[Texascavers] Shafter, Laos, and Boquillas
A report from Terlingua - and Shafter and Laos and the legal crossing at Boquillas. It is a stretch, of course, to talk about a mine on a caving remailer. Shame, shame --- I have been in and out of the Shafter workings since the 60s (last time two years ago), and this operation is an excellent one. Actually a no-brainer. I don't think there is anything "secret" about what I am about to say. It is general knowledge in the mining industry. Goldfields (South African company) had invested a huge amount in core drilling back in the 80s, proving up more mineable silver in the ground than has ever been produced in total from the Shafter mine in the past. They showed that the ore body (which dived deeper toward the north at the limit of the old workings) leveled out still farther to the north, and that neither depth nor water seepage into the mine would be unmanageable. Then Goldfields made an executive decision to close all they mining ventures in North America, regardless of value. My understanding is that the environmental hassles were just not worth it to them. Other mining companies looked at taking over Shafter, and it was almost reopened before this, but venture capital dried up. The ore was there, but the development money was not. There are about 150 folks employed at the mine today, many living in Marfa or Alpine (especially if they have school-age kids). 8-10 years is a reasonable estimate for the current operations, but the price of silver, the general economy, and other variations make it unpredictable. And once underground, they might find more they can economically obtain. "Ore", is not just like beauty in the eye of the beholder, but is an economic term. There is more silver in the ground, but if it cannot be mined at a profit, it is not "ore". For example, when I was first in graduate school, you had to have copper in excess of 4% to have copper ore. Now they are mining copper ore deposits that have only a few tenths of a percent copper in them. Of more pertinent Texas Caving note, Terry Bolger just spent a few days visiting his old stomping grounds in the Big Bend. Stayed with us in Terlingua, drank a bit of beer, and we told each other various stories from times gone by. Floated some future dreams and ideas. We did not, however, find anything of caving significance to mention on this forum. Some of you may remember that while he was getting his Pilled-Higher-and Deeper from Texas Tech (in agronomy), he was at the frontiers of Lech, the first into the Chandelier Ballroom. Tromped around the Guads, helped take my daughter into her first significant vertical cave at age 14 (Hell Below) and did some significant exploration in Mexico, just south of the border. Terry has appeared at various NSS conventions while working in Australia, caving there and in Thailand, and the last 5 years working and caving in Laos. Terry is a great friend to cavers and contributed significantly to our visits to Laos in 2011 and 2112. He spent a couple of days in Carlsbad ridge walking with Belskis on his way to the Big Bend. Boquillas Crossing April 10th 2013 was a test day for the opening of the legal crossing at Boquillas. Many things needed to be ironed out, perfected, check and re-checked. About a hundred people crossed into Mexico - mostly newsmen, officials, and local Terlingua residents, many who have been working for this for quite a while! The decision to really go ahead with this was not made until late Monday afternoon (36 hours before the actual opening). Many political and cultural entities were involved in pulling together for this little town. Everyone of them needs to be congratulated: The Mexican Government, The Park Service, Homeland Security, the State of Coahuila, the Protected Area of the Sierra del Carmen, among so many others. This was just fantastic. Some things to keep in mind: The crossing is open Wednesday through Sunday 9 to 5:30. You miss the last boat on Sunday, you are stuck until Wednesday morn. You need a valid passport or passport card When you get to Mexico there are immigration officers who will ask you to fill out a short visa application. Just remember to turn it back into them before you leave town at the end of your visit. You cannot bring alcohol back. This is not an importation port; that means nothing can be brought back to this side for resale. There is a $200 purchase limit on goods brought back to the US for personal use. You cannot bring clothing, food etc. to the people of Mexico through this port (the Mexican Government has issued this). Restaurants are open, bars, etc. There are children selling trinkets, some women with textiles for sale, horse rides and truck rides up from the river. Remember to tip your boatman You can Go visit now. It'
[Texascavers] Shafter, Laos, and Boquillas
A report from Terlingua - and Shafter and Laos and the legal crossing at Boquillas. It is a stretch, of course, to talk about a mine on a caving remailer. Shame, shame --- I have been in and out of the Shafter workings since the 60s (last time two years ago), and this operation is an excellent one. Actually a no-brainer. I don't think there is anything "secret" about what I am about to say. It is general knowledge in the mining industry. Goldfields (South African company) had invested a huge amount in core drilling back in the 80s, proving up more mineable silver in the ground than has ever been produced in total from the Shafter mine in the past. They showed that the ore body (which dived deeper toward the north at the limit of the old workings) leveled out still farther to the north, and that neither depth nor water seepage into the mine would be unmanageable. Then Goldfields made an executive decision to close all they mining ventures in North America, regardless of value. My understanding is that the environmental hassles were just not worth it to them. Other mining companies looked at taking over Shafter, and it was almost reopened before this, but venture capital dried up. The ore was there, but the development money was not. There are about 150 folks employed at the mine today, many living in Marfa or Alpine (especially if they have school-age kids). 8-10 years is a reasonable estimate for the current operations, but the price of silver, the general economy, and other variations make it unpredictable. And once underground, they might find more they can economically obtain. "Ore", is not just like beauty in the eye of the beholder, but is an economic term. There is more silver in the ground, but if it cannot be mined at a profit, it is not "ore". For example, when I was first in graduate school, you had to have copper in excess of 4% to have copper ore. Now they are mining copper ore deposits that have only a few tenths of a percent copper in them. Of more pertinent Texas Caving note, Terry Bolger just spent a few days visiting his old stomping grounds in the Big Bend. Stayed with us in Terlingua, drank a bit of beer, and we told each other various stories from times gone by. Floated some future dreams and ideas. We did not, however, find anything of caving significance to mention on this forum. Some of you may remember that while he was getting his Pilled-Higher-and Deeper from Texas Tech (in agronomy), he was at the frontiers of Lech, the first into the Chandelier Ballroom. Tromped around the Guads, helped take my daughter into her first significant vertical cave at age 14 (Hell Below) and did some significant exploration in Mexico, just south of the border. Terry has appeared at various NSS conventions while working in Australia, caving there and in Thailand, and the last 5 years working and caving in Laos. Terry is a great friend to cavers and contributed significantly to our visits to Laos in 2011 and 2112. He spent a couple of days in Carlsbad ridge walking with Belskis on his way to the Big Bend. Boquillas Crossing April 10th 2013 was a test day for the opening of the legal crossing at Boquillas. Many things needed to be ironed out, perfected, check and re-checked. About a hundred people crossed into Mexico - mostly newsmen, officials, and local Terlingua residents, many who have been working for this for quite a while! The decision to really go ahead with this was not made until late Monday afternoon (36 hours before the actual opening). Many political and cultural entities were involved in pulling together for this little town. Everyone of them needs to be congratulated: The Mexican Government, The Park Service, Homeland Security, the State of Coahuila, the Protected Area of the Sierra del Carmen, among so many others. This was just fantastic. Some things to keep in mind: The crossing is open Wednesday through Sunday 9 to 5:30. You miss the last boat on Sunday, you are stuck until Wednesday morn. You need a valid passport or passport card When you get to Mexico there are immigration officers who will ask you to fill out a short visa application. Just remember to turn it back into them before you leave town at the end of your visit. You cannot bring alcohol back. This is not an importation port; that means nothing can be brought back to this side for resale. There is a $200 purchase limit on goods brought back to the US for personal use. You cannot bring clothing, food etc. to the people of Mexico through this port (the Mexican Government has issued this). Restaurants are open, bars, etc. There are children selling trinkets, some women with textiles for sale, horse rides and truck rides up from the river. Remember to tip your boatman You can Go visit now. It'
[Texascavers] Shafter, Laos, and Boquillas
A report from Terlingua - and Shafter and Laos and the legal crossing at Boquillas. It is a stretch, of course, to talk about a mine on a caving remailer. Shame, shame --- I have been in and out of the Shafter workings since the 60s (last time two years ago), and this operation is an excellent one. Actually a no-brainer. I don't think there is anything "secret" about what I am about to say. It is general knowledge in the mining industry. Goldfields (South African company) had invested a huge amount in core drilling back in the 80s, proving up more mineable silver in the ground than has ever been produced in total from the Shafter mine in the past. They showed that the ore body (which dived deeper toward the north at the limit of the old workings) leveled out still farther to the north, and that neither depth nor water seepage into the mine would be unmanageable. Then Goldfields made an executive decision to close all they mining ventures in North America, regardless of value. My understanding is that the environmental hassles were just not worth it to them. Other mining companies looked at taking over Shafter, and it was almost reopened before this, but venture capital dried up. The ore was there, but the development money was not. There are about 150 folks employed at the mine today, many living in Marfa or Alpine (especially if they have school-age kids). 8-10 years is a reasonable estimate for the current operations, but the price of silver, the general economy, and other variations make it unpredictable. And once underground, they might find more they can economically obtain. "Ore", is not just like beauty in the eye of the beholder, but is an economic term. There is more silver in the ground, but if it cannot be mined at a profit, it is not "ore". For example, when I was first in graduate school, you had to have copper in excess of 4% to have copper ore. Now they are mining copper ore deposits that have only a few tenths of a percent copper in them. Of more pertinent Texas Caving note, Terry Bolger just spent a few days visiting his old stomping grounds in the Big Bend. Stayed with us in Terlingua, drank a bit of beer, and we told each other various stories from times gone by. Floated some future dreams and ideas. We did not, however, find anything of caving significance to mention on this forum. Some of you may remember that while he was getting his Pilled-Higher-and Deeper from Texas Tech (in agronomy), he was at the frontiers of Lech, the first into the Chandelier Ballroom. Tromped around the Guads, helped take my daughter into her first significant vertical cave at age 14 (Hell Below) and did some significant exploration in Mexico, just south of the border. Terry has appeared at various NSS conventions while working in Australia, caving there and in Thailand, and the last 5 years working and caving in Laos. Terry is a great friend to cavers and contributed significantly to our visits to Laos in 2011 and 2112. He spent a couple of days in Carlsbad ridge walking with Belskis on his way to the Big Bend. Boquillas Crossing April 10th 2013 was a test day for the opening of the legal crossing at Boquillas. Many things needed to be ironed out, perfected, check and re-checked. About a hundred people crossed into Mexico - mostly newsmen, officials, and local Terlingua residents, many who have been working for this for quite a while! The decision to really go ahead with this was not made until late Monday afternoon (36 hours before the actual opening). Many political and cultural entities were involved in pulling together for this little town. Everyone of them needs to be congratulated: The Mexican Government, The Park Service, Homeland Security, the State of Coahuila, the Protected Area of the Sierra del Carmen, among so many others. This was just fantastic. Some things to keep in mind: The crossing is open Wednesday through Sunday 9 to 5:30. You miss the last boat on Sunday, you are stuck until Wednesday morn. You need a valid passport or passport card When you get to Mexico there are immigration officers who will ask you to fill out a short visa application. Just remember to turn it back into them before you leave town at the end of your visit. You cannot bring alcohol back. This is not an importation port; that means nothing can be brought back to this side for resale. There is a $200 purchase limit on goods brought back to the US for personal use. You cannot bring clothing, food etc. to the people of Mexico through this port (the Mexican Government has issued this). Restaurants are open, bars, etc. There are children selling trinkets, some women with textiles for sale, horse rides and truck rides up from the river. Remember to tip your boatman You can Go visit now. It'