"DESERT DIRTS" ARE THE RAGE IN SOUTHWESTERN U.S.
By: Robert Russell, freelance writer
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 southwest
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 recipient of a number of
articles published over the years that appear to refute
any new technology in the recovery of the previous metals
that comes along. After reading the article ("Desert Dirts
Are 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 their 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
erroneous information from old files and just repeating
the main gist of the articles and taking excerpts from
lately published news articles, written by people with
what I call "caveman" mentality. Did the writers ever talk
to Richard Jensen, the President of Global? Did they talk
to Lee Furlong, the President of IPM? I think not. Did
they visit any of the facilities, follow through the
extraction processes and examine the finished product at
Global's small refiner? I think not.
After following the history of Global for the past 10
years, I am quite familiar with the incident where 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 have gone down to the 100 foot and the
200 foot level, taken my own samples and actually panned
free gold and some of the 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 existence, because of the lack of funding.
About 5 years 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 existence of
precious metals unless they could be fired assayed, and
there would be no money for any checking out of such
endeavors. So much for reputable Bureaus.
As far as MHS Laboratories 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
forgotten 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 federal
mining official to determine whether or not the ore
contained precious metals, even though the latch key has
been open on a continuous basis for years and years.
Global has made shipments of the platinum group metal
bearing concentrates to the Union Mineere refinery, in
Belgium, and Eastern Refinery in Mass., and I have seen
photocopies of hte actual checks received 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 the 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 knows
more about the precious metals 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 seeble 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 persistence
and achievements 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 credibilithy and are all graduate PHDs, who have
visited Global's facilities, and they all appear to come
to the same conclusion, that Global is actually producing
the platinum group metals along with gold and silver from
unassayable ores.
I am not familiar with several of the mentioned companies,
Delgratia Mining and Naxos Resources, but I do know a
little bit about IPM, as I have been privy to some of the
actual work performed by one of their outside assayers on
their ores. I, for one, am really amazed at the dirt
thrown on the endeavors by these small companies by such
un-informed 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 a letter that he wrote to
the SEC several years ago regarding Global Platinum,
calling the whole operation a complete sham, without his
ever visiting the property, checking on their methods of
recovery, and to the knowledge 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 the 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 very small amount of the pms. This
technology will allow the mining companies using it to
produce hugh amounts of the pms from very small areas,
thereby eliminating the destruction 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 insistent 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 the 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 hvae 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 atoms 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 creditable 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 the proper sequence, the
assay methods work and the recovery can be done in actual
production. These ores that are the subject of all of 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 hvae 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 letters 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 group 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 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 advice to them is to get to the bottom of the
situation, quit relying on the people with the "caveman"
mentality, and get out and find out. You just might have a
major news story!!! Who knows.
We are now 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.
MM |
