Cnb567 wrote: I can't elaborate on ore vein width but I can elaborate on what I've learned with regards to weight. To save some typing I've found this writeup online. However, I recall members and Roger commenting in the past (outside of stockhouse) on what LME would consider to be economically feasible. Many thing must be taken into factor for a company to deem it feasible. With LME, it has been stated in the past that the majority of its gold is at depths than can be mined through an "open pit" mine. This means that it's shallow and it is more cost efficient to mine. In simple terms for open pit mine, even under 1g/t can be economically viable if resources are close. For LME, with it being close to roads, power, water and transport they have mentioned this in the past. Anything over 5g/t is high grade and anything over 25 g/t can be considered "bonanza" grade gold.
I encourage anyone to read drill results the early days. The drill results near the pre-existing mine shafts are bonanza and high grade through out from what I recall.
Stockhouse amateurs need to remember that we are in expanding drill campaigns now so we're moving outwards and seeing how far the resources actually reach on the outer edges. Low results don't mean we have nothing. It means that one area might taper off.
lastly, many of the old timers here recall the circa 2018/2019 comparisons to Great Bear Resources when it was bought out. I suggest newcomers look into it and compare their drill depths. Their gold was over 1km in depth and considered deep. Not open pit mine feasible. This greatly increases costs of mining and anything under 5g/t would most likely be ignored as it's not worth their time.
anyways:
According to the World Gold Council, larger and better-quality underground mines contain around 8 to 10g/t gold, while marginal underground mines average around 4 to 6 g/t gold. Open-pit mines usually range from 1 g/t gold to 4 g/t gold, but can still be highly valuable.”
So, let’s perform calculations for each of those three cases.
1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 g
High-grade underground mine (8 to 10 g/t):
average grade = 9 g/t
metallurgical recovery = 90%
required grams of gold in ore to yield 1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 ÷ 90% = 34.5594187 g
required tonnage to be mined to produce 1 troy ounce = 34.5594187 ÷ 9.0 = 3.84 tonnes
Lower-grade underground mine (4 to 6 g/t):
average grade = 5 g/t
metallurgical recovery = 90%
required grams of gold in ore to yield 1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 ÷ 90% = 34.5594187 g
required tonnage to be mined to produce 1 troy ounce = 34.5594187 ÷ 5.0 = 6.91 tonnes
“Typical“ open pit mine (1 to 4 g/t):
average grade = 2.5 g/t
metallurgical recovery = 90%
required grams of gold in ore to yield 1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 ÷ 90% = 34.5594187 g
required tonnage to be mined to produce 1 troy ounce = 34.5594187 ÷ 2.5 = 13.82 tonnes