Mining Methods

Small Scale Mining Method
The mining consists of the movement of the earth by utilizing a monitor; the topography of the terrain consists in a dorsal that ends in a steep bank with 80 degrees to 90 degrees of inclination and an average height of 30 meters. The material in hard areas is manually perforated and blasted with ANFO. Once the material is removed, the monitor accomplishes the function of bringing it down and disintegrates it taking advantage of the pressure and stream flow of the water that this comes out of and transports it towards the cobblestone canals. The water that is required by the monitor comes from a lake which is canalled up to a reservoir and from this through tubes to the monitor with natural pressure. The installation and operation of the monitor needs to be done at a certain distance on the front of the mining to avoid the falling of rocks that can affect the operator and the installations. After having operated for a determined amount of time, the cobblestone is removed from the canal and the material that is obtained is taken off, then it is panned and the gold is obtained.

Semi mechanized mining method (tractor, dump truck & canal)
This type of mining is done by a bench system in which the material is pushed from the top part towards the level of the platform by means of a tractor, and then the carrying is done with the front end loader to the dump trucks that take the mineral to the plant. The slope of the bench is approximately 80 degrees; in harder areas perforation and blasting is carried out. The material is unloaded from the dump trucks to a slope (10 meters in width on the superior part and 6 meters in the inferior part; the length is of 25 meters, and pendant of 20 degrees) of perforated platforms with holes of 1 ½ inch in diameter on the superior side and 2 inches in diameter in the inferior side. With the help of the splashes of the water at high pressure, the 2 monitors of 6 inches in diameters start to disintegrate and wash the material. The average relationship of the water and solids is 10/1. the smaller material in diameter of the holes of the chute goes to 4 riffling channels (5 meters in length, 1.20 meters in width, 0.60 meters in height with a pendant of 13 degrees) and the pulp is concentrated by difference of weight, the heavier sands accumulate in the riffles and the clay spreads on top of the riffles going out toward the two cobbled canals (100i meters in length, 1.20 meters in width, 0.60 meters of height, and a pendant of 6.5 percent) and then to the tailings. Most of the bigger pieces of gold are recovered in the first stretch of the riffled canals and the fine gold in the intermediates and final and cobbled canals. The material of the riffled canals of the cobblestone is concentrated in the devices; this new material is then taken to the laboratory to be panned and the final product is heated which is when the gold is obtained. The +2 inches material that does not go to the riffled canals is picked up and taken to the bigger sized site which is done by a front end loader and a dump truck.