Timmins mine developer Galleon Gold has started underground development of its West Cache gold mine project, west of the city.
The company said Sept. 21 that it’s completed a box cut and a portal at the future mine site and has commenced ramp development.
A box cut is a large sloped trench, resembling an open box, that’s dug out at surface and slopes down to an entry point (a portal) where workers and machinery can drive down a decline ramp underground.
The aim is to extract an 85,000-tonne bulk sample from the deposit. A bulk sample is part of an early and critical test mining phase to gather the data needed to build a working mine.Bulk samples are used to determine true gold grades, help the engineers with the mine’s design, test processing methods and open up the larger area for more in-depth exploration prior to entering commercial gold production.
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