DrillingAbu needs to understand that exploration drilling occurs before there is a deposit, during development of that deposit, mining, and after closure. Some great discoveries are made late in the mine life of any decent deposit, so no, this is not a joke, this is simply proper, considered, development.
Condemnation drilling has found more deposits that one can shake a stick at. Osisko operates a great deposit that was identified decades after the mines that operated there before shut down. GoldMining Inc has nearly 2 million ounces adjacent to the long closed Discovery Mine. Eskay Creek is generating 800 million in shareholder value for Skeena, decades after it shut down.
So drill baby drill.