still share our explored mines, we should always include safety. Something that the younge blokes still may not be interested in

i think this whole post/thread should be deleted too manny people copy us and i don't want them too

Tathradj said:

I have added this link to the first post in this thread and for those who do not wish to go back that far,
Here it is.
American Based but gets the message across.
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ZehJOBeBI

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Stay out and stay alive - best slogan for this instance ever and so true.

I honestly give myself a 50% chance of survival every time I go in a mine, something my family is well aware of and a stupid choice, no matter how prepared I am. In saying this, I honestly do feel safer in a mine than on the road or on a plane. I guess it comes down to fears, stupidity and oppinions of what we all each choose to do and think on subjects. To me, the risk is worth it for my personal experience, no different than bunjee jumping or skydiving.. ( you won't catch me doing either one of them! Too dangerous! )

..get what I mean

There are a few mines around this area that I would be happy to use them as a nuclear shelter they are that solid.
Then there are the ones that you would only have to fart and the echo would bring them down.
I have been in a couple where dirt started to fall of the roof from body heat or vibration.
I tend to stay on the cautious side of things now but if I had the chance and I had other experienced people
with me, No Problem.
During a stint with a rescue organization I was with, We had to check a few mines for a missing people.
And that was no bloody fun I can tell you.
Yes, I had a lot of training and we had all the gear but we would only enter a mine entrance under full supervision.
.
I have a few post's in PA about some of my experiences with hidden drives and I can tell you the Pucker Factor went Zero.
So did my sense of humor plus a few pairs of Undies and trousers. :lol:

Back in our teen's and early 20's we spent a bit of time wandering around some local hard rock mines. On our 8th or 9th time out there we were walking through an adit, we had been through many times and that seemed extremely stable. Well in the span of a month there had been a small collapse. It was not much and was still passable but one of the bigger bits that came down was a 0.5m slab. This is when we decided hard hats (at the least) were a must

Now I am older with a family, there is no way I would some of the things we did back then, but with the right safety gear there are still a few mines I would venture into. But I would personally never take someone with me who was not willing to be safety conscious. I think this may also be where some of the controversy from this thread is coming from. Nothing wrong with a few photos of the mines, but maybe don't include the ones with people in precarious places, or the ones with people not waring safety gear? Surely you can see most of the people who have said something about safety concerns, just want to be careful about what message we send to the public, as this is a public forum.

As others have said there may not be anything illegal about what people are doing and there may be no laws in terms of exploring old mines, but if we are going to the trouble of posting online where anyone can see, then why not promote doing the right thing and doing it the right way?

HTY, I have no problems with you and have enjoyed a lot of your posts. But I keep reading about this 7 years experience... I still remember when you started up on the AGP forums just after me in 2012, which was 3 years ago and it did not seem like you had 4 years experience at that stage, am I missing something?

shivan said:

Back in our teen's and early 20's we spent a bit of time wandering around some local hard rock

HTY, I have no problems with you and have enjoyed a lot of your posts. But I keep reading about this 7 years experience... I still remember when you started up on the AGP forums just after me in 2012, which was 3 years ago and it did not seem like you had 4 years experience at that stage, am I missing something?

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well the 7 years experience is because I went into my first adit when I was only 12 year old since then ive worked in the crystal king mine down 42 meters helping mine crystals hand size and seen some of the larger ones come out of the mine in the early days 1940s when they mined crystals as big as tables for radio's for the war

I've worked recently down the bigger mine at Costerfield 500 meters deep that you can drive down as a drillers offsider but due to my heart I don't have that dream job anymore as I may need a pass maker as my heart beats out of rhythm. but it was so big you could drive a cars and trucks down and so deep your ears pop due to the pressure on you just like being in a plane as for other mines around Ballarat Bendigo areas well I can say ive been in over 700 different mines old and new and don't push my self too hard when climbing back up my 60 meter rope due to my heart

if people think im craping on about my heart im quite happy to show everyone on here the results of the tests I did and have friends to back me up on that

I first went into a old mine when I was a child as well my dad took me so by your logic I've been exploring mines for 32 years. Seems hunting the yellows porkys about his experience have came to bite him. I don't care how much experience you have or do not have I love your photos.

Shane 69 said:

I first went into a old mine when I was a child as well my dad took me so by your logic I've been exploring mines for 32 years. Seems hunting the yellows porkys about his experience have came to bite him. I don't care how much experience you have or do not have I love your photos.

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caveman your back but what about your 3 day ban hum ? still going on with it nothing has changed

yes i agree, new accounts first post attacking our members wont be tolerated

G0lddigg@ said:

yes i agree, new accounts first post attacking our members wont be tolerated

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thanks mate could you delete or lock this topic now

Don't kill it hty, love the pics mate.

My advice to the general public is to keep out of old mines. After consultation with other forum members I have agreed that future post will feature people wearing hard hats. The purpose of my photos is to document the existence of these mines before they disappear and not to encourage inexperienced people to venture underground. This is one of the reasons for not giving the exact locations of mines on the forum. When exploring old mines we are very cautious at all times. In the photo below we were attempting to access an old drive at the base of a shaft. The explorer can be seen pointing at a badly cracked brow. The venture was quickly abandoned on safety grounds and the explorer returned to the surface.