The Underground Tour Project

Current Status ( April 20,,2008 ) The shaft and track are complete and the train locomotives have arrived at the Park. Construction of the Maintenance Building and Orientation Center could start in the spring of 2009. California State Parks hopes to complete construction on the project in the next two-to-three years.

Background: The project was funded in October 2006 at a California Cultural Historical Endowment ( CCHE ) meeting. The Empire Mine Park Association ( EMPA ) in conjunction with California State Parks has been granted over 1.2 million dollars by the CCHE for the project. This combined with a matching amount of approximately $700,000 should be sufficient funding to complete the support buildings and the dioramas. A signficant amount of the "match" would be labor contributed by the Over-the-Hill Gang who will be building the Maintenance Building and the Orientation Center.

Project Background

Fire in the Hole !! Whump!!

As the shock from the powerful explosion reaches the surface from the depths of the mine, it is sensed more as a vibration then sound. Outside the tunnel below, miners await the gasses and dust to clear before removing the shattered rock. Than they attack the exposed rock face with compressed air drills leaving a specially designed pattern of holes.
Dynamite is tamped into the holes, and the blasting is repeated. Foot by foot, blast by blast, the tunnel ( called an adit in miner's parlance) slowly advances toward the Empire Mine's main inclined shaft approximately 100 feet below ground.

The foregoing is not a recount of past mining operations of the Empire, it is happening NOW! The long dreamed Underground Tour Project is underway. The adit will penetrate horizontally through the quartz-laced gray granite until it intersects the main shaft. Visitors will be transported by tram along its 800 foot length, stopping from time to time, to view dioramas depicting the advancement of hardrock mining techniques over the years. Near the intersection of the main shaft, visitors will see where the quartz vein was mined upward, leaving a caverous area called a stope.From there they will proceed to where the main shaft can be viewed. It will be an outstanding educational opportunity, for both adults and children, to actually experience the same environment, sights, and sounds as those experienced by working miners.


Underground Tour Project Overview

The mission statement of the California Department of Parks & Recreation reads, in part, " to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California" and protect " its most valuable natural and cultural resources". Since its inception, the Empire Mine State Historic Park has implemented these objectives by developing comphrehensive restoration, interpretive and public education programs.

Interpretation of the mine covers many aspects, such as the complicated process of extracting gold ore from solid rock, bring it to the surface, and refining it to an almost pure form. The visitor also learns about the people who worked at the mine, their culture and what they did for amusement. Docents portray mine workers, managers, and owners in a living history program that interacts with the public, an enjoyable, yet educational experience. However, the most important interpretive experience of all has been lacking until now. This will be fulfulled by the Underground Tour Project.