Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions] One moment please for first question. And our first question comes from the line of Mark Smith, Dundee Securities. Please proceed.
Mark Smith - Dundee Securities
Good morning, congratulations on an excellent quarter and actually bucking trend. A couple of questions, first on Cortez Hills for Alex, I guess. As you have been doing the additional drilling at Cortez Hills, have you been able to sort of confirm the findings from Placer for most of that vertical drilling that they have done on the steeply dipping --?
Alexander Davidson
Yes we have, Mark, and that’s the point I mentioned about, we are getting significant increases in grades in the in-filed drilling on that Cortez shows underground branches, we call that that steeply dipping stuff that branches off. So we are confirming and in fact and frankly increasing the grades on the in-field drilling.
Mark Smith - Dundee Securities
Okay, is it still open at depth now or is it still -- or is it restricted to a certain stratography in the horizon?
Alexander Davidson
No that branches on is the steeply dipping part and the stratography is fairly flat there, what we call the lower zone is where that flares out into -- or stands out into a more flat lying zone underneath it.
Mark Smith - Dundee Securities
Okay, got you. Okay, and can you just sort of give me a handle on where the permitting stands for Pediment and Cortez Hills?
Alexander Davidson
If I can comments on our stage -- we are 30 stages at permitting, plans of operations have been filed and scoping comments being received, so at present the project the project preliminary EIS has been prepared so it’s that stage of permitting.
Mark Smith - Dundee Securities
Okay, and Pediment is now included within the Cortez Hills plans?
Alexander Davidson
Correct.
Mark Smith - Dundee Securities
Okay good. Maybe you could just give me an idea of how things are going at Getchell or Turquoise Ridge with respect to the staffing and training that was going on there and how the ground petitions are being maintained?
Peter Kinver
It’s Peter here, yes it has been an issue turnover for all underground mines in Nevada is an issue, but we have -- I can say instituted a sort of intensive training and I’m pleased say that the turnover has got down to more acceptable levels. In respect to the ground conditions I think they have -- everybody has accepted that the ground conditions down there are not great and they have got a drip and fill mining method using expensive use of short grids and they should be coping with the difficult ground conditions down there.
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