I found this mine on some maps and decided to check it out one day!

The hike won’t take more than 8 minutes from the parking area.  I followed a very wide trail to it and right when I saw the mine I saw this white paper stuck to the rock wall – of course I had to see what was written on it.  Here is what it said:

Bad Air Mine

(Mutual Tunnel, Big Cottonwood Canyon, another true story rhymed in slimerick rhythm, verses 1,3, January, 2006, Verse 2, March, 2010)

Some men inspecting there*
Took insufficient care,
Anoxia.
Hypoxia.
They died from tainted air.

Some donkeys went in too.
And breathed the lethal brew.
Did they survive;
Get out alive,
Or get made into glue?

Chapter 2 (about 70 years later)

Some boys exploring there
With trash bags full of air
Perceived their lack
And headed back
Escaped with none to spare.

*1928

So…I guess from these poems we can surmise that some miners, donkeys, and explorers died in this mine?  I’m not sure who wrote this. Maybe the mine owner perhaps?  Who knows! There aren’t any “Danger” signs or other warnings, just this odd poem.  This poem may be deterrent enough for some though.

I did a Google search to see if there were any news stories about the supposed deaths at this mine but couldn’t find anything with those dates in the poem.

Still, you can see remnants of what appears to be a large mine.  The entrance is gated and then a few feet behind that it’s sealed by a wall of concrete bricks with two large pipes at the bottom to let out the water.  There was a good amount of water too.