On Saturday we visited an underground mine. The mine we visited is no longer active, but is still maintained as a tourist site. We only went down 1 level in the elevator shaft - it actually goes down 12 levels. The lower levels are now flooded since they are no longer pumped out.
Included in our tour was a gold pour demonstration. In actuality, we saw a bronze pour, not a gold pour. They don't have the necessary security setup for a real gold pour here. As such, you were able to concentrate on the demonstration, rather than try to think of creative ways of making off with the gold :-)
After a quick visit to an abandoned town to catch the sunset, we returned to the camp school (where we were staying) for a bbq dinner. The group had kindly modified the agenda to allow Michael and I to catch the Rockingham Flames basketball game in town. Michael teaches with the coach of the semi-pro team, and he wanted to show his support. We had been to game 1 of the playoff set last weekend in Rockingham, and now they were playing in Kalgoorlie.
Unfortunately despite winning the first game in Rocko, they lost game 2. So they had to go to a game 3 which was held on Sunday at noon, by which time we would be on our way back home.After the game, we managed to catch up with the rest of the gang at a local bar - after all, you can't visit Kalgoorlie and not check out the bar scene!
Sunday had us rise early to pack the bus, and then we headed for a tour of the Super Pit. As we waited for out tour to start, we browsed the local Sunday market - complete with sellers of 'gold nuggets' by the local prospector still struck with gold fever.
We had viewed the Super Pit from a lookout point earlier, but this time we entered the actually property. It is one big hole!!! It is 3.5km long, 1.5km wide and 680 meters deep. To give you a sense of scale - the shovel Robin and I are atop of here is from a digger.
Several shovel fulls are required to fill one of the trucks seen here. These trucks run non-stop 24 hours a day hauling out ore.
The current estimate is that the pit will continue to produce gold till about 2017. At that point, they will abandon the mine - leaving a big hole. Currently about 10% of the worlds gold comes from this pit. It certainly is impressive - but at the same time I must admit that I left the tour feeling sickened by how we treat this planet.
And then we were back in the van for our 6 - 7 hour return trip home. Lindsay was our prime driver for the weekend which saved the rest of the chore - which was very much appreciated! By the time we were back in Mandurah it was after 8pm, and Kyle had returned from his buddies home and fixed himself dinner. Then to an early bed and back to the grind on Monday - at least for Michael that was, Kyle's school actually had a PD day - but no such luck for Mikey!
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