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MiningWeek Online
June 4, 2004 Volume 10, Issue 22
This Week's Issue:
Ney dicusses election during NMA visit
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) said the presidential election in Ohio “is going to be close and it’s going to be tight” during a visit with NMA staff and members this week. He said President Bush is likely to win or lose the state “based on rural areas.” The President won Ohio by 3 percentage points in 2000, he noted. Regarding the energy bill pending in Congress, Ney said the future of the legislation was uncertain. “People want oil, but they don’t want to drill in ANWR,” he said.
Ney said on Friday, June 4th, he would join a delegation of Members of the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), to England and France to participate in ceremonies paying tribute to the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Ney is the Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, the Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, the Chairman of the Commission on Mailing Standards, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, and a Deputy Majority Whip. During his 25-year career as an elected official at the state and federal level, he has been a vocal advocate on issues that impact the mining and steel industries.
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Kennecott mine wins international safety award
Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.’s Bingham Canyon Mine near Salt Lake City, UT, has received the prestigious “International Society of Mine Safety Professionals (ISMSP) National/International Safety and Health Recognition Award” for reaching 2 million man-hours without a lost time injury.
The award was presented recently at the ISMSP national conference to operations with 1 million plus hours of work with no lost-time accidents.
“We have worked 2 million man-hours without anyone being injured to the extent they could not return to their homes and their normal duties the next day,” said mine manager Ted Himebaugh. “That broke our previous record for the longest period of time without a lost-time injury by 323 days and more than 1.25 million man hours.”
Himebaugh credited the achievement to the safety consciousness of all Kennecott employees and contractors at the mine and for their on-going promotion of a total safety culture at the operation.
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McAlpine Lock and Dam closure delayed until August 9-22
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) has rescheduled the planned closure of the McAlpine Locks and Dam to Aug. 9-22, from the originally announced Aug. 3-16 (Mining Week, 5-21-04).
The 1,200-foot lock at McAlpine Locks and Dam (Ohio River, Mile 606.8) is being closed to prevent failure of a miter gate. With only one lock chamber at McAlpine, this means a total river closure; however, Ohio River traffic will continue above and below Louisville, KY.
Recent inspections have revealed cracks that if not repaired, could lead to a miter gate failure. Inspections will be held every two weeks, a process that began the week of May 27.
NMA members seeking additional information can contact Moya Phelleps at 202-463-2639, or mphelleps@nma.org, or visit www.lrl.usace.army.mil, for updates on the lock closure.
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Caterpillar produces 5,000th large mining truck
Caterpillar Inc. recently produced its 5,000th large mining truck, a 380-ton capacity 797B that will join a fleet of 797s at the Escondida copper mine in northern Chile.
Reaching the milestone 20 years after producing its first large mining truck (those with a payload capacity of 130 tons or more), the company said it now offers four large mining truck base models. All four are produced at CAT’s Decatur, IL, manufacturing plant, where 2,000 people are employed.
Caterpillar’s first large mining truck, the 785 (original capacity 130 tons) was introduced in 1984, followed by the 170-195 ton payload 789 in 1986. The 240-ton payload 793 came along in 1991; two years later, production of the three mining truck models reached the 1,500 milestone.
Larger mining shovels saw the 797 introduced in 1998. The original 797 carried a payload of 360 tons, making it the largest mechanical-drive truck in the world.
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Mulvey, Buttrey sworn in at STB
Francis P. Mulvey and W. Douglas Buttrey have been formally sworn in as members of the Surface Transportation Board (STB),
STB is an independent adjudicatory body administratively housed within the Department of Transportation (DOT). It is responsible for the economic regulation of interstate surface transportation, primarily railroads, within the United States. STB’s mission is to ensure that competitive, efficient and safe transportation services are provided to meet the needs of shippers, receivers and consumers.
Mulvey, a Democrat from Maryland, will serve for the remainder of a five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2007. He formerly served as the Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Railroad Subcommittee. He previous had served as deputy assistant inspector general for rail, transit and special programs for DOT.
Buttrey, a Republican from Tennessee, will serve for the remainder of a five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2008. Prior to joining the STB, he was an independent consultant in Memphis, TN., and has a private sector career spanning 22 years with the Federal Express Corp.
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India Gold Convention planned for August
India Gold Convention 2004 will take place Aug. 20-21 at the Hyatt Regency in Mumbai, India. It is the first conference to be held in India after the introduction of gold futures trading.
The focus of the meeting, according to the sponsors, will be to put in perspective the emerging opportunities in gold trade in India at the wholesale and retail level; sensitize the participants on the relevance of price risk management of gold and the instruments available in India; explore the opportunity for including gold in the product portfolio of mutual funds; debate the possible opportunity in gold refining; examine the competitive strength of the Indian jewelry industry; and educate participants on recent developments in testing and certifying.
More information can be found at www.igc2004.com.
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CEC: U.S. toxic air emissions drop 20 percent between 1998, 2001
U.S. toxic air emissions declined 20 percent between 1998 and 2001, while Canada’s increased nearly 3 percent, according to a June 2 Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) report.
The study, “Taking Stock 2001,” compares emissions data for industry sectors and toxic chemicals that appear in both the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and Environment Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). It covers 204 chemicals but not criteria pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
According to the report, U.S. toxic air emissions dropped about 20 percent between 1998 and 2001, while electric utility emissions fell 10 percent. In Canada, total air emissions increased 2.7 percent, while electric utility emissions rose about 10 percent. Mercury air emissions dropped 2 percent in Canada and 8 percent in the U.S. over the same period.
The report compares data submitted to the Canadian and United States federal governments by 21,254 facilities that monitor their releases of toxic chemicals, including carcinogens and neurotoxicants to the air, land and water. Data from Mexican facilities will be included in future editions. More information is available at www.cec.org/home/.
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HI seeks individuals to review draft of ANSI-approved slurry pump standard
The Hydraulic Institute (HI) is seeking qualified individuals to participate in the review process of a newly completed standard for the definition, selection, application, operation and maintenance of centrifugal slurry pumps.
The scope of the new standard includes slurry pump types, types of slurries, slurry limitations, slurry solids effect on pumps, pumping of froth, pump wear and application. The standard provides requirements for wet-end and bearing housing shaft seals, establishes allowable nozzle loads and provides a data sheet that can be used by purchasers and vendors to exchange information.
HI is asking Individuals and organizations directly and materially affected by the standard to contact Karen Anderson, administrator, technical affairs, at kanderson@pumps.org, or 973-267-9700, extension 23. HI is currently assembling a canvass list of all interested parties who wish to review the drafts and will submit the list to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to meet its open canvass requirements.
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Rep. Timothy Murphy tours Joy Mining Facility
Representative Timothy Murphy (R-PA) visited Joy Mining Macinery’s Meadow Lands, PA facility last week. Pictured in the photo, from left to right, are Bob Wise, Larry Lepidi, Rep. Murphy and Nick Loncaric.
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Newsbits
Bucyrus International Inc. was recently recognized by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle with the Governor’s Export Achievement Award in the Large Manufacturing category. This award is given to firms and organizations that have achieved extraordinary results in international sales or have contributed to Wisconsin’s increased ability to compete in a global market….The Office of Surface Mining will host a technical interactive forum on coal mining and the Indiana Bat from November 16-18, 2004, in Louisville, Kentucky. The purpose of the forum is to provide information on protecting the Indiana Bat during coal mining and reclamation….Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. reported that joint venture partner Gryphon Gold Corp. has begun drilling at the Borealis gold project in Nevada as part of its Phase One program to produce gold. This program is designed toward turning the Borealis project into a producing gold mine in the next 12-18 months….The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation announced the release of its updated Digital Library on CD-ROM. This searchable CD-ROM contains over 2,000 articles written by experts from 1955-2003….Mining ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Member Economies are meeting in Chile from June 15-17 to discuss issues impacting mining in the Asia-Pacific sector. Key issues being addressed include sustainable development for the mining sector and the liberalization of trade and investment in the fields of metals and minerals.
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