 |
Blue Sheppard wielding a pneumatic drill at the face of a newly discovered lens. A pegmatite may be thought of as a large, enriched type of vein containing rare minerals, associated with the late stages of granitic intrusive activity. Within that vein structure, along what we call the strike, there are "bulges" of super-enriched, macrocrystalline cavities. These bulges have a lens like structure and are much more preferable to mine compared to the more barren interconnecting areas on the pegmatite dike. Blue discovered a new lens in 1994 laying parallel to the lens discovered by Ed Swoboda in 1969. Blue estimates between 25 and 50 years of mining on this new lens will take the Stewart into its most productive era yet. |
| There are five mines on the greater Stewart Mine
property. From north to south, they are 1) the Gem Star, 2) the Little Joe, 3) the
Joe II, 4) the Old Stewart Lithia Mine, and 5) the Stewart Main. Access to the newly
found lens will open up a sixth mine, through the Stewart Main. Blue is shown
working here in a stope in the 2-1/2 mile labyrinth of tunnels in the Stewart Main. Stay tuned! In the near future we will be posting pics of the new gem pockets as they get mined! |
 |
 |
Underground mining is an inherently dangerous occupation which requires careful engineering, continuous maintenance and expensive construction of tunnel supports. The Stewart is completing a two year phase of substantial construction upgrades that have made it possible to access the new lens through the older portions of the underground workings. |
| Groundwater infiltration constitutes a second serious geotechnical concern to mining operations. Back in 1991, we were stoping into a new area in the lower regions of our tunnel system. One blast produced a small fracture in the floor which dribbled water. After the following blast, the water gushed. This has now become the famous "Stewart Lagoon". We monitor the level of groundwater in the mine carefully. Recent studies have demonstrated a correlation between rising groundwater levels and an increased potential for seismic activity. |  |
Copyright © 1998 Millennium, Inc. All rights
reserved