The Pipeline Mine was a Silver and Lead mine that was worked from 1937 into the late 1940s. The outcrop of the deposit was known about much earlier, since around the turn of the 20th century, but no major development was done on the claims until the late 30s. The company that formed to work the mine apparently had high hopes as a camp was immediately built to house 45 miners with 16 small bunkhouses, a recreation house, a change room, and a commissary. I am skeptical if this camp was ever used to capacity as mine appears too small to have ever employed that many men. The greatest number of miners employed seems to be around 10 if the reports are correct. At the camp, there was also a generator and a compressor for the mine. An original tramway actually went all the way to an ore bin at the camp which was located half a mile away. The tramway still standing today was a shorter one built a bit later.

The ore is described as being lead carbonate, aka cerussite, that occurs with oxides of iron in a jasper and calcite gangue. The ore occurs in lenses and chimneys in the surrounding blue limestone. The pipe or chimneylike shape of the orebodies was very obvious in the workings of the mine. The ore was reported to average 15% lead and 28 ounces of silver per ton. Many beautiful jasper specimens could be found both inside and outside the mine.

Inside the mine we found a number of great artifacts, many of them dating from the mid to late 40s. Many were located at what appeared to be a small workshop. Next to the workshop was a walled off room that was possibly a break or living area or perhaps just another part of the workshop. It is apparent that not many people take the steep hike up to the mine as otherwise these artifacts would be stolen.

This video was actually filmed on two separate trips to this mine. On the first we explored the horizontal workings of the upper and lower adits. On the second we rappelled the main winze as well as climbed the connecting raise between the upper and lower adits. I must give a humongous thank you to both Xavier and Cash who joined me on these two great explorations.