Owning a gold mine, although potentially very profitable, may
also be a source of ruin for many corporations. 95% of gold
discoveries worldwide are not economically viable. It takes
somewhere between 8 – 13 years to bring a gold mine from scratch
into production, though this time frame can be halved in certain
cases. Regardless of the amount of money that has had to be
spent and the resources involved, many ventures have had to be
scrapped at some stage due to unsolvable problems. - Stage 1:
Exploration - Prospecting to discover and confirm mineral
reserves - Conduct geological survey/geochemical sampling to
locate and delineate ore deposits - Conduct core drilling to
determine the ore grade and geologic characteristics - Begin
collection of environmental and community baseline information -
Stage 2: Development - Design and receive approval for mine
construction and operation - Complete engineering design of the
optimal mining method (open-pit or underground) and mineral
recovery process - Complete project f