J.E.Currie (2630 )
From: J.E.Currie
May 3 1997 7:25PM EST
Reply #2635 of 2636
"DESERT DIRTS" ARE THE RAGE IN SOUTHWESTERN U.S.
by: Robert Russell, free lance writer
Permission Granted
I have spent the last ten years examining the "new techniques",
"proprietary methods" and "black box processes for recovering precious metals out of
the so-called "unassayable" sands that abound in the south-west United States. I have
to admit that most of these methods carry no economic importance, and some are
simply outright scams. I
have also been the receipient of a number of articles published over the years that
appear to refute any new technology in the recovery of the precious metals that comes
along. After reading the article ("Desert Dirts" all the rage in southwestern U. S.),
which came out in the last issue of The Northern Miner, a paper devoted primarily to
mining related articles, with its emphasis on debunking the small junior mining
companies, I thought that maybe it was time that somebody should come out, an
outsider like myself, and perhaps give the other side of the story, a story which could
quite possibly set the mining industry on its ear.
The first part of the story written by Vivian Danielson and James Whyte, appears to be
devoted to Global Platinum + Gold, Inc., and brings up news that was news years and
years ago. It would appear that absolutely no research had been done by the writers
with the exception of taking erronous information from old files and just repeating the
main jist of the articles and taking excerpts from lately published news articles, written
by people with what I call "cave-man" mentality. Did the writers ever talk to Richard
Jensen, the President of Global, did they ever talk to Lee Furlong, the President of
IPM, I think not. Did they visit any of the facilities, follow through the extraction
processses and examine the finished product at Globals small refinery? I think not.
After following the history of Global for the past 10 years, I am quite familiar with the
incident where the actual platinum nuggets were taken from the Oro Grande and
submitted to the Bureau of Mines for analysis. I have been on the property and gone
down to the 100 foot and the 200 foot level, taken my own samples and actually
panned free gold and some metallic, round nuggets of semi-pure platinum myself. The
reputable government agency, the bureau of mines, that the writers speak of, is no
longer in existance, because of lack of funding. About 5 yers ago I had taken samples
from Global's Weaver Creek project to Reno to have them assayed by the Bureau of
Mines, but I was flatly told there was no money for assay work, they did not believe in
the existance of precious metals unless they could be fired assayed, and there would be
no money for checking out any such endeavors. So much for reputable Bureaus.
As far as the MHS Labratories is concerned, I visited several times with Mr. Mike
Thomas, who ran the lab at that time, and it is my personal opinion that Mr. Thomas
has forgotton more about the Platinum Group metals and gold and silver than most of
the so called
experts will ever know. The "Lab" was one of the most completely equipped labs that I
have ever visited.
Proceeding further into the article, as far as any state and federal mining officials are
concerned, as far as I know, there has never been a visit to any of Global's facilities or
to their properties by any state or mining official to determine whether or not the ore
contained precious metals, even though the latch key has been open on a continious
basis for many years. Global has made shipments of platinum group metal bearing
concentrates to the Unione Miniere refinery, in
Belgium, and Eastern Refinery in Mass, and I have seen photo-copies of the actual
checks recieved by Global for their product.
I have spent a few days at Global's in-house lab and at their facility NE of Buckeye,
Az. and I can honestly tell you that I feel that they are on the brink of a new
technology, or perhaps already there, whereby old methods of assay and recovery will
be "passe" in a few years. It is amazing to me that they could accomplish so much
under such conditions. Their lab manager, who does not have a PHD after his name
and is not a graduate chemist or metallurgist, and is not certified or registered because
they do no custom work, probably
know more about the precious metal in this newly discovered form, than anybody in
the world. My opinion only, however. I was shown
the entire process, which is so simple as almost to be unbelievable. I actually did,
following their instructions, produce a weighable and seeable precious metal button, 5
times in a row, from so-called "unassayable" ore.
I have followed their evolvement from their beginning years ago to now and I have to
marvel at their persistance and achievments under the most primitive of conditions.
After a very in depth examination of the situation, I can see no reason why Global
cannot begin shipments of at least 500 pounds of refinable Dore' metal daily within the
next two weeks.
I have also had the good fortune to talk with several assayers and metallurgists that
command the most highest degree of credibility and are all graduate PHD's, who have
visited Global's facilities, and they all appear to come to the same conclusion, that
Global is actually producing the platinun group metals along with gold and silver from
un-assayable ores.
I am not familiar with several of the mentioned companies, Delgratia Mining and Naxos
Resources, but I do know a little about IPM, as I have been privy to some of the
actual work performed by one of the outside assayers in their ores. I for one, am really
amazed at the dirt thrown on the endeavors by these small companies by such
uninformed parties as the people who composed the Northern Miner's article, people
such as the Dept. of Mineral Resources, mainly a Mr. Miles Nemuth, who, after seeing
some of his reports and letters, appears to have a vendetta against small companies
who claim they have platinum.I have seen a copy of the letter he wrote to the SEC
several years ago regarding Global Platinum, calling the whole operation a complete
sham, without ever visiting the property, checking on their methods of recovery, and to
the kniowledge of management, ever running any type of assays on their ores. The
SEC then instituted a full investigation which went nowhere. Now it would appear he is
spearheading a movement to put IPM in the grave. Actions like this I cannot
understand, you would think that the Dept. would love to represent Arizona as a new
platinum producing state and really get into an in-depth assessment of the claims by the
junior companies that they have platinum in their ores.
I have seen assays on IPM's ore, run by several different assayers
that show a completely different picture than the one Behre Dolbear
and IPM is presenting, with values much, much higher than they report
in both gold and platinum group metals. I was lucky enough to be able to actually
watch a few of the assay procedures, with samples being taken from large 5 gallon
buckets, impossible to salt, and see the final product produced. I wonder why Mr.
Furlong is holding back the information that could be presented to Behre-Dolbear and
really blow the nay-sayers completely off the map. Perhaps his hands are tied by the
investors and the people behind IPM who control the funding who
insist that the assays and recovery procedures be done in the old-fashioned way.
My final conclusions are this: There actually is a new technology being evolved in both
the analysis and recovery of the precious metals from non-assayable ores, or ores that
assay only a small amount of pms This technology will allow the mining companies
using it to produce huge amounts of the pms from very small areas, thereby eliminating
the destructions of large amounts of land, and the pollution of the so important
atmosphere.
I am beginning to understand why the so-called experts and major mining companies
are so insistant that all of the work done by the junior mining companies means
absolutely nothing, if that work is true and accurate, then most companies would have
to change their entire
operation and they simply will not do so. The same for major assay houses and
registered assayers. Doing the amount of volume that they do, they cannot afford to
change their methods for anybody, no matter what is actually really in the ore samples,
that have been submitted to them. You have to remember one thing, the methods of
assay were set up to assay stable metals, not "metal clusters, transition metals, or
whatever," the AA, the ICP, the DCP, etc. were not set up to analyze the "metal
clusters", etal.", a term given to the way the atom s exist in this type of material, and
unless certain changes are made in the actual instrumentation techniques, they cannot
and will not analyze the solutions containing these forms of the precious metals. This
was demonstrated to me conclusively.
With the volumes of information relating to this Technology available
from very credible scientists and metallurgists, it is hard to visualize that this fact has
gone unnoticed for so long a time by the "experts".
Everything that I can find out about this so-called "new Technology" is so very simple
and easy to do that as long as you put the logical steps in a proper sequence, the assay
methods work and the recovery can be done in actual production. These ores that are
the subject of all this speculation, are not complex, they are very simple, they are just
not "stable" until the correct procedures are followed and then the precious metals fall
out, almost like butter out of cream.
Also kudos to the several major European platinum companies, who are at this very
moment taking an in depth look at the situation, and I
have no doubt that the industry will certainly hear from them in the very near future.
You can also believe it when I make this final prophesy, in the very near future Global
Platinum + Gold, Inc. will be shipping to a major refiner on a daily basis and actually
refining at their own facility, thereby enabling them to sell directly to the consumers and
in the form that the users desire.
I also feel, that when the investors and the bureaucrats involved in IPM finally release
the fetters that have tied Mr. Furlong's hands for such a long time, IPM will come on
line and actually engage in a commercial operation, producing the gold and platinum
proup metals in copious quantities, compared to what is now being theorized.
I have not had the opportunity to visit the other companies named in the article but I
have a good hunch that their situation is much the same as Global's and IPM's. One
last thing, you also have to put yourself in the place of the writers of these articles, they
are simply relying on statements made by the so-called experts in the field, including the
registered assayers and the assay houses, who, for the most part, know actually
nothing about the new technology and that it even exists, so when ores do not respond
to the antiquated methods used by the industry for hundreds of years, then they
automatically assume that the precious metals do not exist in these ores. My fault with
the writers is that they do not examine every aspect of the situation, visiting sites,
watching and even doing in hand, new methods of assay, etc. My advise to them is to
get to the bottom of the situation, quit relying on the people with the "cave-man"
mentality, and get out and find out. You just might have a major news story!!! Who
knows.
We are rapidly going into the twenty-first century, with changes in all industries rapidly
occurring, other technologies have made tremendous strides over the past few years,
why not give the mining industry a chance.
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