Look What I Found...

[rockgremlin]

While hiking in an undisclosed area close to Salt Lake City, I stumbled across this old abandoned headframe. This headframe was used to lift buckets of silver/gold/copper ore from underground workings, and are VERY, VERY old (probably built in the late 1800's). Check out the ore buckets...they're still full of ore!!!! With no evidence of tampering at all!!! It looks like they raised those last buckets of ore, and then left them there! I snapped a few photos, poked through the ore (took some really cool rocks), then left it as close to the way I found it as I could.

I didn't think you could find stuff like this anymore!

[TreeHugger]

WOW!! That is WAY cool!!

[accadacca]

You ARE a little rockgremlin......

[Udink]

While not quite as cool as rockgremlin's find, I came across an old aerial tramway (with the tram buckets still suspended) just northwest of East Carbon last year. I had to disclose the location to everybody, however, and I placed a geocache there. It's probably quite well-known though, since it runs along a road to a popular hunting and recreation area.





I'd love to grab one of the buckets, but I'm sure there's probably a legal way I could do it. :)

[rockgremlin]

That's really cool! I've been in that area, but never seen those buckets. I think they were used to transport "Rock Asphalt." They'll eventually all be torn down. The Utah Division of Natural Resources is slowly in the process of reclaiming all abandoned mines in the State. When the State reclaims a site like that, I wonder what they do with all of the old buckets and things like that?

[James_B_Wads2000]

I snapped a few photos, poked through the ore (took some really cool rocks), then left it as close to the way I found it as I could.

I didn't think you could find stuff like this anymore!

Any closeups of the ore? What kind of minerals ya find in there? Were you in the Oquirrh Mountains? Looks like the Oquirrh's.

James

[rockgremlin]

Sorry it took so long to reply. Here's some close ups of the ore. I'm not exactly sure what they are, but I have some strong hunches.

You were right about the location -- it's in the Oquirrhs, AND it's on private property -- hence the reason why the ore buckets were relatively untouched. I had special permission to be on the land.