Mine closure.
Photo; A few good headframes gives a place that look of progress. This one is not ours, but its a great looking one.
It’s been a bit hard to get the old concentration up for blogging over the past few days. The gold mine where I have worked for most of the last 20 years is probably closing fairly soon.
I was there from almost the start, when a small crew battled against the odds in hell hole conditions of heat and humidity to open up the historic workings, then develop it to the point where we could get it back in production. Looking back I really don’t know how we stood it, but I was 20 years younger then.
The company that owned it originally went into receivership when a coal mine they owned caught fire, then after a long period it was sold to a company which has done its best, but ultimately was unable to fund the development needed.
Sadly we will be leaving reasonable reserves behind, but as we couldn’t raise the capital to get to them, nor in the current financial crisis, find a buyer, I guess the writing is on the wall for us.
Its great that I was able to be part of almost the full life of the project, but seeing it end this way is a great sadness. I’ll miss the guys I have worked with over the years, in the main they were and still are the greatest bunch of blokes I have ever had the honour of knowing, and that includes some bloody great management.
Twenty years. Wow. It sounds like a great team of people. It is losing touch with the people that is probably the hardest part.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, this gave me an idea. And although I am kidding, there is a nugget (pun intended) of desperate “truthiness” in this proposal.
All of my liberal/Democrat friends say that if McCain is elected, they will move to Canada. Yet, to a person, all of my Republican and Libertarian friends say they will move to Australia ! And many of them are quite serious.
If we could get enough disaffected Libertarians and Republicans to put up, say, $10,000 each, we would probably get enough people to infuse your company’s coffers with enough cash to keep going. In return, we would all move onto the land and work it the best we could. We would escape the creeping socialism of the U.S., while at the same time keeping your company in business by maintaining the land. We could establish a good old-fashioned commune (LOL).
Hey, it may come to bartering for services soon anyway.
Seriously though, good luck in your future. It sounds to me as though you have it well in hand, despite your sadness.
20 years is longer than any job I've ever had. I hope it's a change for the better for you.
ReplyDeleteI love it Shirley, your people are welcome as long as they are Republicans.
ReplyDeleteOn the serious side though I thank you and Patrick for your consideration and thoughts. Oh Shirley I like your site.
Best wishes, Jim. You Aussies are truly the very best mates on the planet.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be a shock to be either retired or in a different job, but Confucious said "A change of work is as good as a vacation".
You'll make the best of it I'm sure
Cheers and Beers
Al