Ann: Quarterly Activities Report SEP 2009 , page-30

regarding the blasting, the stoping technique is likely to be "open pillar" due to the shallow dip of the ore bodies in Morning Star.

I think we have talked about this before, but open pillar simply means pillars of solid rock are left behind between the open spaces created as the reef is mined. Constant and accurate sampling does allow lower grade ore to be left behind. This way dilution is minimised as only payable ore is taken and unpayable is left say as a pillar

The lower the dip the bigger the mining width. If say the ore was horizonal then you need to allow a 2m width so the miner can stand up, as the dip increases the width can be lower reducing to around 1.4m at a 60 deg angle

In open pillar all the material is brought to the surface.

This is where the skill and professionalism of the miners and mine managers comes into play. The faces have to be assessed on a daily basis for payability using chip sampling and grab sampling. I dont know whether it is practical or to complicated to use blasting techniques that try and distinguish between ore and barren rock. No doubt the lads will experiment with different approaches.

In any case , competent miners, quality high grade reef and top class mine managment are what counts right now