Lower French Mine is a great location for mine explorers and adventure nuts, the amount of mine shafts, mining equipment and interconnecting tunnels will keep you busy for hours.
After walking through the main door you will notice the drop in temperature and the long dark mine shaft ahead, turn on your flashlights and start exploring, after walking about 15 minutes into the first shaft you will enter a large room, this room has a small area filled with water and stack of mine shafts that you can explore. The other mine shafts that can also be found come to a dead end or just link to another shaft.
You will know you have arrived when you see the old ore chute that connects to the Upper Mine and the concentrator tower in the distance, the main entrance is just behind the tower up a small path.
Getting to the Upper Mine can be done by road or following the goat trail up the mountain.
History:
A total of 77,608 tonnes of ore averaging 20 grams per tonne of gold was mined from three levels of underground workings over an elevation of 134 feet (41 meters) between 1950 and 1961. In 1982 and 1983 another 4,438 tonnes of ore averaging 6 grams per tonne of gold was mined. Since these dates, only a few samples from other mining corporations have been taken.
The total gold pulled from the French Mine was 3,422 lbs (1,552 kgs) for a total 1950s value of over $1.7 million.
The French Mine is also known as the Oregon Claim. The name French Mine comes from the geological fault line it sits on, known as the French Fault line.
Getting There:
Starting on the main service road you travel 7.5 km (4.6 miles) and claim 4,043 feet (1,232 meters) to Lower French Mine, along the way you will get lots of picture opportunities, after taking your first right into the forest you will encounter service roads that are narrow with steep drops on your right as seen in the images, after navigating this area you will come to a large washout that will require a high clearance off-road vehicle, after this you will arrive at the end of the road, walk to the tall structure at the end of the old road and the mine entrance will be up the path behind it.
