Back from Mexico

[buzz]

Cool pics.

I've driven to Monterrey before, on the way to Saltillo. If memory serves correctly about the roads in that area, 3.5 hours could very well mean you've only gone about 60 miles.

You know, you may have guns, but next to that ball mill.......just sayin'. Just calling castle.

We drove through Saltillo to get to Concha - yeah the rodes are pretty rough. For most of the travel the highway is two lanes, but the way the traffic works is it is somehow understood that the center line is the passing area, for either direction - and so if you aren't passing, you are supposed to be straddling the side line (half on the shoulder) in order to allow those who are passing to use the middle area. Pretty wild.

Here are the steel balls used in the mill:

Dangit, i've been Castled!

/\.../\
||...||
------

-Buzz

[ashauler]

Who are you and why do I care about your balls?

[mrtr33]

Who are you and why do I care about your balls?

But they're steel balls.

[buzz]

Good to see you back Buzz! I'll be going down to Huatulco, Mexico for new years with the wifey and the in-laws. Aparently there is some good diving down there along with white water rafting. I'll be sure to post pics!

Looking forward to seeing those pics! The rafting should be cool, I did that once (in Panama) and had a blast. Have a safe trip bro, take along some gummy bears to give to the federales... it isn't a bribe... it's just being friendly

They love those gummy bears man, I mean LOVE them.

-Buzz

[buzz]

Guess what? I'm back, again, from "la tierra del mineral y la cordialidad".


They are repairing the building where the firework explosion occured last time I was there.


90 feet up...


They let me drive a backhoe...


Some of the mills run on man power, as shown here.

[buzz]

Well, I'm back from Mexico (again). I went to go do another site visit at Minera Penasquito (little rock mine). This time we staying in a different town than normal, name of the town is Mazapil (founded in 1562). The town is small, and very run down. Our hotel was on the outskirts and had a fantastic new green paint. Not much to do in town except visit the church (built in the early 1700s).

Here is the church (nicest building in town):


Here is the inside of the church:


Here is the hotel we stayed at (barking wild dogs and howling coyotes all night long at no extra cost):


Here is a video showing one of the mine trucks dumping into the primary crusher:


One of the mine trucks getting worked on in the truck shop:


Truck had a 14' diameter flat tire:


These trucks are huge:


And so are these guns!


Glad to be back where I can drink the water.

[Paddy]

Where is all the Tequila & hookers?

[buzz]

Whelp, I'm back again from the mine site in Mexico. Rough trip, stayed in Mazapil again at the bright green hotel, no electricity the first night. On Sunday we left the mine at 1pm so had a half day to kill. Rather than watch Mexican soap operas for the rest of the day we opted to drive to Concha (the other small town where I've stayed before). There isn't much to do in Concha, but there's even less to do in Mazapil. We took the "old road" over the mountain (not paved, no longer used) instead of the new road which goes around the mountain which was pretty cool, saw some ruins and a monastery that is still occupied. Best part of the trip was that instead of the normal old prop plane we normally take this time we had a super fancy jet.

If you're looking for a nice place to stay in Mazapil, look no further! Well you can look around but this is all there is - so you'll end up staying here anyway.






They were doing some belt change-outs on some of the conveyor systems (the tall ones are 20' diameter):



The jet we took this time:



Here is that church, all fixed now:



As compared to before:



And of course, no trip to Mexico would be complete without a special visit from Mr. Nacho:

[mrtr33]

Just so I know what to expect, when you come here next month, are you going to be driving this?

Or arriving in this?

But I really hope you're bringing this.

[buzz]

I'll definitely bring Mr. Nacho with me.

[buzz]

Here is the "old road" from Mazapil to Concha:




Some of the ruins along the way:






Here is that monastery, middle of nowhere but still in use:




Heading down into Concha: