MineGates Inc - Whispering Ranch Mine Bat Gating Project

Whispering Ranch Mine - Bat Gating Project
Located on BLM Land outside of Wickenburg, Arizona.

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Work began at the site with the clearing of the waste rock around the collar of the shaft. This work was carefully done by our skilled backhoe operator Bruce Lynn, as we had to move the waste rock and dirt away from the mine shaft without dumping any into the hole. While we were digging we found pieces of green ore in the rock dump around shaft entrance. The miners were probably mining copper at this site.

Clearing Waste Rock Around Mine Shaft Collar

Backhoe Clearing of Waste Rock Around Mine Shaft Collar

Backhoe and Hand Clearing of Waste Rock
Around Mine Shaft Collar

Clearing of the waste rock around the collar continued all the way around the shaft. To avoid adjacent vegetation and the historic concrete winch foundations, our backhoe could only operate from limited positions around the pit. In these sections we dug out much of the waste rock with hand shovels. Notice that the workers who are near the open shaft are roped in with climbing harnesses and wear rock climbing helmets. Since natural rigging points were scarce at this site, we rigged our ropes directly to one of our work trucks. If one the workers accidentally fell into the shaft they would be quickly stopped by the rope and would be able to easily ascend out of the pit. Also note the high visibility yellow safety vests. These bright colors make it easy for the backhoe operator to see the workers. Safety is extremely important on our projects. We try our best to be thoughtful about every action, and take our time doing our work so that it is done correctly, and in a safe manner.

Once the collar of the mine had been cleared we assembled the three sections of the gate by welding the two Stability Aprons to the main Cupola gate. With the main section of the Cupola gate sitting on the trailer, we used the backhoe to lift the two heavy Stability Aprons into place for welding.

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Welding Stability Apron to Cupola Bat Gate

Welding Stability Apron to Main Cuploa Bat Gate