Good evening Lar my friend: It has been my experience, won the hard way, that an existing mine with all of the necessaary equipment on hand, but has been shut down for a time, is a Trojan Horse in disguise.

Probably 50 % of my time has been trying to put the machinery back into production. Many tmes the spare parts are just not available, or readily available. Up at the Colorados mine I had to improvise or design many substitutes.

The ball mill had it's last charge still inside, it was exactly as if the balls were set concrete. Just opening the charge door took 3 days, of course part ot that was that the Mexican labor didn't understand that the charge door opens inwards, not outwards he he

The old solidified charge had to be chipped out by hand by someone inside of the ball mill.

Some of the equipment I had to look through old mining magazines to even see how it was used, then try to understand the proper operation sequence of the machine.

Actually it was fun in a way since I didn't have a bunch of greedy, unsympathetic, impatient, grubby, despotic, share holders panting at my cot begrudging me a few hours of desperately needed sleep as poor Jim has..

Relax, just remember to buy that wheel barrow for your trips to the Union bank of Switzerland. You will have plenty of time for this --->

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=x3Bf0WhvsNk

Don Jose de La Mancha