RE:RE:RE:RE:NFG royaltiesRetiredgeo wrote: If I was running NFG I would be giving serious consideration to quarring selective ares of Keates North, loading the ore into trucks and shipping the ore to the nearest gold mill. The richness of the ore (I'm guessing 1 oz/m3) would make the shipping cost negligible.
If the up front cost is also negligible the only hinderance is defining the zones. I suspect that will see a great deal of drilling at Keates North over the next 6-9 months.
The nature of the gold deposits at Queensway north makes a large scale open pit uneconomical (there would be just too much waste rock). Small, selective quarry operations to keep the bank balance healthy are far more practical and likely. Given the 120 Km of strike length along the Appleton and JBP faults I doubt that Keates north is only the place where high grade gold reaches the surface. Conceivably, NFG could use the richness of the land to finance itself indefinitely.
Pipe dreams by a geo who doesnt even know the average grade.
Will