"When digging to the depth of the ore layer, the rigidity of the rock formation will be better. We will use a cave to extend the bottom of the pit around the perimeter to mine the sand layer within the mine. ”

At the edge of the open-pit mine, where excavation had just begun, Claude explained the mine's mining plan: "However, because it is a secondary mine and has a large area of ore-bearing layers, it is impossible to extend the underground cavern too long. We will expand the pit as we mine. Or dig down from another place and eventually mine all the ore from the ore-bearing layer. ”

After owning the gold mines, Link also studied the problem of gold mining. He knew that secondary ore and primary ore were completely different deposits.

In general, secondary ores are shallow and can be mined directly in the open pit. For example, many gold prospectors in Alaska are mining such secondary mines. They would dig up tens of meters of frozen soil from the ground, then find a layer of gold several feet thick, and then sift out the mineral sands of the layer for gold. There are also some gold diggers who use high-pressure water cannons to wash out the ore seams.

If it is a primary mine, there will be obvious veins, and the thickness of the veins will not be very large, and the gold will be sandwiched in the crevices of the rock formation. This kind of mine needs to be mined underground, and if it is open-pit mining, it may eventually dig a pit thousands of meters deep, and finally it is necessary to dig a hole around the pit, move the ore to the pit and transport it outside by heavy engineering trucks.

And he is an outlier in this pit.

It was an ancient secondary mine. After the formation of the mineral sands layer, it is covered by a thick sediment, and the sediment slowly turns into layered rock, which is more troublesome to mine.

He had no doubts about Claude's plan for mining. One is because Claude is an expert in this area, and the other is that he has agreed to this relatively expensive plan before.

However, the risks of excavating in rock formations with insufficient rigidity are still high. He had seen references to the risk of earthquakes in the mining plans he had received earlier.

"Have you found a way to fight the earthquake?"

"We don't have an absolute solution to earthquakes. But as long as the magnitude is not very large, we have no problem with the support system in the mine. Claude said with a smile. "Because the cost of our mine support system is more than twice as high as that of a normal mine. ”

Link smiled and said, "Anyway, as long as the gold can be mined safely, it's worth it." Isn't it?"

Although the mine requires a lot of high-quality timber and reinforced concrete, those things are formalized. In this pit, as the pit continues to expand, those things can be tried again as long as they are not damaged. So the cost doesn't increase much during the entire mining period.

Claude laughed and said, "If you invest in this gold mine, of course, you will never lose money." ”

Gold mining is a long-term, high-input, but also high-yield investment. However, the underground deposits are secondary minerals, and the taste is higher than that of many primary ores. Such a gold mine is fine even if the investment is higher.

The estimated reserves of gold in this valley are worth at least $35 billion. After deducting the investment and taxes during the pre-investment and mining, Link can have at least tens of billions of net income.

As they spoke, there was a sudden muffled noise from the south, and the ground shook a few times. Immediately afterward, Link saw a small avalanche of snow on the distant mountains.

He frowned and said, "What's going on? It's not like an earthquake!"

"On the back of the ridge over there is someone else's land. They are also mining. Claude was a little helpless and said. "The location where they found the gold mine was no more than three miles away from our mine. There used to be a primary mine that was not very valuable to be mined, but now they seem to want to find a secondary mine buried deep underground. ”

"So they're mining too?"

"Yes, but we don't know exactly what happened over there. Their exploration is not as detailed as we have here, and the way they mine is more crude, mainly with blasting. ”

I'm afraid of them exploding!

Link looked at the white clouds stirred up by the avalanche, his brows furrowed, and he said for a long time, "If they only use blasting to mine, will it be dangerous to our underground pits?"

"There is a certain risk, and we have sent people to negotiate with them. But they don't seem to be going to heed our protests. ”

"Franklin was a man of despair. Link looked in the direction from which the movement came and was silent for a while before speaking. "I remember that there was no land around that was not bought. ”

"You remember, they were reluctant to mine because they had discovered gold earlier, and they were afraid that they would not be able to recover the cost, but when we went to buy it, they offered a very outrageous price. That land is embedded in our land like a wedge. They mine it closest to our mines. ”

Link knew about it. However, he did not know the situation of the other party.

"You mean to say that they opened the mine without detailed exploration?"

"Yes, as soon as we started mining, they started mining as well. But they don't have any mining machinery. I suspect they're deliberately making trouble. Because their blasting power clearly exceeds the needs of mining. ”

Link had that suspicion too. But before the accident, he couldn't do anything: "Who is the other party?"

"It's a wealthy Alaska, and it's said that the Russians who moved to Alaska before the United States bought it. The family owns large tracts of land in Alaska, mainly in the lumber business. ”

A family of more than 200 years, and still a rich man. That seems a bit tricky.

He asked, "So, the other party is very powerful in the local area?"

"At least more powerful than us!"

Although this is not pleasant, it is also true.

Link has invested so much in this piece of land, but before he starts paying taxes, Alaska won't look the other way at him. The other party, on the other hand, is deeply entrenched locally.

He wanted to buy the land, and the other party offered a high price. He didn't buy it, and the other party also opened a mine, but it did use a method that made his side feel at ease.

Just now he could clearly feel the ground shaking. And another of his gold mines is digging down. No one can guarantee that those tremors will not cause a landslide.

"They blast every day?"

Brad shook his head and said, "No." So far, they have blasted a total of five times. Three of them were three days in a row, with two days in between, and there were explosions the day before yesterday and today. It's very powerful every time. I even wonder if they're trying to blow the earth through a hole. ”

"No time pattern?"

"Not at all, and even after we went to negotiate with them, they still didn't notify us in advance. ”

"Then their blasting, will it violate Alaska's regulations. For example, environmental protection and the like. ”

"At least I don't know what they violated. ”

Link was silent again for a few moments before saying, "Let's go to the mines!"

Something seems to be wrong over there in the mine. Workers were standing near the mouth of the mine.

But Claude wasn't surprised. Link walked over with him, and the workers all got out of the way,

Link saw a wellhead with a great downward slope. The wellhead is not too big, there is a cable car tractor erected on the wellhead, and the cable car track has been laid into the wellhead. The side length of the shaft is about five meters, but the mine seems to have been excavated relatively early, and now it has been dug to a depth of tens of meters.

He walked to the head of the shaft and looked down to see several workers looking at the wall of the shaft with a miner's lamp on their heads.

He asked Claude, "What is this?"

"We're still digging in the permafrost. Now that the permafrost has not yet been civilized, it may crack in the event of a vibration, and we need to check it to ensure safety before we can let the workers go down the mine. ”

He paused for a moment and said, "This kind of inspection is also a preparation for the highest temperature in July and August. ”

The permafrost underneath may not melt for many years, but if a well is dug now, the permafrost under the ground may come into direct contact with the air, and the permafrost on the wall of the well may be opened due to the increase in temperature. In the future, a wall will definitely be built in the mine to prevent the permafrost from collapsing after it is opened. This requires an understanding of how the permafrost is changing.

"Every time I have a blast, do I need to inspect it?"

"There are no safe supports in the mine right now, so we have to be cautious that we don't have to do that in the future as long as we have a support frame. ”

Later, small-scale blasting will also be carried out in the mines. If you need to stop work every time you need to check, you don't have to do anything.

Link nodded and said, "The scale of this wellhead, can it ensure that all the machinery needed underground will be sent down?"

"In our plan for underground mine mining, we are mainly experimenting with cable cars and small excavation machines. As for the air supply system, the components will not be very large, and such a wellhead will be enough to send things down for installation. ”

"Well, that's all right. ”

"Except for the occasional blasting over there. Claude said to Link in front of the workers. "We don't know how long the blasting will last over there, but if the mine gets to the mine, the space underground will get bigger and bigger, and the risk of blasting will get higher and higher. ”

Link nodded slightly and said, "I'll settle this matter." "Since there is no way to solve it on the mine side, only he will come. If this problem is not solved, the risks of the mine are too great.

But he didn't go to the other party right away. He has learned not to fight battles that he is not sure of.

Staff dormitories were built near the mine site last year. Some of them are converted from containers. He also had to stay in such a room for the night.