Henderson Molybdenum Mine

Mine Tour


December 28,2010

Note: All pictures came from the internet - we didn't take any as per the rules.
Michael and I left a little after 10:00 to travel to the Empire/Berthoud Falls area up the I70 corridor. It was beautiful day with temperature in the 50s in Longmont, which translated to the mid 30s at 10,000 feet. As we drove, we talked about fantasy, about the Lord of the Rings, about Balrogs and Orcs.
What better topic when you are going to the roots of the mountains. We stoped in Idaho Falls for a little lunch.

We arrived at the Empire Henderson mine at 12:20, exactly when Mat asked us to be there. He had arranged for us to get through the gate. He had everything set up for us inside. He had it all arranged. We watched the safety video and learned the two big rules for our tour. Always have three points of contact when getting on equipment, and keep arms and legs and other body parts in the equipment at all times. Mat then talked to us about what we were going to see. On a side note, when Michael arrived last Saturday, I was talking to him on the way home from the airport and he said he didn't know anyone who really liked his job. I told him to talk to Mat. Mat loves his job. He has learned so much about how things operate in the mine. And he just loves being there.

After orientation we went to get equipment. It consisted of iron toed wader boots, a hard hat with a light and battery pack, and a belt with an emergency respirator. Mat took us to meet Steve. He is a trainer at the mine and he had set up a tour using a "buggy" so we wouldn't have to walk. If Mat had taken us, we would have had to walk and we wouldn't have gotten to see even 1/3^rd of what we got to on the buggy. We really appreciated Steve, and he was such a nice guy.

Steve checked us into the mine and we went to "the cage", which is the lift that takes you down 2500+ feet into the mountain. At that point, with the mountain above, you are some 5000 feet underground. The cage was scary at first. It is not smooth like a normal elevator. It is a bumpy ride and takes a couple of minutes to get down.

First stop was to get the buggy, which is really a tractor outfitted with seats. We drove a little ways through "drifts" which are some of the horizontal tunnels in the mine. That in itself was cool. At that level they were well lit. We visited a warehouse where they stored everything they needed in the mine, which of course had to be brought down in the cages.

We also visited a "refuge room" which is an emergency gathering site. It is equipped with food and water supplies, a first aid station, oxygen and communication gear, just in case something bad happens underground. Over the history of the mine, the refuge rooms have only been used for drills, but everyone in the mine has to be familiar with all of the operations, which is why I think they took us there first. A note about the Henderson Mine. They have a lot of visitors from government officials (Senators, Representatives, etc.) and foreign dignitaries because it is considered one of the safest mines in the world. It is used as an example of how mine safety can and should be done.

We then started going into the drifts. Steve took us to a place where we could see what the Molybdenum looked like in its ore state. It was also a place where we could turn off our hard hat lights and be in total and complete darkness. Pretty cool.

He then drove us to a place where a loader was loading "muck", the mined out ore, into a "chute", a hole that drops the muck down where it can be crushed. There was quite a bit of dust there but the ventilation system in the mine made it very easy to breath all of the time. This loader was a huge front end loader, and it was brand new. Michael and I got to sit in it and it still had that "new car smell. The driver was a little bit disgusted that they had scratched his loader when they were bringing it down in the cage. They brought it down in three parts – the bucket, the front end and the back end which were hinged together so the loader could negotiate the corners in the drifts easier. The drifts are about 5 yards wide so the equipment had to be made to manipulate in that size area. Pretty cool.

Next Steve took us down a ramp to almost the bottom of the mine. This was the level where the muck from the cutes was crushed. We saw the crusher. It is a giant machine that works like a mortar and pestle. It is a gigantic piece of equipment that one would never expect to find at the root of a mountain, and it had be brought down and built on place. Pretty cool.

The muck is dumped in and if the rocks are too big, they get crushed down to a manageable size. The crusher is loaded by giant dump trucks. Now when we say giant dump trucks, they still need to manipulate in the drifts, so they dumb sideways into the crusher. Each one carries about 80 tons at a time. Michael and I got to do a "ride alone" on a dump truck while they made one pass from the chutes to the crusher. Maximum speed was 13 miles per hour, but in that environment it felt a lot faster than that. The truck backs under a chute and then the driver uses an automated hatch to fill his own truck. Then he drives back to the crusher and dumps. The whole procedure takes about eight minutes. My driver told me that he had been doing this for about six years. He said you had to be pretty alert or you would hit a drift wall and then it reminded you that the mountain didn't move. Even that big truck lost that encounter. Let me tell you, that was pretty cool.

Steve then took us one step deeper. After the crusher was done, the muck dropped down and was automatically loaded onto a conveyor belt – the longest conveyor belt in the western hemisphere. It takes the muck to the mill 14 miles away (10 miles underground) on the other side of the continental divide for processing into "chemical grade" Molybdenum. The Moly from the Henderson mine is the purest in the world.

Then it was back to the surface and I'm glad I didn't need to walk back up that ramp. It was a real cool experience. Mat told us that the first time he went down into the Henderson Mine he told Andi it was an experience he would remember forever. I can see why. I feel the same way. I learned so much and saw things I never could have imagined.

Thanks Mat. Thanks Steve. It was more than way cool. It was awe inspiring.

Final Note:  A number of years ago, the "caving" processed used to mine at the Henderson mine caused the top of the mountain to collapse causing the Henderson Mine Glory Hole.  No one was hurt, in fact most of the miners didn't even know it happened.  WOW.

http://www.climaxmolybdenum.com/worldwidelocations/usa_colorado_henderson.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henderson_molybdenum_mine

Little Miracles and Tender Mercies

December 18, 2011

I came home from church on Sunday.  Mar told me they just called from church to ask if I knew where any more deposit slips were.  I didn't, but I went right back to look.  After checking everywhere, I decided to look everywhere again and found them tucked back in the deep, dark recesses of a drawer.

Why a tender mercy:
       They tried to call me on my cell phone, but I had it turned off.  This was the reminder to me to turn it back on because . . .

We went on Sunday up to Mat and Andi's house for the December birthday party.  During that trip, the cell phone became a life line between Andrea and Mar as Spencer went in and was diagnosed and operated on for acute appendicitis.

Why a tender mercy:
      The week before, Ben was out of town.  If he had been gone, well this would have been so much more of a problem and disaster for Andrea.

When we got home from the party, there was about 1 1/2 gallons of water on the kitchen floor.  The dishwasher had sprung a leak.

Why a tender mercy:
      The dishwasher was leaking a little bit before my last trip (for two weeks).  I wiggled some pipes and it stopped leaking.  And then it didn't leak again until after I got back.  If it had leaked that much while I was gone, well that would have been at least a $200.00 plumber call.  As it was, I turned off the water to the dishwasher and then fixed it the next day in one hour for $7.00.

So many times, the miracles and mercies in our lives are just a matter of our Heavenly Father watching out for us and then scheduling and arranging things so that they are not as shattering as they could be.

Let us be thankful for all of our blessings - and let us recognize those blessings when they come.

News Line

December 6, 2011

NCLEX

After finishing the Registered Nursing program at Front Range Community College, Mar still had one MAJOR obstacle.  She had to take the national NCLEX test to be licensed as a Registered Nurse.  She was promised that if she used on study program and did 5000 questions in that program, that she would pass.  Mar's frantic preparation took her to 7000 questions, and if she missed one she would read and understand the answer.

The NCLEX is a computer adminisered test.  It randomly selects and presents questions - well sometimes not so randomly.  As you take the test, if you miss one question, it will schedule another similar question for you to answer.  It is set up so that you have to answer at least 75 questions.  After that, the program decides how many to ask to really determine if you are quilified.  It could go up to 175 questions. 

On December 6, 2011, Mar went and took the test.  It stopped after 76 questions.  She found out two days later that she had passed.

WHOO WHOO - YEA _ WOW_WEE

And she even got her license card in the mail. 

So she is official.  We are so proud of her.

(On a side note - she is having a hard time figuring out what to do with herself no.  She isn't answering questions every hour, or waking up worrying about the test.  But she can actually read a book and enjoy things.  Now she has to decide what she wants to be when she grows up.)

2011 Travels with Lar

Now that my last trip has ended - here is the damage:

Travels with Lar

December 11 – 17, 2011

Archbald, PA

Archbald is a small community just north of Scranton and just South of the State Line for New York. It is about two hours from any major airport. Not a bad little community, but it is back in the Appalachian Mountains so it was a little bit chilly in Archbald.

I came to teach a five day class. It was an older version of software, but it still went very well.

I didn't do a whole lot in Archbald. Class started at 7:30 each morning (translate that to 5:30 Colorado time.) It was dark when I got to work. It was almost dark when I got out. That is one of the drawbacks of winter classes. And it was pretty chilly.
On Friday evening, I drove back to Philadelphia, spent the night and flew back to Denver Saturday morning.

Books on Tape (CD)

December 16, 2011

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

How to start this review.  Let's do the negative first.  I will not recommend it.  Too much language.  To much "intimacy", which is a polite way of saying graphic bodily action.  I got real good at hitting the "next tract button on the CD player, but the language always takes you by surprise. I am not sure I liked the time traveler himself, but I did like his wife.  Why did I listen to the whole thing? It was what I had for three pretty long drives.  Otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone much past the second (out of 16) CDs.

But . . . the story is intriguing.  He time travels against his will with no control over when he goes, how long he will be gone, where he ends up, or when he ends up.  It is a genetic thing.  Sometimes he goes forward.  Most of the time he goes back.  Emotional events seem to attract him, and there are certain patterns to his time traveling.  Most people don't know he has the condition.  And a very intriguing issue, he can take nothing with him or bring nothing back - including clothes - so he always appears either in the current time when he comes back, or in the other time where he goes, naked.  I think the premise she worked with is absolutely brilliant.

But she ruined it by writing a story that her mother - or at least her grandmother - wouldn't have approved of.

Visit From Grandpa

December 9-11, 2011

I was teaching in Columbia, Maryland for a week.  The week following, I was to teach in Archbald, Pennsylvania.  This presented a rare opportunity for me to go see Andrea and her kids in Stafford, Virginia - about 80 miles from the Maryland site and about 250 miles from the Pennsylvania site.  It meant sacrificing going home over the weekend, but Mar and I decided that would be okay just for this chance.

After work on Friday, I drove through construction around Washington, D.C. and finally got to Andrea's house.  Thank heavens for GPS.  She lives in a little out of the way development  - even in the out of the way corner of that out of the way development - and if I was trying to follow a map, or even directions, I would still be lost.  It is a log way from everything which is a challenge for Andrea and her family, but it is truly beautiful.

It was a fun weekend.  We had a ward Christmas breakfast on Saturday.  We went shopping.  The boys had two parties.  The kiddos just kept me having fun.  I enjoyed myself very much.  Spencer gave up his bedroom for Grandpa so I was well cared for.  Unfortunately, Ben was gone on a "road show" for the Marines.

After enjoying them all, I left and traveled up to Pennsylvania.  I took a suitcase full of gifts and treats to deliver back in Colorado.  I missed home, but I loved being with the kids.

Here are some pictures of their house and home (with not so candid shots of the kiddos.)

The cute little house in the woods - Andrea says in the summer it is really so thick in the woods that you can not see the houses next door.

A couple of nights before I got there they had a big storm which blew over this tree - it is stuck on another tree and if that one falls it will hit the house - anybody got a chain saw.

Living Room

Master bedroom

Spencers "Pirate" bedsroom

Emma's room

Jasen's abode

Michael's abode

The boys share a large room and each half is "decorated" to their taste

Family room - downstairs

Reading List

December 13, 2011

The Sleeping Beauty

By C. S. Evans

It is the age old story, re-told in the 1920s by E. S. Evans. Maybe he added a few things, but it is the story and it is enjoyable.

I read this version because it was available on my Kindle. Afterwards I found that I may have missed the best part of this edition. There are illustrations done by Arthur Rackham that didn't come across in the Kindle migration. I found a few of them on the internet. The pictures make the story come alive.

Reading List

December 7, 2011

The Red House Mystery

By A. A. Milne

What do you say when you come across a mystery written by the author of Winnie the Pooh? "Oh, I just must read this!" Yea, right. But I decided to see what it was like. After starting it, I was perusing my 501 must read list and, lo and behold, there it was on the list.

So how does this mystery stack up to, say Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Very well, thank you. In fact, it is somewhat better. In The Red House Mystery, Milne actually gives you all of the clues – well most of the clues. But then he does something unexpected. He actually tells you why they don't make sense. All along you have a prime suspect, but he doesn't fit the clues. Milne lets you discover the real issues a little bit at a time. But then, alas, he doesn't tell you one or two little tidbits, so it would take a real good sleuth to figure out exactly what happened.

I liked it. You'll like. I recommend it. It would work good for a book club. Winnie the Pooh would be proud.

Travels with Lar

December 4 – 9, 2011

Columbia, Maryland

 I flew into Baltimore on Sunday.

I went to Columbia for work – I was teaching two classes – 3 days and then two days.
Classes went okay.

It was a rainy week. I really didn't do anything special this week at all.

It was the last class that is to be taught at the Mentor office in Columbia, MD. Mentor is closing this office and asking the employees to work from home. So at the end of the class I packed all of the systems into shipping crates to send them back to Wilsonville, OR. It wasn't a particularly hard task and I did it in stages during the week as there were systems that were not being used for the class.

And that's it. Not very exciting was it?

Reading List

October 22, 2011

The Help

By Kathryn Stocket

Mar's book club read it – along with 90% of the book clubs in America.

Breanne read it.

Mar and Andrea listened to it on while driving to Virginia.

I went with Mar to see the movie – which was very good.

So I decided to read it.

That was a good decision. It is an excellent book. Some may say it is outdated because it is about events almost a half century ago. But it still touches the American conscience and lets us see things the way they were, so we can see things the way they are now – and maybe fix some things.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

Ha Ha - The Hair Wins

At the trunk or treat there was a question about who would say the paryer.  Two contestants.  Deciding attribute was who had the most hair - and I WON!!!!

So there.

Colors

October 19, 2011

 On the way to Logan, Utah from Ogden, Utah, one has to go over Sardine Canyon – a pass through the Wellsville Range. On a normal day, it is just a trip up the mountain and then down the mountain. On Saturday we made this trip and were awestruck at the glory of the autumn colors. Never in the many, many trips over that pass have I seen it so vivid and beautiful. Alas, I did not stop to take a picture, for how could a camera capture the browns and reds and yellows that covered whole hillsides.

The next Friday, when passing over it again, some of the wonder was gone, yet it was still a mighty feat of nature to create such a canvas. Alas, I still did not stop to capture it in a picture.

However, on Wednesday, after I finished working, Mar picked me up with the Mother and Brenda and we drove up Logan Canyon just to see the colors. Might I say that I once read that one magazine ranked Logan Canyon as one of the top ten spots in America to view Fall foliage. It did not disappoint this year. We drove up and stopped at a little picnic ground by a little grotto on the river. It was a lovely secluded little spot – with a reward of a wild apple tree that was bearing pretty good tasting fruit. We went a little further on and turned up Blacksmith Fork canyon to see something off the beaten way. The leaves were beautiful in the approaching twilight and the canyon itself was delightful. We would stop now and then, and then continue on.

As we got almost to the top of the canyon (we were looking for Old Ephraim's grave) and looked out on a breathtaking autumn scene, Mar – who was driving – looked down and said "Oh my, we are almost out of gas". I must say, that stopped the pilgrimage to the burial shrine. We were well into the back woods, and we were probably saved a lot of stress and tribulation by the fact that it was mostly downhill back to civilization, so Mar coasted much of the way.

A delightful trip – and I did take some pictures. Alas, a cell phone is a sorry excuse for a camera, especially in the shadows of twilight.

Travels with Mar and Lar

Ogden and Logan, Utah
October 13 – 22, 2011

 
Maybe this was a business trip. Maybe it was a family trip. Maybe it was a pleasure trip. As it turns out, it was all three. And it was the result a one of those "perfect storms".

Lar was scheduled to do a business trip to Tucson, Arizona. Not looking forward to it very much. Then he got an overview of the upcoming schedule and found that another instructor was doing a class in Logan. Charlie, the other instructor, had no reason to be in Logan other than the class. Lar had lots of family reasons. So a short phone call later, the classes were switched – Lar on his way to Logan – Charlie to Tucson. And because it was Logan, Lar decided it would be real nice – I mean real , real nice – to take Mar. So a ticket was purchased and the plans were made.
 
We went out on the Thursday before the class, because Lar had taken that Thursday and Friday off a long time before – more of the "perfect storm". Thursday night, Friday and Saturday morning we spent with Melanie and Mom (that would be Lar's mom) in Ogden. On Saturday morning we all went to breakfast with Emily and Rick. We like doing family help things for them. This trip we:

Trimmed a bush

Trimmed two trees

Cleaned out the rain gutters

Installed gutter guards

Repaired the shed (sort of)

Helped Melanie order new doors

Put plastic on two windows

Played lots of games

Ate lots of food

Saturday morning we went to Logan to stay with Mar's mom for the duration. We sent her into stress by telling her we wanted her to come back home with us. She said okay, so we got her a ticket on our return flight. We stayed with her until Friday morning. We did some things for her also:

Cleaned up a rock garden

Dug up some flowers (that we delivered to Brenda)

Trimmed bushes and spread bark

And Mar did a lot of running around town with her

Spent time with a lot of family

On Tuesday through Thursday, I taught the class – which went okay.

Friday we went back to Melanie's and finished some work (and played games). Then Saturday morning we flew back home.

Good trip – made even better by being surrounded by people I love – and people who love me.

Flowers for Aaron.

The long story.

Brother Altman was doing some work at the church today.  When he left he saw a car with two people in it parked next to his car.  He asked them if he could help.  They asked if he knew where Aaron was buried.  They had driven up from Denver - for City Bark where Aaron used to work - with some flowers to remember him.  Brother Altman called Mar and found out that Aaron really doesn't have that place yet.  So they gave the flowers to Brother Altman and he delivered them to Mar.  He mentioned that they were very touched and obviously still sad at Aaron's passing.

This has touched a sadness spot for us.  But at the same time, it is nice to know that Aaron's influence was remembered as good for these people.  We did not get their names, but we appreciate so much the kindness they have shown - and the love they have shown for our son.

Movie List

July 30, 2011

So this is what I watched flying back from Malaysia:

Clash of the Titans

Don't bother - oh, you say you aleady saw it.  I am so sorry.  Not a good movie.

Iron Man II

Okay, I liked it.  As unbelievable as the first Iron Man.  Still it was entertaining. 

Kids Stuff

(No disrespect to Mathew intended)

Andrea took Emma and Spencer to the Boulder County Fair.  They had a good time and while they were there they "won" two gold fish.  They brought them home and they are now living in Mar's trifle bowl.  We assumed they would die overnight - but alas (and lucky for them) they are holding on.

Andrea was watching the fish and talking to Emma when she mentioned that Mathew had trained the gold fish he had when he was younger.  That comment prompted this from Emma:

"You know, Mat is just strange.  He gets it from Grandpa.  And I'm learning to be strange also, cause were staying with Grandpa."

I am such a wonderful influence on people.

Movie List

July 23, 2011
One thing I can say about international travel – you have a lot of time on your hands. On a trip to Malaysia, I had enough time to finish two books and watch two movies. This is the two movies:

Despicable Me

A cute little movie. It focuses on redemption of a person whose goal was to be the most despicable villain around. A pretty predictable plot, but with nice characterization along the way. And you just have to love the Minions. I liked the movie, but only enough to say it is average – I give it a 2.5 on the scale

Battle: Los Angeles

Aging marine seargent – reputation for losing his men in battle. A strong fight on his hands with an enemy and his new squad. That about sums up the humanity of the story, and it is pretty trite. Still, I liked this movie. It is a good action war movie, and when all of the traditional foes are not in vogue, you have to have a new foe, so why not go for aliens. Of course the hero is really the hero and he and his squad find out how to "take the suckers down", and you can figure all along that it will happen (a la "Independence Day") I liked the portrayal of the marines and especially because I have been at Camp Pendleton and recognized some of the scenery (there was ever a very short scene at the San Onefre gate onto the base). I thought the fighting scenes were well done. It truly gave a sense of battle and the mayhem that goes with it. So I can ignore a lot of the trite story line, and the rough language, and say that it wasn't too bad – not for little kids, however. I can even say I had a favorite line from this movie – "We've already had our breakfast, sir." I give this movie about a 2.5, again just average.

Books on CD

More Rumpole books by John Mortimer

Rumpole Misbehaves (July 16, 2011)

– this is the direct sequel to Rumpole and the Reign of Terror. Again, a fun little story, but without much substance. I am getting better at understanding the narrator's accent.

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (July 20 2011)
– I think this one is before Rumpole and the Reign of Terror. It is his memoires and he decides he has to recount his most memorable case. I enjoyed it.

 Unfortunatly, I think this is the end of the Rumpole books on CD at the library. They are good mindless fun, exactly what I want in Books on CD.

House Projects

Painting
June 30 – July 1, 2011
Ah-hah – I arrived home after a strenuous day of work and, behold, work had been done on the house painting project. The "primers" had paid a visit.  Here is evidence of their work.

 And then, early the next morning, as I left for work, the "painters" arrived and began putting up ladders.

I had occasion to return past the house at about 9:45 AM, and progress is being made. We will see what progress by the time I get home in the evening.

Books on CD

July 1, 2011

Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer

My first Rumpole experience. The narrator made it difficult to understand Rumpole, the wily cantankerous English barrister. Perhaps that was by design, to match his personality. At first I was rather put out by this. However, as the story progressed I became more and more caught up. In the end, this turns out to be a well written and humorous little piece – and a commentary on the English political way of lie. Most enjoyable really – enough for e to check out another Rumpole to entertain me as I drive.