The Ore Chute Mine is a spot I first visited in 2015, on one of the first trips I did with Brind to explore the underground. We were thwarted that trip by rehabilitation measures that had been taken on the adits, but we noted that it might be possible to gain access. In early 2022, we heard through various channels that the mine was now open, and made plans to revisit the site.

Brind and I ended up having to push those plans back a year, but we finally got back to the Ore Chute Mine this past summer, as the first stop on our planned two week trip. Our intel proved correct, and we found the adit we had previously eyed narrowly open. After a tight squeeze around rocks and the remains of a concrete wall, we were underground.

It didn't take long to discover the namesake of the Ore Chute Mine. We soon found ourselves walking along the adit, finding ore chutes every 100'; just a constant line of ore chutes. We never did find our way to the workings above the adit, but the adit and associated drifts were more than enough to sate our interest. We didn't follow the adit all the way to the end, though, as we came across a flooded section after the seventh ore chute. Not having brought waterproof boots in with us, and being so early in the trip, we opted to turn back and finish exploring what we could.

Which, to be fair, was more than enough to keep us occupied for a few hours. We did poke around the site looking for the other adits, finding what is referred to as the 'upper adit'. Unfortunately, to our dismay, it turned out to be no more than 5m in length; the effort having been abandoned early on. That said, we know of a few other opening to the underground around the area.

For a first entry on the 2023 trip, it was a fantastic explore. It's also one we'll be back to in the future, knowing that more lies beyond that seventh ore chute... and to also try our luck at the other ways to get underground.