Chuca, Hey read my post! Maybe I wasn't clear. The Oro Grande should be able to support a heck of a strip mine. Did I say anything about mining it underground. And the methods of concentration I talked about is all physical. Other than grinding costs, we have placer economics. No cyanide, no cyanide reclamation, no toxic wastes.
The Oro Grande has two kinds of values, I believe,. The common stuff should be easy to get. I had said, the values left resident in the waste and in place are there for some other day. Its cash flow they need now.
And that brings up another question, too bad we have no custom plants to sell the ore and cons to. Would whop the millions from mine development by removing all of the end product requirements from the pre-mining development costs. The mine might be developed for under one $million using a custom plant as the end purchaser.
And what is the grade at the Homestake mine in Lead S.D.? The mine is close to two miles straight down. About as underground and as expensive as you can get. I believe their grade is less than $30 gross. The mill recovers most of the gold by inexpensive gravity methods. The cyanide plant is used as a stripper of residual values in the tails.
The ore at the Oro Grande is at or near surface. A lot of stripping can happen there. My next question, since there has already been some drilling at the Oro Grande; Is the ore of sufficient quality to meet the forcast of what I think is there?
Right now the Oro Grande is the Needy, leave the future values, for the time being, to the greedy. If there is more low cost recoverable ore there than I project, well that could be. I am not basing my projections on any more than a hunch.
Chuca, people have a wrong idea about gold mines. Every mine is different, different mineralogy, geographical settings, water quality, hazards and extraction properties. Each properties specific qualities effects the cost of producing one ounce of gold. Its not how much money we can spend where all mines become profitable. Its the end cost of the ounce of gold. I am sure the Oro Grande has some negatives and some positives. If you balance them out and the end projection is low cost gold, go for it! Some times it is the guy that can make it on a .02 opt gold recovery that has no more to work with than a sharper pencil. Guys that require high grade ore to make ends meet are always looking for the easy way. The world needs those guys too.
If I was hiring a superintendent of a new mine, should I hire the man that has experience making profits with the richest mine in the world or the one that made profits from the leanest but still profitable mine?
Now if I give the last man higher grade ore, he will do a really fine job for me. And I will know he can squeeze every buck that can be had from that rock.
"Mines are never discovered, they are made by sweat and tears!" mike |
