NEW MINE STARTING

[Zengeo]

geeeez lot of you should not tell the guy what to do why not you actually help the guy instead of telling him what to do or how to do it sorry but it just reminds me of the Mooralla post I put up a while ago where I copped a lot of crap from everyone just for digging a friggen hole and was taken down anyway

rios not sure where you live mate but keep doing what you love check out some of the detailed books on mining in this section for great mine development ideas and timbering I would say once you get to where you are now I would advise you to timber it if you can if you can't by yourself ask someone for help don't give up just because some people don't like what your doing

Just because you had a bad time doesn't mean others should give up looking for help.
Rios asked for advice and some of us are offering suggestions - that's what nice people do when they know stuff that might help a guy out. I spent 5 years working in large and small underground mines so along with others am trying to help the guy.

And to me it looks like everyone loves what he's doing! :Y:

 

[rios]

Hi Rios,

I've gone back and actually read your report now. Should have done that properly first
The recommendations your geo lays out look pretty good. I'd just follow those for now.

From your trench assay results it looks like you've got anomalous gold (0.2 g/t +) across the zone of your highest grade result. That's to be expected adjacent to a reef but wouldn't extend too far into the country rock.

I take it the material you trenched is pretty much 'in situ', or does it look transported? (ie. moved down the slope a bit) If its in situ then that high grade location would be the extended position of your reef. Does that match up about right? You could drill a hole or two into the down-dip position to confirm or you could just move about 5-10m to the footwall and sink your shaft there down into solid bedrock then drive NW to intercept the reef. If you're intending on developing quite a show, always put your infrastructure in the footwall to preserve it best.

What's the dip on the reef from the mines to the NE and is the dip fairly consistent between them?
Does the reef pinch and swell?
The answers to these questions should guide the placement of the shaft and the consistency of grade you can expect once you hit your reef.
If the dip is mid to low angle, you could just get away with an underlay shaft straight down along the reef, which would take care of access and haulage.

Good luck and keep us updated on how you go!

I couldn't tell if the material was transported or was in situ. Some guys on the ground were insisting it was in situ.

I think at this stage I will sink a shaft. drilling like I have said before I will not because the cost of sinking a shaft for me is less than that of drilling. I hear your footwall point.

the deep is 45%. then later underground 40m deep they insist their reef is pretty much vertical. That's why the other shaft which is now 6m deep that I am sinking there is targeting intercepting the reef at 40m. The guys who were already mining there kind of followed the reef from the top and they are in trouble as hauling is now very difficult. Our vertical shaft is so as to avoid that and we can use a generator powered head gear. They cant now.

The reef does pinch and well.

 

[rios]

geeeez lot of you should not tell the guy what to do why not you actually help the guy instead of telling him what to do or how to do it sorry but it just reminds me of the Mooralla post I put up a while ago where I copped a lot of crap from everyone just for digging a friggen hole and was taken down anyway

rios not sure where you live mate but keep doing what you love check out some of the detailed books on mining in this section for great mine development ideas and timbering I would say once you get to where you are now I would advise you to timber it if you can if you can't by yourself ask someone for help don't give up just because some people don't like what your doing

haha don't worry advice is always good but it does not mean you follow all you are advised. I have people on the ground who also know what they are doing. I marry what they will be doing with stuff I hear and see what goes. But the good thing is there is progress and guys here have been very helpful in different ways. it is like brainstorming.

I hear you, timbering we want to do it once we get to competent rock, that is pretty much soon. The rainy season is still many months was that's why we are relaxed about it.

 

[rios]

geeeez lot of you should not tell the guy what to do why not you actually help the guy instead of telling him what to do or how to do it sorry but it just reminds me of the Mooralla post I put up a while ago where I copped a lot of crap from everyone just for digging a friggen hole and was taken down anyway

rios not sure where you live mate but keep doing what you love check out some of the detailed books on mining in this section for great mine development ideas and timbering I would say once you get to where you are now I would advise you to timber it if you can if you can't by yourself ask someone for help don't give up just because some people don't like what your doing

i think he lives around
Nkenyane Area of Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province

Haha I live in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa and the mine-site is as above

 

[Gilly47]

very interesting reading gents

 

[7.62marksman]

Sorry rios didnt read the post properly my bad 8.(

 

[rios]

So these are the assay results for the samples i have taken to the lab thus far. Point zero on the ip line is 5m onto the trench line

 

[jethro]

Id be resampling at Point "4-5" metres and a couple of metres either side to recheck the results. then if it comes back positive, trench upslope from that point and repeat sampling to see if you can locate the best point for a shaft to be sunk. :Y:

 

[rios]

I am thinking of sinking 2 shafts now, maybe 30 to 35m deep then digging a tunnel to connect them. That way will I not intercept the reef? How feasible is that? The cost of digging the 2 shafts is very low here.

 

[rios]

Meanwhile on the other shaft the guys are now 10.5 meters deep. Progress is slow but I am hoping the pace will quicken this week as I now have 10 guys digging. The rock is changing from weathered granitoid to more competent granite and soon we should be in bluestone which is quite hard.

 

[rios]

Shaft is 13.7m now

And i visited a nearby mining site left by the 'Germans' way back. I dont if they were trully Germans but the locals say so. They are pumping out water so they can mine

 

[travelergold]

Rios, how is your operation going? Waiting to see your next post.

 

[Gilly47]

keep the updates comin!! rios

 

[user 4386]

I'm a bit confused - people are mining within 200 m and yet you are thinking of a 60 m shaft? If they are mining from shafts and already down there, couldn't you do some deal in partnership and drive from their shaft along the area of interest? Their workings are worth nothing to them once worked out, so a small percentage interest in yuour area might be worthwhile to them (but be careful mate, there are a few tough hombres in the business there).

Also if it is mudstone. why $US80 per meter using diamond drilling? I guess the answer is that some of the rock is a lot harder than mudstone? Why not something cheaper like aircore/rab to determine if the yellow stuff is down there first - once you know it is, sinking a shaft seems less of an issue. Can you pre-collar the top part of the holes to further reduce cost (eg auger drill)? One question would be, is the stuff at top a later rock that covers the mineralised rock, or is it the same as the mineralised rock but just weathered. I ask because you seem to have high chargeability from shallow depth, and if it is just weathered rock the same as at depth, gold and other element values might be retained in it, so that you could simply do cheap power-augering on a grid pattern to decide the best area to drill to depth (or sink a shaft)?

Has the tax and government ownership regime for mining in recent years - we ran a mile in the past because of this? However I see now on the net that there may only be a 7% royalty (in addition to personal tax) on gold, and that it is the same for residents and non-residents? Take care.

 

[vk1989]

awesome read keep them updates coming :Y: :Y:

 

[rios]

keep the updates comin!! rios

I have been a bit busy but will post some pictures soon on the progress.

 

[rios]

I'm a bit confused - people are mining within 200 m and yet you are thinking of a 60 m shaft? If they are mining from shafts and already down there, couldn't you do some deal in partnership and drive from their shaft along the area of interest? Their workings are worth nothing to them once worked out, so a small percentage interest in yuour area might be worthwhile to them (but be careful mate, there are a few tough hombres in the business there).

Also if it is mudstone. why $US80 per meter using diamond drilling? I guess the answer is that some of the rock is a lot harder than mudstone? Why not something cheaper like aircore/rab to determine if the yellow stuff is down there first - once you know it is, sinking a shaft seems less of an issue. Can you pre-collar the top part of the holes to further reduce cost (eg auger drill)? One question would be, is the stuff at top a later rock that covers the mineralised rock, or is it the same as the mineralised rock but just weathered. I ask because you seem to have high chargeability from shallow depth, and if it is just weathered rock the same as at depth, gold and other element values might be retained in it, so that you could simply do cheap power-augering on a grid pattern to decide the best area to drill to depth (or sink a shaft)?

Has the tax and government ownership regime for mining in recent years - we ran a mile in the past because of this? However I see now on the net that there may only be a 7% royalty (in addition to personal tax) on gold, and that it is the same for residents and non-residents? Take care.

Let me try to clear the confusing part. Yes people are mining 200m away but their method of mining is such that I would not want to use their shafts. They were sinking them following the reef in such a way that the shafts are twisting and turning in all directions, vertically and horizontally and inclined. No one has a simple vertical straight shaft that is safe to use and drive towards my target. I am sinking a straight shaft.

Mudstone is just the first 2 meters. After that we have weathered granite up until 30m. The we have the mineralised-reef-hosting bluestone after that which is very hard. We do get mineralised reef even in the granite with rich pockets but generally the best results are deeper. The mudstone also has rubble with good samples. The issues to with drilling, we are now already sinking a vertical shaft, we are 38m deep now.

You are right Royalties are 7% withheld when you sale to the government. Income Tax on profits is 27,5% including AIDS Levy. There is PAYE on Employees earning more than $300 per month. VAT is zero percent for gold sales.

 

[rios]

I am attaching photos of the progress so far. We had intended to drive into the reef at 35m and then tunnel along it but the grades there were too low and we decided to continue sinking the shaft down. Water is coming out of the reef so we dug a sump at 35 m in the drive so we pump water from it while we sink downwards.

The shaft is now 38m deep. Our target is 55 to 66m as that is the depth where the guys in the area have been getting high-grade ore.

There is a lot of water but we are pumping it out well using a diaphragm pump.

So currently we are 38m down-shaft and progressing slowly.

 

[NeilM]

Thanks Rios
Great piccies

 

[Zengeo]

Hey Rios,
Nice pics on the update! Decent reef you've got there :Y:
With the grades you had on a couple of your trench samples, you could possibly expect some visible gold in the reef when you get to the higher grade areas. Make sure you post some pics if you do!
Also remember there could be a plunge on a rich shoot within the vein too, so your 'high grade zone' might not correspond with your neighbours (ie. be at the same depth). Have a chat with your Geo about that.
What kinds of grades did you get out of the reef on the sump level?
Quite exiting this..... haha
Good stuff!