Letter to our Shareholders,
When I took back Franklin Mining in 2020, the company was valued at $200,000 market cap. The market cap is now over $20 million.
My initial focus was to clean up the company and bring all of our filings current. Now that we have caught up on past dues owed by the previous administration, my focus is on our future mining prospects in Bolivia (gold) and Argentina (lithium).
In December 2020, we ordered the green machine from Heckler Fabrication in California. The project was paid in full June 2021, with promises from Greg at Heckler Fabrication that shipping would begin upon completion. The green machine was completed November 2021 after a series of supply-chain delays prevented Greg from being able to finish the build. We have been working with Greg to find a transportation company that is able to ship the machine from California to Bolivia. In April, we were given a tracking number that listed May 20, 2022 as the day of arrival in Bolivia. Due to the shortage of shipping containers on the west coast of the US, the green machine is still located in California. I have been in close contact with Greg over this serious grievance to the contract, however, at this point it is in the hands of a third-party transportation company and patience is our only option.
While we acknowledge the serious delays, we must also keep our eye on the prize and look forward to what the coming months will bring.
Once a container is secured, it will be on its way to La Paz, through the port of Chile. It must be cleared through Bolivian customs before it can be transported to the mine.
Due to the delay of the arrival of the green machine, I began searching for an alternative that would allow us to begin breaking ground quickly. I was offered a second-hand machine from a local mining company that was already located in Bolivia. This red machine is capable of processing 170 tons per hour. It is significantly larger than the green machine, with greater capabilities as well.
The red machine was purchased in December 2021 and we began to repair and refurbish the electrical system, hoses, tires, mesh panels, among other things. The refurbishment process was completed in March 2022. We decided to move the machine to the Yuyo mine in the Apollo area. This area is only reachable by a dirt road, known colloquially as the Most Dangerous Road, which quickly became a nonviable option as the machine was too large to transport in one piece.
This machine weighs 49 tons, with a length of 51 feet. When we were unsuccessful at transporting it via this road, we then contracted a local trucking company to move the machine in sections. The initial problem has been resolved by breaking the machine into separate parts, however there is only one truck in all of Bolivia that is capable of moving machinery of this size. Vice President of Operations in Bolivia Fernando Freudenthal has been in constant contact with the trucking company that is currently in the process of moving the parts to the mining area, where it will then have to be re-assembled before processing can begin. We are optimistic that in 30 days, the machine will be in place and able to start trial runs at the mine.
This machine will be able to recover up to 95% per ton of nugget ore at a rate of 170 tons per hour. Our current plan is to bring the green machine to the same area to re-process up to 70 tons per hour with a recovery of 98% of .035 micron ore using a custom jig. When we are fully operational with both machines in the Yuyo mine, we will be able to process up to 240 tons per hour, from nugget to flake size gold.
The structure of operations will be two 8-hour shifts per day, requiring teams of five: three miners, one geologist, and one engineer. We will also require twelve 50-ton dump trucks to feed the machine. Three trucks will work at a time, in a constant rotation to maximize our output.
We have ordered a 150kg generator to power the red machine, with the green machine requiring a smaller generator. Due to the treacherous location of the mine, we must take into consideration the fuel consumption and prepare living quarters for our staff, as well as storage for additional parts and equipment so that there is no downtime. All of this has been planned and prepared for by our team in Bolivia.
I hope now that you are more abreast of our gold endeavors, you will allow us the grace to move forward as quickly and efficiently as we are able. We will have much more information about our lithium mining operations in Argentina soon.
Thank you
Bill Petty,
CEO
Franklin Mining
