Canadian gold exploration minnow Ximen Mining Corp has unleashed a new LiDAR surveying tool at the old Kenville underground gold mine, 8km out of Nelson in south-east British Columbia. The gizmo? A robotic dog.
Ximen CEO Chris Anderson says the company wants to bring “practical new technologies” into the exploration and mine development arena.
“The use of robotic LiDAR surveying at Kenville … allows our team and consultants to gather important underground data efficiently and safely as we continue preparing for the planned new decline,” he says.
“Kenville is a historic gold mine with modern potential, and we remain focused – like a dog with a bone – on advancing the project methodically, responsibly and with the benefit of the best tools available.”
Ximen, capitalised at about C$7 million, raised $400,000 of equity funding in April to advance work at Kenville, which it acquired back in 2019. It says past drilling returned evidence high-grade vein structures that sustained historical mining could extend beyond existing workings.
A new decline could provide access to “multiple gold-bearing quartz veins indicated by previous surface drilling around the historic Kenville gold mine”.
Ximen says it received BC government mines and environment permits in 2023 to construct what it is calling its Venango portal, drive 1.2km of decline and do 20,250m of underground drilling to outline a 10,000-tonne bulk sample.
