youre about to be totally bored....

[greyhair biker]

Well, I was driving past the minesite the other day and the view of the Uintahs was really cool so I shot some pics...then I thought " I have a current mine map and you all probably havent seen one before or been in a mine before...well, afew of you have but - yeah, Here are some pics:
heres' a shot from I-80 looking south around 10am from 7 miles away.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0204Medium.jpg
the general overall mine map:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0189Medium.jpg
map legend:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0190Medium.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0198Medium.jpg
the shaft bottom area, shops, warehouse,etc:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0197Medium.jpg
the south end of th emine - where I work...about 5miles from the shaft bottom, or a 20 minute drive;
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0196Medium.jpg
the panel on the right is mine.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/IMG_0200Medium.jpg

Now, if you wanna be bored some more I can give you specifics but here it is in a nutshell :haha: :puke: :bore:

[erial]

So how does trona extraction compare or differ from coal mining? Are there long term black lung type dangers to be wary of? Cave ins? Are you really 5 miles underground or did I misread your note about the 5 mile drive to your end of the mine?

[greyhair biker]

So how does trona extraction compare or differ from coal mining? Are there long term black lung type dangers to be wary of? Cave ins? Are you really 5 miles underground or did I misread your note about the 5 mile drive to your end of the mine?

we mine 1500' underground, which takes about 4 minutes for the manhoist to travel. Trona ore, which makes soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, etc is completely watersoluble and doesnt harm you in and by itself...unless you count the sodium metabisulfate and the caustic soda we also make, but that is mainly a surface operation. The shale that is above and below the seam doesnt process well and we do dust sampling regularly to check for silica, which is the nasty stuff.
We are classified as a category 111 gassy metal/nonmetal mine, which means the flammable thing we have to monitor for/worry about is methane gas...explosive from 5% to 15%.
...what else would you like to know?

[DiscGo]

Not boring at all. Very interesting.

[savanna3313]

So how does trona extraction compare or differ from coal mining? Are there long term black lung type dangers to be wary of? Cave ins? Are you really 5 miles underground or did I misread your note about the 5 mile drive to your end of the mine?

we mine 1500' underground, which takes about 4 minutes for the manhoist to travel. Trona ore, which makes soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, etc is completely watersoluble and doesnt harm you in and by itself...unless you count the sodium metabisulfate and the caustic soda we also make, but that is mainly a surface operation. The shale that is above and below the seam doesnt process well and we do dust sampling regularly to check for silica, which is the nasty stuff.
We are classified as a category 111 gassy metal/nonmetal mine, which means the flammable thing we have to monitor for/worry about is methane gas...explosive from 5% to 15%.
...what else would you like to know?

Just curious......but do you ever get claustrophobia?

:popcorn:

[accadacca]

Theres a helluva lotta tunnels under there... :eek2:

[greyhair biker]

So how does trona extraction compare or differ from coal mining? Are there long term black lung type dangers to be wary of? Cave ins? Are you really 5 miles underground or did I misread your note about the 5 mile drive to your end of the mine?

we mine 1500' underground, which takes about 4 minutes for the manhoist to travel. Trona ore, which makes soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, etc is completely watersoluble and doesnt harm you in and by itself...unless you count the sodium metabisulfate and the caustic soda we also make, but that is mainly a surface operation. The shale that is above and below the seam doesnt process well and we do dust sampling regularly to check for silica, which is the nasty stuff.
We are classified as a category 111 gassy metal/nonmetal mine, which means the flammable thing we have to monitor for/worry about is methane gas...explosive from 5% to 15%.
...what else would you like to know?

Just curious......but do you ever get claustrophobia?

:popcorn:

No, I am luckily not a bit claustrophobic...but think about this - the boreminer cuts an 8 1/2' high by 14' wide path. the miner is only a few feet narrower and shorter than that...and 40,000 tons on machine. A shuttle car is nearly the same width as the miner and about 25' long and 16 tons...no room really but you get used to it.
...one of my old hobbies is spelunking so a cave is a cave - - a mine is just as dark when your caplamp goes out....oh yeah, no being afraid of the dark either :haha:

[greyhair biker]

Theres a helluva lotta tunnels under there... :eek2:
yes there are! literally hundreds of miles.
Our 'panel' or 'section' will take just over a year to mine in and we will have gone in over a mile one way.

[JP]

Not boring at all. Very interesting.
Agreed :2thumbs:

Any pics of down below :ne_nau:

[gonzo]

I've always wanted to go down into a mine. The closest I've come was that silly Park City Silver Mine Adventure attraction, and a few lava tubes in New Zealand that doubled as a mine. (Don't ask me what they were mining though, because as far I could tell the only down there were glow worms and some giant freakin' spiders). Oh, I did a tour through Norad, too. But, I don't think that counts as a mine, either. (Well, a datamine, maybe).

Now I will attempt to prevent Devo's version of "Working in a Coal Mine" (http://www.last.fm/music/Devo/_/Working+in+the+Coal+Mine) from repeating in my head.

[dillweed]

Interesting place. It's quite complicated - that map is huge - and you can tell it's just one small section of the mine.

So all of the tunnels on the map represent one "layer"? In other words, the tunnels are all roughly at the same depth below the surface? How deep?

Do you guys do tours? If so, maybe kris and I could come out and get a tour.

[greyhair biker]

Interesting place. It's quite complicated - that map is huge - and you can tell it's just one small section of the mine.

So all of the tunnels on the map represent one "layer"? In other words, the tunnels are all roughly at the same depth below the surface? How deep?

Do you guys do tours? If so, maybe kris and I could come out and get a tour.
You guys are welcome to come on a tour, I just need a little notice since I'd be taking you on my days off - only authorized personnel can do tours..I being one of them. You would need to plan for at least 4 or 5 hours...that includes the mandatory training before you go down. we provide all the safety equipment you would need...all of it.

We mine at the 1500' level. THere are several other levels of trona in the Basin but we run mainly at this level. We do have another level at 1750' but no active workings are down there, just the bottom of the shafts and ore storage bins.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/wadeinfrontofboreminerMedium.jpg
this shot is me standing in front of a boreminer changing headbits. We are developing the set up face for the longwall, which is why the ceiling is so much higher and the room is so much wider than normal. Notice all the roof bolting support? Normally the roof bolting plan calls for a 5' resin bolt every 4' wide on center...a bolt every 4'. These bolts are 7' resin and 12' mechanical bolts spaced every 4' or less. The room is 32' wide and over 500' long! 2 and a half passes wide and two passes deep...neaning you cut EVERYTHING twice. It took us just over a month to finish this room.

and this is me on my roof bolter - again, in the longwall setup face
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l113/wliedtke/wadeonbolterMedium.jpg

[JP]

Thanks for those down under pics :nod:

[greyhair biker]

Here's about a 10# chunk of trona ore. If you sat it in a 5gal bucket of water, in a day it would be completely dissolved...

[JP]

Here's about a 10# chunk of trona ore. If you sat it in a 5gal bucket of water, in a day it would be completely dissolved...
I have no idea when it comes to rocks, other than how to drive up them and drop off of them, what is trona used for if water is its kryptonite :mrgreen:

[Scott P]

what is trona used for if water is its kryptonite

I know one use (and I'm sure there are a lot more) is for making soda ash which is used for refining Silver.

I only know that because I used to work in the big Gold/Silver refinery in Salt Lake City.

[greyhair biker]

Here's about a 10# chunk of trona ore. If you sat it in a 5gal bucket of water, in a day it would be completely dissolved...
I have no idea when it comes to rocks, other than how to drive up them and drop off of them, what is trona used for if water is its kryptonite :mrgreen:

Trona ore is processed into soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, etc....stuff like Arm & Hammer baking soda, laundry detergent, cow rumin(helps em digest their food) glass and fiberglas products, plastics, phamaceuticals, the list goes on and on and on...

[JP]

I know one use (and I'm sure there are a lot more) is for making soda ash which is used for refining Silver.
Thanks Scott :2thumbs:


Trona ore is processed into soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, etc....stuff like Arm & Hammer baking soda, laundry detergent, cow rumin(helps em digest their food) glass and fiberglas products, plastics, phamaceuticals, the list goes on and on and on...
Thanks GHB :2thumbs: (GHB, I know what that is :haha: ) for taking the time to explain, that's pretty interesting. See, you can learn something new everyday :nod: