Earnscleugh gold mine manager Mark Coleman oversees
excavation of the site - where more than 32,000cu m of
earth has been moved and made into bunding - near the
Fraser River yesterday. Photo by Rosie Manins.
Gold deposits at Earnscleugh are just weeks away from
being taken out of the ground by L and M Mining, which plans to
extract more than 110,000 ounces of the precious metal.
Physical work started on the site in June, and while mining
has been taking place, gravels have yet to be processed for
gold.
Mine manager Mark Coleman, of Cromwell, said more than
32,000cu m of earth had been excavated from the site and made
into bunding around the area.
He estimated about 10,000cu m would be further excavated in
the next week.
Grass seed will be sown on the bunds when they are finished.
Mr Coleman said once excavation of the mine was complete,
workers would "dig the wash out" to set up a mine plant.
Gravels would start to be processed for gold in about six
weeks, he said.
So far, seven staff, including Mr Coleman, have been working
on the site.
Employment numbers are expected to increase as the project
intensifies.
L and M exploration manager David Manhire, of Christchurch,
said the company was waiting to see what Earns-cleugh's
gravel had in store.
"Once we start processing gravel for gold, that's where it
gets either overwhelmingly exciting or tremendously
depressing," he said.
All monitoring equipment has been installed throughout
Earnscleugh and data is being collected.
Mr Manhire said dust and noise as well as water level and
quality were being monitored in and around the mining site.
Ground water from neighbouring bores owned by residents was
also being closely monitored for any disruption caused by the
project.
Opponents of the mine were concerned about the impact of dust
on orchards and vineyards in the area.
L and M has permits and consents to mine at Earnscleugh for
the duration of its seven-year, multimillion-dollar project.
The site is just a short distance from dredge tailings left
by gold-mining operations a century ago.
Water, rather than chemicals, will be used to extract gold
from gravel, in a similar fashion to mining at Island Block
near Ettrick a few years ago.
rosie.manins@odt.co.nz
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