Life at the Gold Mines. August 13, 2010

So the tour I went on yesterday, was pretty much amazing, actually it wasn't really a tour, I shadowed an ore control geologist around while he did his job and I helped him out. He took me into his office, showed me around the in-house software programs that they use there at Newmont, and then took me to talk to one of the engineers, and she showed me around a little more with the software programs. After that the geologist, PJ Shumway, took to to see Gold Quarry pit, which recently had a pretty major land slide. The sediments that went, were some basal sands, that lie right on top of this huge layer of Montmorillionite, and the sand likes to hold water, so it super-saturated the clay and one day, away it all went. They have a couple blast hole rigs down in the bottom, a couple trucks and things, stuck down there until they get that place cleaned out. Apparently, I got a treat seeing that, because no on is supposed to really see that. After talking about the slide he talked to me about the geology there in the pit, and pretty much what happened, it looks like someone threw up there, there are so many faults going through there that have down dropped and shoved, and pushed everywhere that the oxides are just everywhere. I can't quite remember what some of the faults were, but its got The Roberts mountain thrust fault...SOOOOOO AWESOME.

PJ then took me to one of the pits there that they are mining out of since Gold Quarry is closed down, and I got to go down into the pit there on the blast patterns, with the blasting crew, and do some ore control. He threw, well dropped 10% HCL onto the sides of the holes they were drilling out and getting ready to blast and seeing if it had calcite in it and if it is non-acid forming sediment. IT was super cool to be down there and see this fault system that went through there. They had the roberts thrust, some other faults, and an anticline. SO awesome to see the way that it had mutli-fractures, and folded up back on itself ( It escapes me at the moment what it is called, but its right on the tip of my tongue.) and fractures, you can see the folding back on itself in the smaller layers and he was telling me that is what it looked like on the big scale. Oh man. I got such a great geology lesson there. In the Pete pit, where we were for this, there is a little bit of the rodeo creek unit, and then it goes down in the Popovich formation, which he was telling me is a bunch of black boring micrite. Well more so a silty to muddy limestone grading into calcarenite and limestone with planar laminated silty limestone. That was an adventure in itself to be able to see all of that first hand. And PJ was telling me that I must be pretty special, because they don't just let anyone in to the pits, ESPECIALLY on the blast pattern. So it was pretty awesome.

Then, we went up to another newer pit where they are starting some new exploration, and helped him map the high wall for the next blast, well not map it, just figuring out the hardness of the rocks and how hot they would have to load the holes for blasting the rock. He was going to have me map the high wall with him, but he had to be back at gold quarry at a certain time to talk with one of the blasting engineers. Then I was shown how they put all the information we got at the blasting holes into the in-house software and then, I was taken back to the place of my normal working out at the core shed. BY this time my brain was completely on overdrive. It was a lot to process all in a few hours.

I was talking to John Powell, the head surface geologist, and he asked me if I wanted to be considered for an internship next summer, I told him that I was SUPER interested. Even though field camp will kinda be in the middle of it. I told him if I could get hired right after I get out in April, I could work for 7 weeks, then go to field camp, and then come back after it and then work for 7 more weeks. So I am hoping it goes through. I was a little more interested in the mining career path after this day. We shall see though. PJ was very helpful with the advice and all.

We shall see what the future may bring!!