Richard: A quick re-read of the CHairman's message makes me cringe, IMO:
<<Maxam Gold Corporation arranged for a 600-pound test of Chain-of-Custody ore to be run at Cimetta Engineering and Construction Co., Inc., Tucson, Arizona. Thereafter it became our understanding that new Pima County regulations did not permit use of the Maxam proprietary process, without the air quality permit. In order to continue the testing, the Maxam proprietary process was modified with negative results occurring.>>
Why on earth would the company change the recovery process just to be expedient?
<<Subsequently it has been determined that in Pima County the Maxam proprietary process may be used in a "batch" processing environment but not in the "continuous" processing mode required for the 10-ton per day Maxam pilot production facility.>>
This is a real headshaker. The plant IS a batch plant to begin with. You dump in ore and chemicals and out comes whatever at the other end. Then you dump in a new batch of ore and chemicals. Continuous means processing one batch after another continuously. You don't have to operate the plant continuously to determine whether gold comes out the other end. If the plant works, just process one batch and report the result. The company did do this, as noted above and got bad results. It's as if the company is blaming part of its problems with the pilot plant on not being able to process batches continuously when in fact it can process continuously. Yet the failed 600 pound test shows that all the company has to do to determine whether the plant produces metal is process one batch.
<< Maxam decided not to allocate funds to upgrade the existing batch process facility in Pima County and Cimetta did not follow through for the permit application. >>
Huh? It's a batch plant to begin with. If the plant works, run it in its designed batch mode. Get new COC ore and run it, and report the results, just like the failed 600 pound test noted above. It's as if the company is blaming its problems now on not having upgraded the plant. But the plant is already built and completed.
<<Instead, Maxam management has elected to proceed with plans utilizing the proposed MCM Mill site and facility on a private property location in Maricopa County. Meanwhile further processing at the pilot batch plant located at Cimetta Engineering and Construction Co., Inc., Tucson, Arizona has been delayed.>>
So the company won't run the pilot plant because it's a batch plant and the company doesn't want to upgrade it to continuous yet the plant can run continuously if desired. The plant is being put on the backburner now because it wants to go with the MCM milling plant, whcih hasn't even been buolt yet and funds to build it haven't been fully raised yet. So instead of running the already built 10 ton plant, the company wants to put that plant asaide and spend several million dollars to build the MCM plant
<<Different areas for other Chain-of-Custody samples are under consideration and when positive results are obtained the process will be resumed. Meanwhile, Maxam Gold Corporation is presently conducting 20-pound Leach tests at the Maxam Laboratory to provide guidance to the proper location and to analyze and determine recoverability with activated charcoal and resins. >>
I thought the pilot plant was supposed to be used to determine recoverability? Now it's just 20 pound leach tests.
All in all, it's a mess of a message, and it's because the fundamentals are a mess. The company desperately needs help, as it appears the company is close to the end. |
