Since mining first began i n the late 1940s, the orebody has demonstrated consistency both in grade and structure the deeper mining advanced. “It’s been continuous all the way down to 4,000 ft,” said Robert McCallum, Corona’s vice-president operations responsible for the Renabie mine. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be continuous down to 6,000 ft.” The mine produces about 40,000 oz gold per year.
Mining is in progress now at the 3540 level with five drawpoints on that level providing muck. Sub-level caving is the mining method employed. Ore and waste are dumped down passes to the 4245 level, where skips in a winze carry material to 3105 level. Rail cars transport muck along 3105 to the shaft. Even at current mining depths, ground control has not been a problem, according to McCallum. The back is screened throughout the mine and walls are rockbolted on a 4×4-ft pattern.
The 18 zone has been providing mill feed up until now. But the operators are testing a new area, the 19 zone to the east and west of a dike that cuts vertically through 19 and acts as the westerly boundary of the 18 zone. The 19 zone is below the 18.
If the 19 zone to the west of the dike is distant enough from current workings, that area can be mined simultaneously with stopes in 18. And that will be a big plus because having production confined to one area, as it is now, causes periodic bottlenecks at periods during the production cycle.
“We won’t have all our eggs in one basket, but it all hinges on the proximity to 18,” McCallum said.
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