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Gold/Mining/Energy : A New Age In Gold Refining -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: go4it who wrote (507)	1/23/1998 9:27:00 PM
From: Michael J. Wendell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 672

Hi Charles, You are so right about there not being any real problems to resolve. I think part of the problem is that the mining and mining related companies do not keep staffs of research oriented metallurgists any more. They don't want to justify the costs. College is not the real learning ground. The learning ground for problem solving is getting in and getting the job done. Face a problem and deal with it. We do it in space, in telecommunications, in catalytic chemistry, in energy etc. But we fail in mining. The reason is not that the basics of education are not there. But the "tricks of the trade" in resolving problems are usually passed along from one research generation to the next. These methods are passed on by experienced supervision and in doing. There are research labs. They get paid by the hour or by the day. Even when they know the answer, it might only mean a $500 charge to you if they told you the answer. They cannot support their overhead that way. So they agree to work on the problem, they work on it and charge you, and they work on other problems at the same time. They bring in support help and charge that time to you also. In the end your patience and money is exhausted and all you have is a professional report that you can wipe ----. The cost is horrendous, and the DD company is stripped naked and the DD investors have been the real folks stripped. The failure of the DD company was not to properly assess the problems to be encountered, to develop a direct and focused effort to resolution and to be mean and tough. They must be threatening and without tollerance for stupidity, but understanding. When researchers get to the point that it is just a job, it is time for replacement. There is a target, a focus and I don't care what the excuses are, failure is not an option. Most great results have come from "licked Skillet" economics. Always has been that way, always will. Maybe I am wrong, but frankly I don't think the problem is that difficult either. It is attitude. Mining companies stopped initiating new project research efforts, because they lost control of the efforts. Today they stick to "cookie cutter" philosophies. Look at what the first half of this century brought about. Look at the second half. While recent years have been progressive for so many industries, the mining companies have been pathetic. And by the way, that comment does not just apply to the DDs. It is the sad state of the entire mining industry. Actually, if you look at the failure rate of new technology in metallurgy, maybe the minining industry is not qualified to support grass roots research. Maybe it is the first half of the centuries that are great. If that is so, we are almost there. mike