History Main / AbandonedMine

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'': for the civilised heart of TheEmpire, Cyrodill sure has a lot of abandoned mines lying around for no good reason andfFor the most part, they're infested with bandits or creatures. They sometimes show no evidence, beyond wooden supports or the odd pickaxe, of actually being a mine. Bonus points for one literally called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Abandoned Mine]].

* ''TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'': for the civilised heart of TheEmpire, Cyrodill sure has a lot of abandoned mines lying around for no good reason andfFor the most part, they're infested with bandits or creatures. They sometimes show no evidence, beyond wooden supports or the odd pickaxe, of actually being a mine. Bonus points for one literally called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Abandoned Mine]].
** TheElderScrollsVSkyrim averts this trope by having working and populated mines.

* BetrayalAtKrondor features the The Mac Mordain Cadal, although the dwarves are trying to change that mine's status.

* The Mac Mordain Cadal in ''TheRiftwarCycle'' as well as the game based on it, ''BetrayalAtKrondor''. The dwarves are trying to get it un-abandoned, though.

* One of these shows up (possibly two) in the forgettable ''BrokenArrow''.

* ''DonkeyKongCountry'' has the mine levels. Two levels involve [[MinecartMadness using a mine cart to get from the beginning to the end]].

* In an episode of ''Series/ManVsWild'', Bear Grylls explores one.

** The short route from Ravenholm back to the surface in VideoGame/Half-Life2 also counts.

** The short route from Ravenholm back to the surface in HL2 also counts.

* ''{{Minecraft}}'' has the underground Stronghold and the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Abandoned Mine]], which frequently go off in labyrinthine directions with broken mine tracks, exposed ores, and resources, chests, webs, and a spider spawner.

* ''{{Minecraft}}'' has the underground Stronghold and the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Abandoned Mine]], which frequently go off in labyrinthine directions with broken mine tracks, exposed ores, and resources, chests, webs, and a spider spawner.

* ''{{Doom}} II'' has a level called "The Abandoned Mines". Granted, it doesn't look much like actual mines (then again, no level in the classic ''Doom'' games looks like anything) and it's supposed to be located in Hell, but it does have areas that look like giant underground excavated caverns.

* ''TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'': for the civilised heart of TheEmpire, Cyrodill sure has a lot of abandoned mines lying around for no good reason andfFor the most part, they're infested with bandits or creatures. They sometimes show no evidence, beyond wooden supports or the odd pickaxe, of actually being a mine. Bonus points for one literally called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Abandoned Mine]].

* The ''[[AnAmericanTail Fievel's American Tails]]'' episode "The Lost Mother Lode" features one as a setting.

* Minecraft has the underground Stronghold and the... AbandonedMine...

Maybe there's nothing left to mine. Maybe it was closed because of safety issues. Maybe the company that owned it went bankrupt. Maybe something terrible happened there. Maybe the miners DugTooDeep. Whatever the reason, this mine is now abandoned, and has probably been that way for some time. That does not, however, mean that it is empty. An abandoned mine is the perfect place for young characters to get lost or trapped, for heroes to find a valuable clue or some sort of treasure, or for villains, outlaws, and horror movie monsters to lurk.

It may or may not be specified what was mined there in the first place, or [[MinecartMadness mine cart rides]].

Watch out for [[InvoluntaryGroupSplit falling rocks and other obstacles]].

A SubTrope of AbandonedArea.

!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': In "Heavy Metal Queen", Spike, Faye, and a space trucker chase down a bounty into an abandoned mining complex on an asteroid.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* One of these shows up (possibly two) in the forgettable ''BrokenArrow''.
* An inactive mine is a plot point in ''DantesPeak''. Wando's son uses it as a hideout/clubhouse, and when the volcano erupts, it's where Harry and the Wando family hole up until help arrives.
* In the Brendan Fraser film ''JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'', shortly after taking refuge in a cave on the side of an Icelandic volcano, they discover a lava tube that leads to an abandoned mine shaft.
* In ''The Great Outdoors'', John Candy's character ends up trapped for a period in an abandoned mine with some old, wet dynamite.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Moria is both this and a GhostCity.
* An abandoned mine is the setting of a ghost scare prank in one of ''TheGreatBrain'' books.
* ''DarkDaysOfHamburgerHalpin'' is about children exploring an abandoned coal mine.
* The Mac Mordain Cadal in ''TheRiftwarCycle'' as well as the game based on it, ''BetrayalAtKrondor''. The dwarves are trying to get it un-abandoned, though.
* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'''s Farthen Dur. Orik tells Eragonabout many tunnels underneath the city, "uninhabited since the day they were mined", which is where a part of the Battle of Farthen Dur takes place.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''SkippyTheBushKangaroo'' CatchPhrase: "What's that Skippy? The kids are trapped down the old mine-shaft, '''again'''?"

[[AC: {{Music}}]]
* Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" mentions the couple going into an old mine with a radio among the settings for the couple's trysts.

[[AC:TabletopRPG]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Minecraft has the underground Stronghold and the... AbandonedMine...
* There is some sort of incarnation of the AbandonedMine in every ''Half-Life'' game to date.

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' has Knuckles' search for shards of the previously shattered Master Emerald bringing him to [[DownTheDrain Aquatic Mine]], an abandoned coal mine located within the vicinity of Pumpkin Hill that can be accessed via the sewers of Central City. This is aptly summed up by the opening lyrics of the stage's theme, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LIsQuFX9Xk "Dive into the Mellow":]] "Let's take a dive, in Aquatic Mine. Once was a coal pit, but now it's a water ride."
* There is at least one in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''.
* Many, many side-missions in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' will take place in these- from recovering missing Alliance intelligence to killing husks of a mining team that DugTooDeep. ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has just one mission in a abandoned mine that is also fighting the remnants of miners who DugTooDeep.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' had the Toize Valley Mine in Tethe'alla.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' games take place at Aperture Science, a laboratory built into an abandoned salt mine. Of course, since said mines are now booming research facilities (though those were abandoned too), it's hard to say if this trope applies.
* ''ScurgeHive'': Area 5, the Mines. No longer actively used, these minds are now overrun with native monsters.
* ''{{Nostalgia}}'': The Eterna Mines.
* ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'', a series of horror games, all take place in an abandoned mining facility.

* ''{{Doom}} II'' has a level called "The Abandoned Mines". Granted, it doesn't look much like actual mines (then again, no level in the classic ''Doom'' games looks like anything) and it's supposed to be located in Hell, but it does have areas that look like giant underground excavated caverns.

[[AC:WebGames]]
* ''{{BIONICLE}}'': in the ''Mata Nui Online Game 2'', the Great Mine was abandoned due to flooding by Gahlok in the previous arc. Hahli, a Ga-Matoran and experienced swimmer, has to dive through the mine to retrieve tools and materials for the Onu-Matoran miners.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''TransformersAnimated'', the Decepticons set up a hidden base in one. It also features prominently in the episode "Nature Calls".
* The ''ScoobyDoo Where Are You!'' episode "Mine Your Own Business". While trying to determine the identity of the scary Miner 49er, the gang explores a spooky old mine.

[[AC:RealLife]]

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* There is at least one in ''NeverwinterNights''.
* Many, many side-missions in ''MassEffect1'' will take place in these- from recovering missing Alliance intelligence to killing husks of a mining team that DugTooDeep. ''MassEffect2'' has just one mission in a abandoned mine that is also fighting the remnants of miners who DugTooDeep.

** ''FalloutNewVegas'' has its fair share of long-abandoned mines, now inhabited by monsters or raiders.
** ''{{Fallout 2}}'' has the Wanamingo Mine in Redding, which was abandoned after a pack of monsters moved in. The player can buy the mine and clear it out to resell it at a profit.

* ''{{Penumbra}}'', a series of horror games, all take place in an abandoned mining facility.
* ''{{Fallout 3}}'''s DLC Pack Point Lookout has the Herzog Mine. The mine was partially collapsed to end a strike. Many of the striking workers died. The owner, overcome with remorse, hung himself in the lowest chamber.

[[AC:{{Toys}}]]
* ''{{BIONICLE}}'': in the ''Mata Nui Online Game 2'', the Great Mine was abandoned due to flooding by Gahlok in the previous arc. Hahli, a Ga-Matoran and experienced swimmer, has to dive through the mine to retrieve tools and materials for the Onu-Matoran miners.

** ''{{Falout 2}}'' has the Wanamingo Mine in Redding, which was abandoned after a pack of monsters moved in. The player can buy the mine and clear it out to resell it at a profit.