RE: No drills at Diablo this year Bullnanza hit the nail on the head folks!
If there is no water supply near the drill site then the company will have water hauled in by truck or by bulldozer in a large container, on a skid. This is a very common occurance in exploration drilling.
Someone mentioned salt water being used. I have never heard of salt water being used because it deteriorates and breaks down the lubes and oils in the internal parts of the drills and eats the seals and bearings. Also, the various government ministries would not allow it for enviromental reasons.
If a huge amount of fresh water is required because the property is going into production, then wells will be drilled into the water table or a pipeline from a plentiful source will be layed to the site.
Getting water is not a big issue for a developing mine, it's getting rid of it in an enviromentally friendly way!
Considering the development of a new mine, some of the questions you should be asking are, can the permits be aquired by the existing local and federal authorities? What are the enviromental consequences of a tailings pond? Will the development of a new mine be accepted by the local peoples? Will mining impact a fragile enviroment that might cause special interest groups to rise up in protest and slow the progress? what will the infastructure costs be? How far is the property from the power grid? (the initial set up cost of producing power on site is huge because of the equipment needed to make this happen)How far is the nearest sea port? Roadway? etc...
The cost of making the above happen is enormous but, that's what the feasibility study is all about and the bottom line is, if the profit outweighs the cost over a certian time period then a mine is built.
Cheers...Mad