After $3.5M Spent, California Ditches Mine Tunnel Tourism Project

After two decades of planning, California has scrapped a plan to turn a legendary Grass Valley gold mine into a tourist destination.

The Sacramento Bee reports Thursday that officials recently announced they would spend no more money on the Empire Mine project, which was frozen in 2012 because of concerns over structural safety. An inspection found as many as one-third of the wooden beams in the mine shafts may have been weakened by corrosion.

The Department of Parks and Recreation said it could cost $1.4 million or more to make repairs at the Nevada County site, plus untold amounts in long-term maintenance.

The agency spent $3.5 million so tourists wearing headlamps could board ore-style carts that would traverse an 850-foot tunnel deep into the mine that was active for more than a century.