Old Mines

Old Mines

Category: Main Route Location: The Other Side Fast travel: Yes

NOTABLE ITEMS

▪ Gas Mask ▪ Mining Helmet ▪ Running Shoes ▪ Ancient Idol ▪ Pickaxe (2) ▪ Miner's Key

DOCUMENTS

▪ Report: Underground Temple ▪ Report: Earthquake ▪ Report: Earthquake (update) ▪ Old Mines Map ▪ Miner's Diary Page

NPCs

▪ André

TASKS

▪ Find André's Hideout (continued) ▪ Find a Gas Mask (continued) ▪ The Lost Miners

ENEMIES

▪ Melee militiamen (4) ▪ Crossbow militiamen (4) ▪ Trained Dogs (3) ▪ Junkies (30) ▪ Raptors (3) ▪ Boars (1) ▪ Vipers ▪ Rats

The Old Mines is a wide abandoned mining area located in the north-western part of the island.

According to some documents and to the story told by the Old Shepherd, mining activities were carried out in this area until the mid-eighties, when an earthquake made several tunnels crumble, putting an end to all operations. Until that time, workers were forced to mine non-stop to provide an income to the community. The earthquake happened on the 24th of January 1986, as stated in one of the reports written by Brother Number 2 ("Report: Earthquake"). After that incident, the area was abandoned and the workers started to be employed for the retrieving of antiquities in the island's ancient sites.

The area features several adits to the tunnel system used for the mining activities; some of them are crumbled, some others are still partly or entirely accessible. There are also some ruined building, probably used to house workers or for administration purpose. A network of railways connect the galleries and the mining area to some place in the north-west, where a tunnel is sealed shut. Few windpumps, possibly used to drain water from the tunnels, are still standing outside the mines.

Being closer to the Labor Camp where the riot took place, most of the fugitive (drugged) workers - the Junkies - are found roaming in this area. This is also where André is hiding.

Finding André

Even thought the area is almost fully explorable as soon as you reach The Other Side, it's only when you get in touch with André at The Radio Tower that you actually need to go there (be sure to have the task "Find André's Hideout" in your to-do-list first). So, André just gave Daphne some clues about his location: he said he's hiding in a mine shelter and that he can hear squeaking sound.

Trivia: André will start giving hints to help Daphne reach his hideout if the player is taking too long to find him; the last hint will clearly tell you to find a spinning windmill.

Fast travel to The Underworld Passage shelter and walk on the trunk you pushed down earlier. Watch out for the Trained Dog and the militiamen patrolling the area, and follow the path on your left. After 50 meters you may hear some junkies fighting with a soldier and a dog on your right. Keep your left and use the tall plants to hide and go past them unnoticed.

Tip: concealed by the tall plants here, there's a narrow passage among the rocks that leads to a small cave near the pond of The Canebrake. It can be used as a shortcut, but be aware that there's no way back to the Old Mines once you climb down into the cave.

Walk the path all the way down; after gently curving right, it will eventually join a mine-cart track. Follow the rail in the western direction. Soon you should see a ruined building on your right with a junkie walking around it. Get inside and collect the document on the desk ("Report: Earthquake"; reading this document will add the task "The Lost Miners", see below). Go upstairs to pick up some items, then head back to the entrance. There are two pairs of tracks on either sides of the building, leading inside the mine. The two tunnels will meet in the end, and both have a junkie in it, so it doesn't really matter which one you choose to walk in. Keep going further into the mine and you'll reach a collapsed elevator shaft. Pick up the Old Mines Map from the board and take a look at it (you're now at the 1st Floor of the mine, where the A1 and B1 galleries meet). On the crate on your right there's also another document ("Report: Earthquake (update)") which gives you more information about the missing miners.

Now go back outside from where you came. The building drawn on the map between the C1 and D1 tunnels is where you want to go. So, follow the railway on the right passing under the natural arch, and then turn left where the train tracks split. The ruined building will be on your right, now. Be careful because the junkies in this area are particularly aggressive and they will attack you on sight. Get inside the building and grab the document on the bench ("Miner's Diary Page"). Go upstairs, and jump through the window to the rock in front of it. Walk straight on the natural bridge, turn right and go all the way up (you'll find two aggressive junkies along the way). Eventually you'll reach a rocky slope that allows you to easily jump on the other side, where a waterpump is.

Go in the direction of the frame structure on your right. You may start hearing the squeaking sound André was talking about, meaning that you're getting nearer to his hideout. You can't go up from here now, so follow the tracks and push down the cart (creating a shortcut to climb up again in case of falling). Jump the gap in the old bridge and turn right. Here's the entrance to the C2 tunnel (Floor 2 page on the map). Get inside and you'll end up in a large cave, open on the top and with streaming water on the bottom. Cross the bridge and you'll see a shelter right in front of you. On your left there's a slope going down towards the entrance of another tunnel. Make the jump to reach the opening on the other side and go all the way up the mine until you'll be outside again. Crouch among the tall grass. On your right you can finally see the origin of the squeaking sound: a rusted windpump. That means you have to go up. If you look closely in front of you, you'll see a staircase among the ruined buildings. You have to go there, but a few junkies are in the way. If you want to go stealthy, keep your left and check junkies' positions using Perception. Use any cover you find to hid yourself from enemies while you're moving on the perimeter of the area, close to the wire fence. Eventually you'll reach the backside of the building where the staircase is. Get on the rock and climb up the window on the second floor. Jump over the hole on the wooden floor and cross the doorway. Head for the spinning windmill. Daphne will make a comment about the squeaking sound. Get in the mine tunnel on your left and Daphne will call for André. Hearing the voice of his friend, André will unlock the door to the shelter. Walk in and you'll finally be face-to-face with him.

Talk to André. He will tell you that he sprained his ankle while he was running from the junkies, so he won't be able to come with you. The dialogue will be slightly different depending on whether or not you killed Dave at Pyres Beach. Pick up the Gas Mask and leave.

The Lost Miners

This is a secondary task which is added to your to-do list if you read the document "Report: Earthquake" (located in the building between the A1 and B1 adit). The document reports about an earthquake in 1986 which killed several workers and trapped some of them inside the collapsed tunnels. Among the missing people, there's Eng. Güler, the mining expert at the time. A second document ("Report: Earthquake (update)", located at the bottom of the main elevator shaft) informs you that Güler and his team were stuck in a cavity of the A2 tunnel and that they were working on a new tunnel to connect A2 with B2. The B2 tunnel is on the second floor of the mine. The only way to access it is a ladder near the elevator shaft, which can only be climbed from above.

From the mine where André's hiding in, go left towards the frame structure and jump on the top of the elevator, which will go down under your weight (from now on you can use it as a platform to climb up). Follow the tracks, jump over the ruined bridge, turn left and head to the windmill. Climb the ladder all the way up, jump on rock on your left and then again on the rock in front of you. There are two junkies around the headframe, but they're not aggressive, so you should be able to avoid them. On the contrary, the raptor flying over this area will attack you on sight. Near the headframe there's the ladder going down the elevator shaft. Use it and jump off on the second floor of the mine. You're now in the B2 tunnel. Go on the other side jumping over the shaft and turn right. This area is dark, so you'd better craft a Torch. The main gallery is blocked, but there's a narrow passage on the right. Crouch and pass through it. Keep going forward and eventually you'll rejoin the tunnel. After a few meters, on your right, you'll see a wall with dynamites. Hit it with the torch or trow a Molotov. The fuses will start sparkling and you'll have a few second to step back before the blasting. Now the way is open to access the cavity in which the miners were trapped. There are few interesting object near the skeletons: a Mining Helmet, a Pickaxe and the Miner's Key.

The Ancient Mausoleum (Ancient Idol)

The ancient mausoleum is an old underground structure carved directly into the rock. It's located in the E1 tunnel, on the western area of the mines. The adit is partially crumbled, so you need to crouch to enter the tunnel. Once you are in, on your right you'll see a slope going down where the mausoleum is. However, the inner chamber is closed with an iron gate. A document on the crate beside the gate ("Report: Underground Temple") hints to a key that was given to the mining expert of the time, Eng. Güler. If you read the reports about the earthquake, you'll know that the man was trapped with his team in the collapsed A2 tunnel. Once you complete the task "The Lost Miners" (see above), you get a Miner's Key, which is precisely the key you need. Go back to the E1 tunnel, open the gate and look up on the furthest wall of the funeral chamber: there's a small niche with an Ancient Idol in it. Climb on the sarcophagus and reach the ledge above to collect it.

The Stranded Container (Running Shoes)

Down the coast on the western side of the Old Mines, you may notice a stranded red container stuck on the rocks. Follow the tracks running on the cliff until you reach the sealed tunnel. On your left there are a few ledges and rocks that allow you to reach the rocks below safely. Examine the inside of the container and you'll see a pair of Running Shoes. Pick them up and find your way up the cliff climbing the rocks on your right.

Tip: to head down you can actually use the same route you have to use to go up, which is hidden by bushes in the southern side of the cliff.

André is Missing

This is more like an optional scene in case you DID NOT kill Dave at Pyres Beach. Once you got the password from Ibrahim, after showing him the Secret Files in the isolation cell of The Military Post, instead of heading directly to The Radio Tower, go visit André. Since André, according to the story, is actually going to the beach to burn Dave at the time, when you reach his hideout you won't find him. Daphne will be puzzled and she will try to call for him. Then, when you exit the mine, her walkie-talkie will pick up his communication, in which André reveals to have killed Dave in order to gain Brother Number 1's blessing and leave the island. Far in the distance, you will see black smoke rising from the direction of the beach.

You can now go to the Pyres Beach to talk to André.

André is Dead

This is another optional scene in case you DID kill Dave at Pyres Beach. Shortly after you had your last conversation with the Mystery Man at The Radio Tower, you'll receive a call from André, begging for help. He only has the time to tell Daphne that the militia has found him, then the communication cuts off. Go to his hideout and you will find him laying dead in a pool of blood.