RE:More Mineralized Ounces ?There is another possibility .
Richmont began mining HD using open pit , and constructed the starter mining bench and the first wall pushback.
These can be seen in the HD pictures on the Web Site.
During that initial open pit mining of HD...underground for the rest of the 4 years...Richmont produced about 15,000 ounces at an average grade of close to 16 grams per ounce, with a cutoff of 8.5 grams per ton.
The huge cutoff grade was made necessary due to POG being $300.
I would think, because of that, much mineralized ore below , say , 2-3 grams , would have ended up as part of the pushback wall , and considered as waste.
In the most recent CP, I was surprised to learn that a signifucant amount of HD site preparation for mining including grade control had been and was taking place.
Its possible therefore that the push back wall may have been drilled to determine if the wall contained
economic grades.
Just a guess on my part but these folks are scroungers..