Why would they be processing dirt at the mine site? exercise?
Most of the scam miners that I am familiar with have processed dirt, to one degree or another. It is all about setting up the story, creating an image for the few days that investors are in town.
One scam with a supposed placer gold deposit that I know of ran their wash plant only three days a year.....the three days that investors were in town.
Another scam I know dug a couple thousand tons of rock out of a hillside (breaking numerous environmental and safety laws in the process), and convinced investors that mining was really going on. The rock ultimately had to be reclaimed, because it was in a desert wash, and contained heavy metals.
Another scam bought several million dollars worth of mobile offices and labs, stocked the lab with functional equipment, bought tanks and graders and backhoes, and even had a staff of half a dozen locals to push dirt around. They got shut down after they were inspected and found guilty of numerous environmental regulations. And later convicted of securities fraud.
Shall I go on.....?