Mining methods, page-5

Hello Rhama,,
For some reason my reply to your post did not register, permit me to include this in answer to you excellent research and the inclusion of the paper in Elsevier.

The technique you propose works reasonably well for some elements, but more specifically in some types of lithological environments. I have seen it work for Uranium in South Australia as well as for copper in the Mt. Isa area. albeit on a small scale with the latter, where a prospector I knew was supplementing his income from a small operation of some abandoned copper oxide and copper carbonate openings and small abandoned old workings. Whilst this was a slow operation, I know larger scale operations can be speeded up and work more efficiently, and whilst they appear to be simple to put in place they are time consuming and not simple to operate due to idiosyncrasies of the hosting rocks, involving clay content which dictate porosity, permeability and the chemistry reactions with the rheology and injected liquor. All these factors and more, result in not such efficient recoveries of the metals and often are on an economic knife edge. Also note in the article where most of the ores treated were of the oxide and carbonate types.

I read what you say about cheap quick cash flow from shallow recovery ore, but as far as I understand, even with the shallow depth intersections at the Cathedrals Corridor, the ore intersections are sulphidic in composition. The most efficient method to recover metals from such orebodies metallurgically is to treat them by very fine grinding first followed by floatation. I'll be happy for @dradam to correct me or shoot me down in flames on my statements herein. I'll let him elaborate on this subject. .

Judging from the presence of the outcropping gossans, there may still be oxidised ore in the system which I imagine would translate to lateritic pockets. These would be more economical to treat via bulk mining and treatment than to treat in-situ chemically. In fact, I don't think that the team would be too interested in pursuing a lateritic deposit at this stage of exploration, I think the focus will continue to be towards intersecting a couple of fat sulphide swells within the lithologic structures that are unfolding.

Again I applaud you on your research and encourage you to continue posting them.

Cheers Rhama,
Helmenesh.