query on haulage, page-10

stoss the blasted ore has to be scraped out of the stope towards an ore pass. Scrapers are steelbuckets with steel wires used to control them in the stope

It drops down the pass to a waiting bogger From there is is taken out to the shaft and taken to the surface in a skip

http://www.morningstargold.com.au/photo_library-fullsize.phtml?PhotoID=85

there is some hot live action of the greater bendigo narrow vein mine with boggers in action towards the end of this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ded9n82n0oo


its hard work as you can see. No country for old men! Airleg miners are real miners unlike the miners who sit in a jumbo all day munching on fries

Morning Star is probably the only mine in Australia that mines narrow vein flat reef. Most narrow vein is vertical shoots. All the South African gold mines are flat reef, they have developed many innovations including mechanised bogging and water powered drilling.

It is more work to mine flat reef due to the scraping, but the grade is what counts and Morning Star is King of Grade in Australia

On the plus side the country rock is so good that they can mine a stope without pillars. Greg Curnow told me they could mine Maxwells stope without pillars, that makes it a lot easier and of course those pillars all have gold in them.