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I'm using a bobcat to scrape the surface, looking at conveyers to feed the crusher, might buy this backhoe too if it's still available once I get the $ together. Ideally I need a D9 dozer aswell but can't afford one yet.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wels...ck-hoe-drill-rig-down-hole-hammer-/1014663669

Highly unlikely to get nuggets in ore so not worried about crushing them, in most ores the gold is not even visible until crushed and concentrated. The nuggets are in calcrete and laterite which we will be detecting.

DD

you dont see small drills fitted on a backhoe very often . that will give you a bit of multi tasking to load , rip or drill . and core drill holes might help you to isolate better bands ? . only thing is the backhoes dont have a great breakout force on the front , but you could probably go as wide as 600- 800 mm wide bucket on the back if the ground was too hard for the front end.

how deep does the drill go ?

I am bit stingy with plant . i would just use a 3 - 8 tonne excavator and a 6 tonne tip tipper truck . an excavator with a batter bucket can still trim to an accuracy of +/- half an inch to remove the overburden once you get used to driving it , and if you get any really tough spots you could put a single point ripper on it

you would have already done your homework on this and you probably have more experience than me with civil works so hopefully i am not wasting your time , thanks for sharing . Its very interesting !

 

[Diggerdude]

A DTH drill does not do cores it gives you rock chips, which can be analyzed. The depth only depends on how many rods you have and the lifting force of your backhoe, I am planning on about 40m with this one. I have the magnetic survey reports from the company who previously held this lease which identify several anomalies near a dyke and fault boundry which is my drilling target.
The weight of the backhoe gives you plenty of downforce to remove the surface material, but even a ripper would not touch the calcrete which is why I will eventually need a D9.
An excavator with a batter bucket would be way to slow on a doze and detect style operation which is why I m going to use a backhoe. And a 3ton excavator on 200hectre lease would be like trying to dig a trench with a toothpick.
I use to own a drilling/earthmoving company so can operate all these machines with my eyes closed.
No probs answering questions, I have spent my whole life in earthmoving and love big toys .

DD

 

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A DTH drill does not do cores it gives you rock chips, which can be analyzed. The depth only depends on how many rods you have and the lifting force of your backhoe, I am planning on about 40m with this one. I have the magnetic survey reports from the company who previously held this lease which identify several anomalies near a dyke and fault boundry which is my drilling target.
The weight of the backhoe gives you plenty of downforce to remove the surface material, but even a ripper would not touch the calcrete which is why I will eventually need a D9.
An excavator with a batter bucket would be way to slow on a doze and detect style operation which is why I m going to use a backhoe. And a 3ton excavator on 200hectre lease would be like trying to dig a trench with a toothpick.
I use to own a drilling/earthmoving company so can operate all these machines with my eyes closed.
No probs answering questions, I have spent my whole life in earthmoving and love big toys .

DD

I was visualising a few acres based on the size of crusher you have but 200 hectares puts a different slant on things

If a cheap ex army CAT scraper came up for sale with less than 200 hours on the clock would that work in the ground you have or too hard and rocky ?

probably 1/5 th the price of a D9 ( army plant is often just moved and serviced every 6 months but never does any work )

pity i didnt know you were looking for a backhoe . one of my customers put a 4WD JCB backhoe in to auction thinking it would get 60+ grand and got rewarded for his lack of attention to detail ( no reserve ) . it sold for 17,000 8.(