Adits The informal minors are helping our exploration efforts", said Tom Larsen, Eloro's CEO. "Their adits affording us valuable access to the mineralization and the orientation of local rock units.
Adit mining is a little bit different from open pit mining and underground mining, but perhaps closer to underground mining. Underground mining uses shafts and ramps to gain access to the ore body. Adit mining is a bit different, as it usually accesses the ore body through the side of a hill or mountain, usually as the same level as the ground. Something like this:
My guess is that the grab sample ore from the informal miner stockpile oringally came from a high grade vein imbedded within the bedrock within the mountain. Informal miners do not have the abilities to go deep within the mountain, due to lack of ventilation systems, heavy duty underground equipment/machinery, etc. Also, informals do not typically drill the deposits. They identify surface exposes and then go after the near-surface areas. As such, it is likely that very little of this vein has been mined out by the informals. It`s just a matter of long and wide the veins are, what type of grades are within the other parts of the veins, and how many veins there are.