The shaft collar is older than I am. Built in ‘56, abandoned not long after, and now half-swallowed by sagebrush and rabbitbrush. I sit on the lip and run the 10-mm static rope through my descender, click the carabiner shut, and check it twice in the direction of the load. My harness is snug. My ascenders are clipped where I…
Read Moreby Stuart BurgessThe mining industry is reliant on a robust pipeline of new discoveries, and this is the critical role that mineral exploration fills. Exploration, at its core, is a high-risk, high-reward venture that relies on a significant amount of trial and error, timing and luck – not to mention a healthy budget. In this column, let’s take a look…
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There is a specific, electric silence that hangs in the air when you’re leaning over a light table or a dual-monitor setup, cross-referencing a high-grade sampling hit with the BLM MLRS (Mineral & Land Records System) and the latest Master Title Plat. It’s the moment of the critical “check.” You’ve identified the target – the geology aligns, the historical reports…
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