Excavation at the Brightstar Alpha Pit. Watpac.
The Brightstar Mine is an open pit gold mine extracting gold ore from a saprolite layer about 10 m bellow the surface. Saprolites are ancient, weathered rock formations, formed in areas where rock was exposed at the surface for long periods without tectonic movement. This weathering can serve to concentrate some stable minerals, such as gold ores, as less stable components of the rock are worn away. Saprolites are a common source of ore in Australia, and in western Australia in particular, where they are easy to remove with mechanical digging apparatus.
See also...
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