Gold and Silver Juniors, Mid-tiers and Producers Message Board

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold and Silver Juniors, Mid-tiers and Producers

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next

To: loantech who wrote (25479)	11/14/2006 11:35:11 PM
From: hank2010	Read Replies (4) of 78410

I do not have all the answers by any stretch, Tom, but a few comments. and this first one kind of tongue in cheek: an exploration geochemist is the guy/gal who goes out and takes water samples for analysis for zinc, arsenic, copper mercury etc. and locates anomalously high values and tracks them upstream to their source so that the geologists can follow up and find a mine. an environmental geochemist is the guy/gal who goes out and takes water samples for analysis for the same elements and locates anomalously high values and tracks them upstream to their source so that the enforcement division can charge the mine with polluting. Your Silver Butte mine has probably served as a poster for anti-mining groups raising money. The rusty water, no fish etc are indeed terrible. No miners should condone what has happened at Silver Peak. Part of the permitting process to-day is to assess the potential for acid mine drainage (AMD). In nature there will be anomalous values of mineral and acid in the water draining from a mineralized site. If you drill and blast and make small rocks out of big rock or solid rock, you manufacture a lot of surface area where water and oxygen can come into contact with the sulphides (like pyrite) and therefore generate orders of magnitude of more acid. If you grind the rock in a ball mill, that much more surface area will be exposed. To-day if it is indicated that your ore/waste rock is acid generating then you will have to have an abatement/treatment plan, a costing for post production abatement/treatment and bonding sufficient to cover those costs before getting your permits. Then it is an economic decision. Will the mine be profitable when the abatement and treatment costs are added in. IMO, if it is not, then you do not start unless there is a national emergency e.g. WWII. Two ways I know of to treat/abate AMD. In Northern Ontario, a lot of acid generating tailings ponds are abated by deliberately ponding and submerging the tails under water so that oxygen can not get to the sulphides therefore insignificant qty of acid can be generated. Not too practical for Oregon mountain sides or arid climates. Other way is to collect run-off in treatment ponds and treat with lime or limestone, neutralizing the acid and precipitating out the minerals. A gypsum sludge with minerals is produced. EC has pointed out that often it is economic to recover the minerals. Gypsum sludge is not too big a problem. trying to seal off adits is not a solution IMO. the water will find several other outlets in fractured rock etc. making it difficult to collect the water for treatment. Summitville Colorado is also a bad site. Former owners are still active in the mining industry, very wealthy and stay out of the US for fear they will be arrested. IMO some of that wealth should be used to clean up the mess in Colorado. I do not invest in cos the previous owners now own on basis of principle. it has cost me a lot of potential profit!

Report TOU Violation

Share This Post

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next