Subterranean Concrete Workings

Underground mining in the United States is some of the safest work in the world.  Headline grabbing stories concerning mine accidents are always tragic but in reality you are safer mining than working in most jobs and yours truly intends to ensure that trend continues :)  

So, how do we keep things safe?  Screening is one of the many ways and helps keep the blasted rock in place.  The photo below shows a typical stack of steel reinforcement screening---the grid is approximately 3"x3".

Shortly after a tunnel has been blasted, the screening is attached to the walls with large spring steel roll pins.  The "spring" in the pins force the rock to stay in place forming arches to help support the tunneling.


A large articulating platform combines the placement of the screening, drilling and installation of the pins.  A good shift can install over 100 of the screen sections.  At no time during this installation is anyone under unsupported rock as the installation is being performed along the leading edge of the platform.


Here is a close-up photo of a pin and plate securing a section of screening.  Note the reduced gap in the pin compared to the earlier photo that is placing pressure on the inside of the drill hole.

All corners, intersections, high traffic areas and any areas of concern are "shot-creted".  This sprayed-on application on the screening greatly increases the safety factor.  These guys could get work building pools back home :)

The photo below shows a large ceiling area with the steel screening in place.  The yellow tube is a ventilation duct.  These run along the ceiling in most areas to ensure air movement.

While cave-ins always grab the headlines, it is nearly always the smaller rocks that fall and injure miners.  The few rocks caught in the screening is very typical and demonstrates the why this safety feature is so important.

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Veggie Patch

Looks like the little woman back in Volunteer Country has got a green thumb this year :)  Also looks like she'd make a rather good-looking pool boy as the water is very inviting.  Fresh salsa and long afternoons look to abound over the next few weeks!  

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Parking Panorama

Late afternoon clouds rolling over the valley--always a good photo opportunity.  I noticed the thumbnail is a bit blurry---perhaps due to the non-standard width of the panorama. 

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Old MacDonald had a ...mine?

We certainly got the VIP treatment when we visited one of our sister mines.

We drove around in luxury vehicles made by John Deere....

Looks like we got us a convoy...

Down we go!!!!!  And yes mom, it is underground :)

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Sequential Table Setting

4 course meal, 4 wine glasses...I don't see a problem with this, does anyone? There were two menus---one veggie and one meat lovers. Somewhat small servings and decoratively presented food on cute little plates. I'd weigh 175 pounds if I ate like that...of course I should weigh 175 pounds :) The last glass was for dessert....I know, mess up the great ice cream sorbet with wine? It was an "ice wine" that is made from frozen grapes plucked from the vines late in the year......and very sweet due to the concentrated sugars.

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Industrial Tool

Enjoying the occasional bowl of ice cream in the evenings can be such a chore to get the Breyer's Cherry Vanilla into the bowl. Along comes the "Twister"! Guaranteed to extradite little rotund glops of goodness from the hardest ice cream. Personally I think the grip is cool but the scoop may qualify as a third world surgical tool....if it can't get the cold stuff out of the container with this, maybe the scoop has a future digging up dandelions!

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Wine Making-Top to Bottom

We were shown a fairly extensive tour of the winery that started with the vines and grape squeezer just outside the winery itself.  The tour then went inside and proceeded through the various mixing and holding tanks with focused lectures on the processes.

Several of the stops also included giving our feedback on how the vintages were doing in their aging process :)

At the lowest levels were stacks of aging vintage stored in the multi-national oak barrels in the cellar. The winery produces just over 200,000 bottles of wine annually---all of the red varieties.




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Oaken Cooperage-American versus French

The selection of the proper wine aging barrel is a big dicesion in wine country. The winemaster at this winery prefers the French made barrels as they do not impart strong flavorings into the wine due in part to the tighter grain. The winery uses both and the photos reflect one of each nationality. The American made barrels have a more open grain, allowing more of the precious vintage to seep into the wood and impart a more distinct flavoring. The barrels are used multiple times (approximately 10 times at this vineyard) and thus, in my thinking after you get past the first couple of uses things should be about the same---of course I probably couldn't taste the difference anyway..... Prices? The American-made barrels are $400 each and the French-made barrels are $1,000 each (I guess they do have some national pride).

Polychotomy

Other than Goldie, the 10 year old County Fair goldfish that joined the fish gods this past year, everything is about the same....a little less "Yes, no, ok" and "Did you ask your mother" perhaps, but all in all about as captured by a college bound high schooler a few years back....

Technology Strikes Again!

Ever wonder how they squish the freshly picked grapes in a large modern winery nowadays? Not a single stained foot is involved! This large stainless steel tank is fed the grapes and, with the help from a pneumatic bladder positioned on the inside of the cylinder that is cycled through different pressures, gently presses the grapes to release the juice from the center pulp and not the the juice from the area near the peel that would give a bitterness to the final product---that juice is probably saved for the "bag-in-box" vintages for us uncouth types :)

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Dualies

Copper mining relies on volume to make a profit and the infrastructure to support this is obvious in the photo.  Two large crushers, each the size of the one back at the ol' gold mine, run in unison feeding a large conveyor.  The maintenance teams have a shop in between with a large overhead crane system that helps facilitate easier access for preventative maintenance and repairs when needed.  This pair is referred to as the "mobile" crushers as they are moved when it makes financial sense----and the conveyors follow along.  There is a single larger crusher at the top of the pit that provides crushing capabilities for surrounding pits or when these two are not available. 

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A Few Rock Tumblers

During a recent visit to an open pit copper mine, the group had the opportunity to also tour the extensive processing facilities that included a visit to the mill. Inside the nondescript exterior was a plethora of grinding mills doing their thing---making dust out of rocks in preparation for the chemical extraction of copper and molybdenum. Copper mines have to push tens of millions of tons just to break even---back home at the ol' gold mine we have one mill that is similar to the taller mills in the photo. The reason for this is obvious in comparison as the price per ounce of gold is over 6,000 times the price of copper.

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View from the Top

The recent trip to Canada included field trips to several areas of interest. The last was a trip to a sister mine in northeast Washington state. I include a satellite map for reference.


The border with Canada is the solid white line across the satellite map.   Also Osoyoos is pictured along the left side of the image and is where the conference was held.

The panorama photo, taken near the very top of the small mountain where the mine is located, is a view roughly toward the southeast and shows several small snow showers that were drifting through the area the day of the visit.

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Red Chili Pepper Under Ice

Walked out this morning and it appears we had heavy cloud cover roll through overnight that left a variety of whorls and swirls on Mini. Overall, things are defintely starting warm up as the balance of the week looks rather sunny.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

In the beginning it was just the two of us......


Then the first of many power naps....

Learning the ropes.....


And then over the top......


From all of us to you...Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!!

A View From Above

While other passengers were busy waiting on the beverage cart a certain Florida boy had his nose and cell phone camera plastered to the window. Flying in a newer 737-800 with satellite TV screens embedded in every headrest, the altitude and speed were easily captured. I have noted the more interesting geographical features.

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