Courteous guides, well-versed in early-day mining, lead underground tours through this 100-year-old gold mine in Deadwood. Explore this authentic old gold mine where miners pursued gold ore veins with black powder and candlelight. Every visitor receives a souvenir stock certificate. Pan for gold. In Deadwood, on upper Main Street.

Ed Schieffelin had a dry sense of humor. When he filed his first mining claim in 1877 he named it "Tombstone," because he'd been told that his tombstone was all that he would find in the parched, Apache-ruled hills of southeast Arizona. A year later, when he filed his second claim, he named it "Good Enough" because the silver ore was so rich that it was good enough to satisfy him.

Thousands of fortune-seekers followed Schieffelin, hoping to duplicate his success, opening dozens of other mines (Ed, alone, had 19). Above ground, the boomtown of Tombstone was born and flourished. But silver prices eventually fell, the veins of ore played out, and the town died. The mines were used as garbage dumps and then sealed shut.

Tombstone eventually resurrected itself as a tourist attraction. But if you ask the average Tombstone tourist WHY all those Wild West types had been living in this otherwise godforsaken part of the world, drinking and gambling and fornicating and killing each other -- you'd probably get a blank stare.

Andree and Shirley De Journett want to change that. Andree is Tombstone's ex-mayor; Shirley is a geologist and Andree's wife. For years they envisioned opening the Good Enough mine as an attraction and a missing link in Tombstone's history. They got their chance when the company that owned the property was told, "It's not worth anything, it's dangerous, get rid of it,'" said Shirley. As a measure of its perceived value, the mine was bought by Andree for only $2,000, but he had to pay $60,000 an acre for the surface property above it. He and Shirley then spent six years cleaning out the trash, sand, and rock and making the Good Enough reasonably tourist-safe. They finally reopened it on March 15, 2007.

Visiting the Good Enough makes one thing immediately clear: the silver miners in Tombstone had an easy daily commute. The mining district begins literally a block south of town, and it only takes 30 seconds to walk from the souvenir shops on Toughnut Street to the Good Enough entrance. It's probably the most convenient mine/cave tour in America. It's also dry, dark, and cool, attributes that should not be discounted in the SPF 50 climate of Tombstone.

Unlike the precise symmetry of, say, a coal mine or a salt mine, the Good Enough is a man-made cave. Passages twist and turn, sometimes enlarging into big rooms with soaring ceilings, with the empty spaces where the veins and bodied of silver ore were dug or blasted out by the miners. The mine goes a thousand feet out this way, hundreds of feet down that way. Shafts disappear into the abyss just off of the tour route -- future attractions, no doubt, in the De Journett's subterranean empire, as the Good Enough abuts the Toughnut, Lucky Cuss, West Side, and other mines, running even under the town itself.

Tourists don plastic miner helmets and bright green safety vests (Why? Perhaps it's easier to spot a wayward tour member wandering off the tour route, or at the bottom of an undeveloped shaft...). Groups are shepherded down a steep flight of wooden steps into the main mine tunnel.

Andree knows every vein of ore, every mineral outcropping, every original wooden post, every detail of construction. He spits out facts at every turn and nubbin; the man's energy is impressive. He shows us where he paved and flattened the floor of the mine with concrete and red clay (It used to be all rocky).

He recounts how he paid two guys to live in the mine for six months just to wash the walls so that tourists could "see the color" of the various ore veins; "If this was a working mine," he tells us, "you'd see nothing." He explains how he had to dig this room out by hand, blast that passage out with compressed air.

Andree even notes wherever he bumps his head, and paints those rocks blood red, a helpful visual cue that eco-sensitive natural caves can't copy. We don't known if his choice of color was meant for visibility or camouflage, but it certainly made us duck.

Andree and Shirley have big plans for their attraction. A shelter is being built over the mine entrance; burros will be imported to work mine equipment and charm the young; a blacksmith shop will be built along with gift shops and a restaurant and bar. Old miners shacks will be brought in and retrofitted as tourist cabins, so that visitors can spend the night in a miner shack.

"It's a job, isn't it?" Andree asks with a catbird grin worthy of Ed Schieffelin. "But work is cheap. I'll make it work."

Come visit us! We have many things to offer. The center has an amazing view of the 1876 Historic "Open Cut"- the original claim of the Homestake Gold Mine. The Open Cut was the original site of the Homestake Claim in 1876.

The center also has a short informative film, educational & historic memorabilia, and a fantastic gift shop.

Our surface tour of the Homestake Mining Operation takes you through the underground mine's surface operation and follows the mining process including hoisting, crushing and milling of the underground ore and views Homestake's state-of-the-art Waste Water Treatment Plant and open pit mine.

This is a guided tour that takes about 1 hour. You are taken via bus up to the Homestake surface operation. You get off the bus 3-4 times to go inside the different facilities of the operation that are located on the surface.

On completion of your tour you will receive a sample of ore that was drilled from the Homestake Gold Mine.

It's fun for the whole family!

The Kansas Underground Salt Museum is 650 below the surface in the largest salt formation in the United States. The tour is via a underground tram. The tram will tour a still working salt mine. It will also tour excavated areas of the mine that are used as storage areas. Since salt mines have a constant temperature and humidity they are used to store items that are sensitive to temperature and humidity such as old Hollywood films.

The Phoenix mine is operated by the oldest continuous gold mining family in Colorado; owned and operated by Al and Dave Mosch. It is a working gold mine where miners actually do the work.

After your gold mine tour, try some Gold Panning -- take home a little bit of Colorado Gold for yourself.

Panning is included in the cost of the tour and you may keep any gold that you find in the stream while panning.

Want to make a day of it pack a picnic lunch and make a day of it by the stream above the mine.

The Underground Mine Tour is complete. This first-ever underground mine tour in Kentucky will take visitors to the underworld world that miners saw everyday. The mine rehabilitation is engineered by Mining Consulting Services, Inc.

The mine tour can be combined with entry to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum, about 2 miles north of the mine.

Outfitted in hard hat, miner?s headlamp and a yellow slicker, thousands of Bisbee visitors descend into the Queen Mine Tour each year?heading underground and back in time. Tour guides, retired Phelps Dodge employees, lead the group 1,500 feet into the mine and recount mining days, techniques, dangers and drama. Adding a personal touch, the miner-turned-tour guides help visitors experience what it was like to work underground.

Five tours depart each day, seven days a week, from the Queen Mine Tour Building, located immediately south of Old Bisbee?s business district, off the U.S. 80 interchange.

Central Vermont was built upon the granite industry, the offspring of
pure Yankee tenacity and immigrant fortitude. Rock of Ages, founded by
two native Vermonters and one Scotsman, epitomizes the rich cultural
heritage of Barre, Vermont. Rock of Ages represents a living industry,
not a museum or showcase, but a working, breathing entity that gives
rise to some of the finest artistry in stone that our guests have ever
seen.

We invite you and your family to experience Rock of Ages. Our narrated
shuttle tours take you to the world's largest deep-hole, dimension
granite quarry-a quarry nearly 600 feet deep! Peer into its depths;
see the mighty steel derricks that tower above the surface and which are capable
of lifting up to 250 tons.

Our artisans will amaze you when you take our self-guided factory tour.
From hand pitching to laser etching, the factory tour allows you to
observe the oldest and the latest: hand-dressing and sculpting
techniques that have remained virtually unchanged for centuries
juxtaposed against modern circular diamond saws and laser etchers.
Then bowl on our outdoor granite lane, watch our
video, enjoy our exhibits and browse our gift shop, featuring
Vermont-made granite gifts, Vermont specialty foods, clothing and
souvenirs.

Let us share with your family our industry, our artistry and our
heritage.

Most everything man-made has something to do with mining. At the Sterling
Hill Mining Museum we'll show you just how it's done. From drilling and
blasting to the processing of the ore, we?ve got it all! Come take a ¼ mile underground walking adventure into the 4th oldest mine in the country and the last working underground mine in NJ. Along the way you will see a mining equipment history display, a drilling and blasting demonstration and the world famous fluorescent ?Rainbow Tunnel? where everybody gets to take home a fluorescent mineral specimen.

Right here in NJ is one of the worlds richest zinc ore deposits. This area
boasts over 350 minerals, about 70 of which fluoresce, that's about 10% of
the known minerals in the world right here in NJ. As well as the richest
fluorescent mineral deposit in the world. You can collect minerals from
all over the world, including fluorescence, yourself 7 days a week
when the museum is open.

The "Mr. Charlie"
The Only Place in the World Where the General Public can Walk Aboard an Authentic Offshore Drilling Rig! From 1954 to 1986 "Mr. Charlie" drilled hundreds of offshore wells off the coast of Morgan City, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first transportable, submersible drilling rig and an industry springboard to the current offshore rig technology.

"Mr. Charlie" was built in 1952 and finished in 1953. In 1954 he went to work for Shell Oil Company, drilling a new field in East Bay, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Despite skepticism from offshore industry professionals, "Mr. Charlie" performed up to expectations and went on to drill hundreds of wells for every other major oil company operating in the Gulf, with a cumulative depth of 2.3 million feet.

His barge is approximately 220 feet long and 85 feet wide. Under the living quarters pontoons extend the width to 136 feet. The barge is 14 feet deep, with a 4 foot skirt extending below its bottom on both port and starboard sides. The floor of the platform is 60 feet above the barge, supported by the massive legs that serve to connect the barge and platform. These legs also serve as conduit for connecting services such as: electric, water & air lines, elevator access and other services needed to operate an independent facility, out of sight of land.

"Mr. Charlie" could accommodate a crew of 58. Once "Mr. Charlie" was on location, he was an independent island and nearly totally self-sufficient with room to store drinking water, food, and supplies for the crew. He generated his own electricity, disposed of his own waste, provided his own communication system, and contained enough fuel to accomplish these tasks. He also maintained supplies and equipment to perform his job of drilling a well. He also had to be prepared for any emergency with a complete fire fighting system, blow out preventors, and medical supplies and equipment.

"Mr. Charlie" was capable of drilling wells in water depths up to 40 feet and had a prolific career lasting nearly 4 decades. He revolutionized the offshore oil industry in the Gulf and world-wide. He was retired in late 1986 when drilling activity headed into water deeper than his "feet." The offshore industry was born in Morgan City, and "Mr. Charlie" carried it into the Gulf of Mexico and shipped it around the globe. "Mr. Charlie" revolutionized the offshore oil industry and lead to the technology currently being used around the world. This historic and renowned structure now continues in a new role, teaching others about an industry that changed the world; the offshore oil industry.

Mission
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition's mission is to gather, save, preserve, and interpret artifacts and information about the offshore petroleum industry and to educate others concerning the impact and significance of this Cajun-born industry upon the rest of the world.

Purpose
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition is a non-profit corporation established for the purpose of educating the general public, and the next generation, on the significance of the offshore oil and gas industry and its affect on the local area, the state, the nation, and the world.

It is a tribute to the pioneering men and women of an industry that developed a culture based on initiative, perseverance, creativity, and hard work. It is a living reminder of the positive contributions, the technological advancements and the world-wide influence of an industry that began in this sleepy, fishing village community.

Through the efforts of the rig museum, everyone will have the opportunity to experience the real oilfield. It will tell the story from the view point of the participants. The hardships and the heroism, the challenges and the conquests, the problems and the solutions will be told here. The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition will be an accurate depiction of the way it was in the offshore oil business.

One of the largest open-pit copper mining operations in the entire country, ASARCO is one of the only Arizona giants to provide a tour. Highly recommended if you're in the Tucson area, the tour welcomes both those in favor of and opposed to open-pit copper mining and its environmental consequences.

The Mineral Discovery Center screens a short propaganda piece called "Mining for Music" and the science exhibits and displays of historic mining equipment from what was once Arizona's biggest industry are impressive in scope and scale.

Some of the exhibits demonstrate how copper deposits are formed naturally in the earth, how miners extract copper minerals from the rock to produce nearly pure metal, and more.

The Mission Mine has an average grade of only about 0.67 percent copper, which means that every ton - or 2,000 pounds - of ore that comes out of the mine produces only 13 pounds of copper. In addition, for every ton of ore, about three tons of waste rock must be removed. To keep the pit economically feasible, engineers use sophisticated equipment that tracks progress. When the price of copper is low, miners work on excavating areas with higher-grade ore.

The Mission Mine is about two miles across and a quarter-mile deep. About six times the amount of earth that was moved to form the Panama Canal has been mined at this site.

The Tour-Ed Mine and Museum shows authentic mining tools and methods, from the 1850's through to the most advanced mining techniques and machines of today. All of the guides at the mine are experienced miners. These guides give live demonstrations of the various types of mining equipment to give visitors a sense of what it was and is like to work in a coal mine.

Guides take visitors into the mine in groups of 25 or fewer. This ensures everyone can see the guide's demonstrations. All visitors wear a mine hard hat for protection. A light jacket is suggested, because the mine's temperature averages 52 to 55 degrees year-round.

Visitors are also given a brief presentation by the guides on the various types of hats, lamps, and rescue gear used by miners throughout mining's history. Visitors will even learn the first thing all old-time miners ate out of their lunch pail everyday!

Tourist will enjoy riding the mine cars deep underground to reach the mining display. In addition, a surface tour of our strip mine, saw mill, caboose and auger mining display is provided for your enjoyment.

U.S. Borax operates California's largest open pit mine in Boron, California - one of the richest borate deposits on the planet. The company supplies 30% of the world's demand for refined borates, minerals essential to life and modern living.

U.S. Borax traces its roots to California's Death Valley, where borate deposits were discovered in 1872. The twenty mule teams U.S. Borax used to haul ore out of the remote desert live on as a symbol of the company's commitment to innovation.

Today, U.S. Borax is acknowledged as the world leader in borate technology, research and development. Technical support for customers, product quality, and supply reliability are the pillars of our commercial commitment. We are also committed to ensuring that our practices and products are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

You will also find the U.S. Borax Visitor Center, one of the best kept secrets of the Southern California desert.

You can view mammouth mining equipment working in California's largest mine.