RE:About Mining Depth at NXEAnother excellent post, Brumell. Thank you for your contributions.
brumell wrote: It appears some are concerned about mining depth at NXE. They shouldn't be.
NXE deposits are not deep. Near vertical deposits with excellent mineable width start approx 100m below surface and run to 900 - 1000 metres depth. The host rock is described as gneiss. That's excellent hard rock for conventional underground mining. Many mines in the Sudbury, Timmins, Kirkland Lake area run 3 to 5 thousand feet deep - a few to 9,000 feet and deeper.
For comparison, when Consolidated Denison first developed their Ontario-based Elliott Lake mine in the early 1950's, conditions were similar to NXE. It was hardrock mining. Their first shaft was approx. 2,300 feet deep. A second was built that I believe was about 2800 feet. By mining standards these were not regarded as deep. NXE will be about the same or a bit deeper.
Now consider their grade. It was less than 2 lbs per short ton (2000 lbs). There were no rich sections. Expressed another way, that's less than 1/10 of 1 per cent. That mine produced for over 30 years while others in the area failed. The reason was Consolidated Denison hedged locking in their future U3O8 sales in the $50 - $60 per lb range.
NXE is still early stage. We have no idea how large or what grade the mineable deposit will eventually be. Safe to say now, it will be large and rich but only time - perhaps another year or more - will tell most of the story. It will take that long before a deposit with proven, indicated and inferred reserves is drill-bit established. Even then, the full extent will likely not be known.
That said, interested majors don't usually wait until every detail is known. Once the general extent and condition of a deposit is indicated, a good property usually goes into play. Interesting to watch how this one plays out.