RE:RE:Yikes . I had to read yuor comment a second time to try to undersatdn what yuo thought yuo meant - do you think that its only mining if it is underground? Was that the point you were trying to make?
As soemone who has worked at Surface and underground mines - I assure yuo they are both mining. 1000 pounds of "bulk extracted material" - surface of underground - both need mining permits here in the NWT. Both are visited by a mining inspector.
Your comment still makes no sense - but I do hope yuo can recognize that even if it is just a child sized DSO processing plant, yuo still need mining permits, people, capital and equipment to dig it out.