Ashdown Update

November 21, 2008

     The Ashdown mine was placed on care-and-maintenance following the drop in worldwide demand for molybdenum oxide during the past 30 days.  With prices for moly falling below $10 per pound, the Management Committee directed the mine and mill staff to immediately put into place a reduction in force as of last week.  A member of the Committee has been on site to direct the operations, and equipment and supplies are being secured, supervisory agencies and vendors notified, and security measures inacted in order to maintain the infrastructure and await the outcome of future pricing moves.  The mine remains on stand-by status, with permits in place.

August 8, 2008

     The Ashdown Mine has resumed production after a successful summer maintenance turnaround. Maintenance in the mine focused on rehabilitation of 150 feet of ground support in the main decline. Utilities were restored including air, water and ventilation.  All pumps and water lines were placed back in service. Phone lines were checked and repaired. Sumps were pumped down and mucked out. 

Road to new secondary portal & escape way

     A second portal into the mine was also completed to serve as a secondary escape way.  Timber sets were removed and the ground supported with shotcrete.  The #1 raise was cleared of rock and debris.  All ladders were installed.  Escape way signs installed and maps updated and posted. This portal will provide a needed secondary travel way and an improved ventilation air course.

June 16, 2008

     The mine has placed an order for two Atlas Copco Scooptrams (muckers), model number ST-2G, to be delivered shortly.  The first is seen in the photos below at the Las Vegas equipment show last week, and has since been delivered to the mine.  The second will arrive in a few weeks.  The Scooptrams are used to remove and load ore from the working faces into trucks for delivery to the mill.  They are designed to fit into the narrow drifts underground, and will replace older leased equipment.  Additional heavy equipment is scheduled for purchase later this summer as part of the ramping up process.

GM Kent Aveson with new Scooptram at show

June 4, 2008

     The following three maps show aerial, horizontal and oblique views of the underground workings of the Ashdown Mine development as of this date.  Click on "Expand View" to enlarge.

Aerial View

Expand View

Horizontal View

Expand View

Oblique View

Expand View

December 6, 2007

     The Ashdown mill continues moly production, with the filling of the last two sacks of the 12-sack shipment of Lot #16.  Recovery rates exceeding 92% are reported, with head grades between 1-and-1.4 percent.  36 hours of planned maintenance was performed on the the crusher circuit, including hard-facing of the jaw crusher and liner plate rotation. 

     Work on the escapeway continues, with 45 foot advance from the first set inside the portal. Development work is on-going along the Sylvia drift, with over 80 feet advance along the drift, while ore production continues to feed the mill.

November 29, 2007

     Ashdown's mine surveyor, Gail Doornek, is shown standing in the newly constructed portal that will lead to the secondary escapeway.  Once excavation is completed early in 2008, this additonal mine access will be used for utilities and ventilation and provide an emergency escape route for the mining operations taking place 300 feet below.  The escapeway, which was mandated by MSHA, is part of a comprehensive safety program initiated in late summer and nearing completion. 

     The design of the escapeway, which originated with the Ashdown mining staff, will provide multiple uses.  Key among them is to create cross-ventilation underground, allowing the addition of heavy machinery in the mine workings which will meet air quality guidelines. 

     In addition to the portal development, a second tailings impoundment is being permitted adjacent to the mill, and construction of the Denio Junction Trailer Park continues with the installation of septic systems, grading of trailer pads and access roads.  The Trailer Park will provide additional housing space for Ashdown employees once it is ready for occupation in 2008.

November 8, 2007

     Moly shipment #14 was sold this week, and the mill is several sacks into shipment #15.  Ron Johnson, an experienced metallurgist, has joined the staff to assist the expansion of production at the mill.  Terry Perkins, the metallurgical QP (qualified person) for the 43-101 feasibility study team, made a 2-day visit to the mill and will be reporting on methodologies to continue to increase output. 

     Archaeological review of the secondary escapeway portal area has resulted in the granting of permission to proceed with the excavation of the escapeway from the surface.  Crews will proceed following the completion of the necessary survey work.  The new portal is faced up and ready to begin advance.

     The Sylvia stopes, drift and scram are being prepared for production, including advancing #2 raise, installing slushers and tuggers.  Ongoing rehab and utility work in the old and new Sylvia drift areas includes timber, bolts and shotcrete as needed.  Ore continues to be mined in the Sylvia #2 raise, Sylvia stope and drift advance.

     The price of moly oxide continues to firm up, at or around $33.00 per pound, with demand remaining strong domestically and overseas. 

August 16, 2007

    The mill continues to produce cons.  This supersack (above) is being filled with product generated through reprocessing of tailings.  A special reprocessing circuit was designed and installed to be tested during the current relining of the ball mill.  The process is successfully recovering residual molybdenite contained in the tailings impoundment, and represents one of several continuous improvement programs underway at the mine.

     A second improvement program involves optimization of the crusher circuit (below), with replacement of key parts to the jaw crusher and the addition of the magnet separator for removing steel from the mill feed. 

     Below, mill technician Mike Jones services the disk filter, inspecting filter cloths and vacuum pull.

   Ashdown lab analysist, Edna "Fastest-Gun-in-the-West" Read, is seen below assaying samples using the handheld XRF gun. With this state-of-the-art equipment, the Ashdown Laboratory is capable of realtime analysis of all mill and mine samples.

August 9, 2007

Conditioning tank for staging tailings prior to reprocessing

  In the photo, above, the dark green tank is a 900-gallon conditioning tank being installed at the mill to retreat our tails. Carpenter Mike Hatch is measuring height on the 1500-gallon containment tank. All material pumped to and from the mill building and tails pond must be in containment to meet state environmental standards.

Conveyor system with electromagnet

     This is the #2 conveyor on our crushing system. It takes material from the jaw crusher up to the vibrating deck screen.  This summer, a large electromagnet was suspended over the belt to remove trash steel from the ore. The magnet slides on the overhead rail and the trash steel can be dumped directly into the trash drum.

     In the photo below, Mill Operator Tom Jones records measurements made by Mike Hatch from the handrail to the trommel screen basket.  This is during an unplanned maintenance period to install a new mill liner, replace the trommel screen, install an automatic lubrication system to the drive gear, and evaluate the mill trommel bearings. The continuous-improvement program at the Ashdown mill is always striving for increased efficiencies and higher productivity while maintaining a safe work environment..

Tom and Mike inspecting the ball mill

     Below, Tom is recording measurements taken from the trommel screen above the mill discharge box during one of the maintenance periods.  The mill discharge slurry empties into this box and is pumped by the Gallagher pump (lower right) up to the cyclone classifier.

Tom at the Gallagher pump

     Crews have just completed the construction of the new administration building, located near the mill.  This facility is awaiting final permitting by Humboldt County. The new office will provide a better, more efficient work area for management and consultants as the property transitions toward full production and plans for expansion.  The office will house the mill managerial staff, safety and purchasing departments and the property General Manager.

New admin building now ready for occupancy

August 7, 2007

Our men taking a break in the new 4490 drift

     During July and August, the miners have been busy on a number of development projects inside the Ashdown Mine.  The 4480 drift, which supplied the mill with feed in June and July, has been backfilled, allowing a second drift to be driven above it on the 4490 level. The new drift is advancing well, with the Sylvia vein continuing to provide excellent mineralization and plenty of mill feed.

     A sand plant was designed, built and put into operation in July, which has expedited the backfilling of the 4480.  The process of backfilling involves the placement of rock in the drift, followed by spraying a mixture of sand and cement to fill any voids (see photos below).  The sand is screened near the mine and slurried into the drift for spraying into the voids.  This speeds up the process of filling and stabilizing the old workings, and allows the miners to commence mining above the backfilled areas.

Ashdown's newly completed sand plant

Sand being injected into the 4480 drift

     In addition to the mining work, underground crews are constructing the secondary escapeway, which is currently designed to follow the vein toward the surface.  A raise has been put in and is being extended toward the surface, allowing removal of moly at the same time that the safety work is being accomplished.

      While crews are stockpiling mill feed, other crews have finished extensive work to shore up and strengthen the main access decline in anticiaption of winter conditions.  The timber work is completed resulting in strong backs and clean sills, and easier equipment access to the workings. This work constitutes preventative maintenance and is critical to the continued expansion of mining capabilities at the working faces (see three photos below).

     Planning work for future expansion of mine operations is well underway, under the direction of the Golden Phoenix Technical Services Group(TSG). The archaeological survey/inventory completed in 2006 as part of the BLM requirements for the Environmental Assessment is being reviewed by a leading Nevada historical archaeologist/permitting specialist to evaluate any archaeological factors relating to the possible expansion of mine facilities such as ventilations holes, adits, production shafts and waste dumps.  The archaeological evaluation will also aid in site selection for development drilling to define additional near-term mineable material and longer term expansion of the Sylvia vein.
      Under the direction of the TSG, project-wide exploration will begin in late August with field testing of a second Niton XRF analyzer which is expected to arrive within the next few days.  The XRF will be used for rapid geochemical sampling of outcrops, roadcuts, and soils across the entire Ashdown Project area.  Field examination has shown that various types of alteration related to moly-porphyry systems in other districts in North America also occur on the Ashdown Project.  Argillic alteration of the quartz diorite is common in the hanging wall of the Sylvia vein and occurs in outcrop in Vicksburg Canyon immediately north of the mine. Potassic alteration occurs in the form of biotite replacement of ferromagnesian minerals in the quartz diorite across a large portion of the property.  Potassic alteration also occurs over a wide area as numerous, but subtle, K-spar/quartz/biotite pegmatite dikes and veins.  Quartz-sericite alteration has been mapped in roadcuts and old mine workings.  The molybdenite currently being produced occurs primarily in the quartz rich portions of the K-spar/quartz Sylvia vein.  
      The XRF sampling program is expected to aid in defining zonation patterns while locating areas of anomalous elemental moly and other related elements.  The goal is to identify the best possible targets to drill test for a potential moly-porphyry deposit.

Another look at the moly vein on 4490

     The Ashdown Project LLC is also utilizing the TSG capabilities to permit the expansion of the tails facility and mill expansion needs. TSG met with State NDEP officials in preparation of the required minor modification notice under 445A.416 of the Nevada Revised Statutes and has collected soil samples as part of the preliminary engineering requirements for the construction of additional tails storage containment facilities. Dirt work on this project is currently scheduled to begin in late August.

June 14, 2007

Craig Patrick, Golden Phoenix's newest VP, joins the team to inspect Ashdown Mine.

CEO Dave Caldwell (r) and Metallurgist Dave Tretbar at Ashdown

Moly supersack being loaded for shipment

Supersack receiving dried cons

Same sack, different view

Mine tour

Next lot of Supersacks being stored

Tailings pond and outflow

Ball mill and flotation cells

Skimmer pushing moly froth into tray

Don Prahl at Sylvia Vein, 4480 level

Dave Tretbar, underground

April 27, 2007

Drifting south along the Sylvia vein at the 4480 level, our crews encountered this mineralization.  Initial in-house face assays yielded 5.33% Mo, to be confirmed by outside assay.  The molybdenite (dark gray) runs over nine feet in width here, boardered by quartz.  Pedro, one of our miners, lends scale to the deposit.

April 17, 2007

     This drill hole, No. 63699, was encountered by mining crews on the 4480 level, while blasting and mucking for mill feed.  Streaks of molybdenite can be seen bordering the hole.

March 21, 2007

     This cross sectional map shows the current area of mining from a side elevation.  The red lines delineate the moly vein, illustrating the slope of the deposit within the geologic container.  Click on image to enlarge.

March 12, 2007

     CEO Dave Caldwell and President Rob Martin attended the PDAC Mining Conference, held the first week of March in Toronto.  It was reportedly attended by 20,000 delegates from around the world, representing all aspects of mining, exploration and finance.

Dave Caldwell, left, hosting the GPXM Open House

     Golden Phoenix hosted an Open House and Exhibit during the conference, held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.  The Open House ran from 4 pm until well after midnight on March 6th, and hosted well over 200 people.  On exhibit were the most recent mineral samples from the Ashdown Mine, as well as current photos and maps of the project. 

Moly samples were the star attraction of the show

     Many Golden Phoenix shareholders took the time to drop by to view the moly samples and chat with the Company officers.  Samples of moly concentrate were given out, and there was universal appreciation for the quality of the minerals on display.

Rob Martin, with mining legend Frank Kruzich

     The trip also afforded Caldwell and Martin the opportunity to meet many of the key organizations involved in the investment, finance and development of mining projects, and to distribute information regarding GPXM's activities and assets.   The energy and excitement within the mining industry was evident throughout the conference, during which Sprott Asset Management, a major financial institution based in Toronto, announced the planned start of a $75 million dollar Molybdenum Fund, which will allow investors a new vehicle through which to participate in the resurgence of this strategic metal.

February 22, 2007

     The above photo shows the production from a one-week run of the mill.  Each Supersack contains approximately 3900 pounds of molybdenite, which averages about 54% elemental Mo.  The mill currently can process all the ore the mine is producing, and further development work is being performed to bring mineral production up to match the mill's 100-ton per day capacity.  This ramping process will take several months, and involves increasing the working faces and numbers of miners.

     Johnny pauses from his stope work near the Sylvia Vein (in background).  Crews continue to mine the southern end of the sill drift to generate mill feed, while other crews concentrate on driving a new raise into the high-grade section of the vein.  Once this development work is completed, additional crews can start extraction of mineralization, which will, in turn, feed more material to the mill and allow for gradual increase in output of saleable concentrates.  Until the mine is producing approximately 75 tons of mill feed each and every day, the mill will be operated when sufficient mill feed has been stockpiled to allow for continuous production of at least one shipment, which averages about 48,000 pounds of bagged end-product.

     Tom and Jason share a smile as they finish up the week's mill run.  Mill crews, including operators and assay specialists, work round the clock to maintain the "balance" in the flotation cells, monitor flow rates, test water chemistry, and adjust reagents constantly.  The training and learning that is occuring will pay dividends when the mine production reaches the rate at which the mill can operate full time throughout each month.  By then, the chemisty of the mineralization, which is unique for each ore body, can be mastered, resulting in increasing efficiencies of production.

February 5, 2007

     Work in the stopes continues. Underground crews are advancing on the sill drift and getting ready to develop the next raises and scrams to the south of the current working face. Work is proceeding nicely.  The focus is to add working faces at the same level while mineralization is currently being removed.  Longer term, work is also proceeding on a drift to access the vein beneath the current area.  This work will take several months to complete.  In the meantime, mineralized material is being removed and stockpiled at the mill, and some additions to the mill are being added this week. Initial supersacks for a second shipment are already filled and the mill will resume production shortly.

January 4, 2007

     The Ashdown Mill continues to make improvements to its equipement and processes.  The photo above shows the dryer unit with an upgraded ventilation system which helps remove moisture from the cons.  Below, Jason and Wayne stand in front of the bagging system where cons from the dryer are cooled and packed .

     Other improvements include the enclosure of the feed belt that connects the leaf filter, located on the upper level of the mill building, to the dryer hopper in the red container; and the compressor housing located at the back of the mill (2 photos below).

     The tailings pond is beginning to fill with the ramping operation of the mill and its cons production.

     In the mine, crews are timbering the main stope leading to the face of the Sylvia vein and driving drift to establish a second raise and series of working faces.  Seasonal water intrusion from above requires the crews to properly support the workings as they mine.  The Sylvia vein continues to produce mineralized material showing very high grades.  Mill feed production will continue as development work is advanced.  Development of additional working faces is on-going and will occur in phases expected to take several months to complete.