It was late Tuesday night and another midnight shift where I work. The good part about it was that it was the last midnight shift of the stretch before I started my long weekend. So needless to say, I was in pretty good spirits. Our previous night was horrendous with many different things going wrong, so earlier on Tuesday, I really did not feel like coming to work for that night and contemplated even taking the night off. The weather wasn't the greatest outside and I could've always used that as an excuse. But as I was about to leave, the weather calmed down and I knew I shouldn't let one bad night at work deter me from coming the next night. So I forged ahead and made the 20 mile drive to work. When I got there, I knew I should've taken the night off after all.
My job as an assistant plant operator at the mine includes operating the concentrator when our regular crew operator is not there. That was the case Tuesday night so I had to fill-in that role. Our crew was already short one person and without me on the floor, that left us without two people on the floor. So we were pretty short handed and when you throw in us having to shut the entire plant down within short notice, well it basically means all hands on deck for the crew. People are placed in positions that they wouldn't normally be in and things get to be pretty hectic. That was the case when I entered the control room. The previous crew and control room operator began the process of shutting the plant down because a set of very important pumps that brings water into the plant had kicked out due to an unknown electrical problem. Without these pumps, we cannot run anything. A tank stores the water short-time, so it allows us to shut things down in a relatively controlled manner. Seeing that we could not re-start these pumps in a timely noticed, the crew on afternoon shift began the process of shutting things down. The operator on afternoon shift was already scheduled to stay two hours over for casual overtime, so he assisted me in getting the rest of the plant shut down. By the time all was said and done, we had everything down within two hours into our shift and not much time left to spare. It was an interesting experience; never being in that role before of shutting things down like that. Then began the process of draining a pair of very important lines for our tailings system outside. That is where things really got interesting.
Even though I was a control room operator that night, I was techically not supposed to go out on the floor and lend a hand to the rest of the crew. But seeing as the afternoon operator stayed on (and didn't leave until around 4:30 AM Wednesday morning), I headed out into the storm (actually, I was sent on this very important mission with another person on my crew by the shift foreman). I dressed up as warmly as I could with the appropriate gear, gathered up some equipment to bring outside, and headed out with my partner in a company vehicle to one of the lines we needed to drain. Whenever we have to shut the plant down or we need to switch tailings lines, the line we are using needs to be drained. On the tailings line itself, there are six drains. We needed to open those up so the line could drain properly. Beyond this, there is another line with 11 drains that needed to be opened as part of the tailings booster line. This is located on our tailings basin which is an elevated area where the by-product of the mining process is pumped to. The condition atop of the dikes was just too bad. I didn't get out that far as some other members of my crew did, but from what they described, it was absolutely hellish. Blizzard conditions, blinding snow, winds in excess of 50 miles per hour greeted them. There was absolutely no way that line could be drained, so it was determined that we focus our sights on draining the other line; definitely the more critical line of the plant.
A total of five of us met at drain number three, where we brought along various torches, rose buds, and other heating utensils to try and thaw open valves and drains that were froze shut. Earlier that day, temperatures were in the middle to upper 30's and even some light rain fell. A cold front moved past earlier in the evening dropping temperatures fast. So it was easy to see why everything froze up the way it did. But we were on a fast track to try and drain the line because we didn't want the line to freeze, either. A few of the drains were stubborn and wouldn't unleash their material, but eventually we got them all opened up. But it certainly wasn't easy. The booster line was a lost cause because the conditions were very much life threatening. At least we were able to get the main tailings line opened up, however. Otherwise that really could've been a catastrophe.
I know everyone on my crew was hoping for an easy and quiet last shift before long weekend but it never materialized. And despite the craziness of the entire night, we accomplished pretty much all that we could do. We were satisfied with our job, even though the plant was never able to start back up again. I am happy to report that the mine is back up and running today after a day in a half break. Those kinds of shut-downs usually do not last that long unless they're because of economic reasons, etc. But as least things are relatively back to normal than they were late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Weather Review
After a very chilly stretch of winter weather here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the weather looks to modify within the next day or so. The last week in a half or so brought on Arctic Air down from Canada. We went through a stretch of about five days with high temperatures in the single digits and overnight lows well below zero. When it's cold, we haven't seen much snow. Things began to warm up very slowly and at the peak of the warmth on Monday and Tuesday of this week, temperatures rose to the low 40's. Some areas of the region even picked up some rain. But that is when the bottom dropped out.
A very strong cold front pushed through, dropping temperatures a good 20 to 30 degrees in an hour's time. The frontal passage also produced some meaningful snows in the general four to eight inch range, with higher totals in the northwest and northeastern U.P. Winds howled from the west-northwest; that combined with temperatures around zero brought dangerous wind chills anywhere from -30 to -50. We had a power failure to a very important set of equipment where I work which caused us to shut the plant down. All of my crew was out in the elements during the height of the horrendous weather and I can tell you one thing; it was VERY unpleasant. The wind was whipping the newly fallen snow and caused blizzard conditions. At times, it was very difficult to see five feet in front of you. Since then, the weather has calmed down and temperatures are beginning to warm up. Today, we experienced a high temperature in the lower teen's with ample sunshine. Things look to get even warmer in the days ahead with temps in the mid to upper 20's and continued sunshine. Now THAT'S enjoyable winter weather.
A very strong cold front pushed through, dropping temperatures a good 20 to 30 degrees in an hour's time. The frontal passage also produced some meaningful snows in the general four to eight inch range, with higher totals in the northwest and northeastern U.P. Winds howled from the west-northwest; that combined with temperatures around zero brought dangerous wind chills anywhere from -30 to -50. We had a power failure to a very important set of equipment where I work which caused us to shut the plant down. All of my crew was out in the elements during the height of the horrendous weather and I can tell you one thing; it was VERY unpleasant. The wind was whipping the newly fallen snow and caused blizzard conditions. At times, it was very difficult to see five feet in front of you. Since then, the weather has calmed down and temperatures are beginning to warm up. Today, we experienced a high temperature in the lower teen's with ample sunshine. Things look to get even warmer in the days ahead with temps in the mid to upper 20's and continued sunshine. Now THAT'S enjoyable winter weather.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Weather - 1/18/08
Things are REALLY starting to chill down in the Upper Great Lakes. An Arctic blast has seeped down from Canada and has caused the temperature to plummet. Most of this month, we've been experiencing pleasant winter temperatures in the 20's and 30's. Today, we only made it into the upper single digits for high temps. Overnight lows are expected to drop well below zero in many locations. We've also been getting our fair share of snow as of late - with as much as eight to ten inches of snow falling in some areas from the last storm system. So I guess we'll all have to get accustomed to these chilly temperatures for awhile. They look to stick around for the next seven days and possibly beyond. Who says that global warming really exists?
A Year of Rumors
As I said in one of my earlier blogs, 2008 could be a very interesting year for me. Probably the biggest wildcard for me this year would be at work, where a number of things may or may not happen. Our union's contract with the company expires on September 1, 2008. I experienced the company's last contract negotiations back in 2004 when I was a summer student and I can tell you, it was something I'll never forget. At that time, the company "threatened" to hire replacement workers to run the mine - so the word "scab" became a frequently used word throughout the mill; written on bathroom stalls and basically anything that could be written on. There were many rumors flying around about bringing in immigrants to run the plant. The company even planned to house the replacement workers on mine property as they started bringing trailers on company property a week prior to the strike deadline. Needless to say, the union never did strike as a contract was approved three days prior and ratified a week later. But, who's to say that'll happen this year.
The mine that I work at is on its last legs; I guess you could say. It has been in operation since the late 1960's and has mined millions of tons of iron ore from its large open pit. The ore reserves are expected to be exhausted by the year 2010, meaning the mine would be subject to closure if back-up plans weren't in place. Probably the biggest news that breathed new life into the old mine was the annoucement of a nugget plant that would be built near the old mine facility. It would create a ton of new construction jobs and would produce about 500,000 tons of nuggets a year. The nuggets are different from the pellets that we currently make. It's a completely different process used to create the nuggets; one that I am still quite fuzzy on. It basically re-invigorates the process used to create iron ore by incorporating new technology and equipment into the mix. This was all great news to those that work at the mine and was something that really rose the spirits of not only the employees, but for community members as well. But eventually we found out about the company's true intentions of the nugget plant and soon the picture wasn't as rosy as we invisioned.
The nugget plant would basically operate as its own company and be managed by the current company that operates the current mine. None of us that are employed with the mine would be eligible to work unless we quit first and then tried applying at the new plant. And what exactly are the chances that any of us would get hired at this new plant? The control room operator of the plant would be a salaried position and there would be no retirement plan in place. So for those of us that are currently employed with the existing mine, this really doesn't not sound all that appealing; not as great as it earlier seemed. I guess many of the details are still being worked out and many things are subject to change. Hopefully there is a better outcome to this than there is at this moment.
So the mine is running out of ore reserves in its pit, which would mean the possible closing of the facility by 2010. It has already been annouced earlier this month that the mine will be cutting back on its production; going from a 5.0 million ton operation to 2.8 million tons. Currently the mine is operated into four sections; one section being the original plant and the three other sections being additions made to the original structure. We only run one grinding line in the original plant, while section number two, three, and four have many grinding lines running. After June 2008, only the grinding lines in the fourth section of the plant will be running, with a few limited mills running in the third section. This is a dramatic cutback to how things are running now. With that news comes the likelyhood of cutbacks in staffing at the plant. It has already been rumored that 20% of operating (the department I am in) will be eliminated by the second half of the year. So as you can see, this could be a very tumultuous time for many people that work at the mine. But honestly, a lot of things could change between then and now.
There are some people who believe every little thing that comes out of the mouth of the company and there are those who choose to be resilient in these times of adversity. There are a lot of "positive" rumors out there including that we'll continue to maintain our current production levels throughout all of 2008. But then there are also other rumors that include us running more than one flux mill (flux stone is used in the production of iron ore pellets), which will help to supply our mill, the neighboring mine, and the new nugget plant with flux. There is also talk that additional ore reserves have been found and they are in the initial testing stages to see whether our facility can create pellets from these ore bodies. The point of all of this is that rumors are flying rampant all of the time regarding the mine's future. You just don't know what to believe until something really happens. I remember when I was a summer student in 2003 and they only gave the mine five more years in which we could process iron ore. It's five years later now and we anticipate running until 2010 at least; except at reduced capacity. So needless to say, things can change in a hurry. I am not going to worry about the impending doom and gloom. I'll believe it when it actually happens. When you work in the steel industry, you always experience your ups and downs. That's how it's been for my dad during his 35 years of employment. There were a couple of different times where he thought he'd never go back to the mine. But things change and the industry changes. Right now the price of metal is incredibly high. As long as this trend continues, the company is going to find any little way in which they can produce ore at our facility, whether it'll be using our current methods or implementing new technological advances. Time will tell what actually happens at our facility. Right now, all we can do is take it one day at a time.
The mine that I work at is on its last legs; I guess you could say. It has been in operation since the late 1960's and has mined millions of tons of iron ore from its large open pit. The ore reserves are expected to be exhausted by the year 2010, meaning the mine would be subject to closure if back-up plans weren't in place. Probably the biggest news that breathed new life into the old mine was the annoucement of a nugget plant that would be built near the old mine facility. It would create a ton of new construction jobs and would produce about 500,000 tons of nuggets a year. The nuggets are different from the pellets that we currently make. It's a completely different process used to create the nuggets; one that I am still quite fuzzy on. It basically re-invigorates the process used to create iron ore by incorporating new technology and equipment into the mix. This was all great news to those that work at the mine and was something that really rose the spirits of not only the employees, but for community members as well. But eventually we found out about the company's true intentions of the nugget plant and soon the picture wasn't as rosy as we invisioned.
The nugget plant would basically operate as its own company and be managed by the current company that operates the current mine. None of us that are employed with the mine would be eligible to work unless we quit first and then tried applying at the new plant. And what exactly are the chances that any of us would get hired at this new plant? The control room operator of the plant would be a salaried position and there would be no retirement plan in place. So for those of us that are currently employed with the existing mine, this really doesn't not sound all that appealing; not as great as it earlier seemed. I guess many of the details are still being worked out and many things are subject to change. Hopefully there is a better outcome to this than there is at this moment.
So the mine is running out of ore reserves in its pit, which would mean the possible closing of the facility by 2010. It has already been annouced earlier this month that the mine will be cutting back on its production; going from a 5.0 million ton operation to 2.8 million tons. Currently the mine is operated into four sections; one section being the original plant and the three other sections being additions made to the original structure. We only run one grinding line in the original plant, while section number two, three, and four have many grinding lines running. After June 2008, only the grinding lines in the fourth section of the plant will be running, with a few limited mills running in the third section. This is a dramatic cutback to how things are running now. With that news comes the likelyhood of cutbacks in staffing at the plant. It has already been rumored that 20% of operating (the department I am in) will be eliminated by the second half of the year. So as you can see, this could be a very tumultuous time for many people that work at the mine. But honestly, a lot of things could change between then and now.
There are some people who believe every little thing that comes out of the mouth of the company and there are those who choose to be resilient in these times of adversity. There are a lot of "positive" rumors out there including that we'll continue to maintain our current production levels throughout all of 2008. But then there are also other rumors that include us running more than one flux mill (flux stone is used in the production of iron ore pellets), which will help to supply our mill, the neighboring mine, and the new nugget plant with flux. There is also talk that additional ore reserves have been found and they are in the initial testing stages to see whether our facility can create pellets from these ore bodies. The point of all of this is that rumors are flying rampant all of the time regarding the mine's future. You just don't know what to believe until something really happens. I remember when I was a summer student in 2003 and they only gave the mine five more years in which we could process iron ore. It's five years later now and we anticipate running until 2010 at least; except at reduced capacity. So needless to say, things can change in a hurry. I am not going to worry about the impending doom and gloom. I'll believe it when it actually happens. When you work in the steel industry, you always experience your ups and downs. That's how it's been for my dad during his 35 years of employment. There were a couple of different times where he thought he'd never go back to the mine. But things change and the industry changes. Right now the price of metal is incredibly high. As long as this trend continues, the company is going to find any little way in which they can produce ore at our facility, whether it'll be using our current methods or implementing new technological advances. Time will tell what actually happens at our facility. Right now, all we can do is take it one day at a time.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
First Sickness
We are in the midst of the 2007-2008 cold and flu season and I can officially say I picked up my first cold of the season. Usually I get sick from my mom, dad or my niece or nephew, but I can't honestly think of where I picked up this cold from, seeing that non of them have been sick recently. Another culprit could've been someone from work, but I wasn't at work for five days because of my long weekend. I did bring my mom to the local medical center on Monday and we did go to a public restaurant afterwards. Maybe I could've picked something up from those places. Whatever the case, I'm not complaining about it too much because it's only a minor cold. I have a slight runny nose, a scratchy throat, and am a bit stuffed up, but otherwise I'm in fairly decent shape. Hopefully this is only as worse as it gets!
I am not one to get sick very often. If I do, they only end up being minor colds or a slight flu. Last year I had the flu a couple of different times. During one of the flu spells, I went to work feeling somewhat down but felt able enough to make it through the shift. Well, when all was said and done, I really felt awful and I probably should've went home early. All I did that evening and night was lay on the couch and rest. I don't even think I ate. I missed work the next day in hopes of trying to rest up for a weekend of 12-hour shifts. That's something you definitely don't want to miss out on. Later on that day, I felt much better and by that Saturday, I felt well enough to go to work and work that 12-hour shift. Not that working 12's are the greatest thing in the world, but it really hurts your paycheck in the end!
Back when I was a senior in high school, I was on a science team that competed at a regional level in this science-based competition that included many different categories. Our teams, both junior high and high school had an amazing track record (more so with the junior high team) where we'd win the regional level and won the right to compete at the state level. We were heading downstate towards Lansing where the state competition was taking place on the campus of Michigan State University. As we got closer to our hotel just outside of Lansing, I wasn't feeling the best. I started getting more and more sick and by the time I reached the hotel, I was miserable. The illness came on suddenly and shortly upon entering the room, I had to make a dash to the bathroom and started throwing up. I felt much better after I vomitted but that feeling didn't last long. I was miserable the rest of the day and elected to sleep and rest while the rest of the teams were out having the time of their lives. Even in the evening when we were supposed to be studying for our respective categories, I just didn't have the concentration to do anything. I felt that horrible. I had a fever and my body ached terribly.
The next day wasn't much better; but it was competition day. I had to do what I could for my team and fellow teammates. Between competitions, I rested. I laid back as well as I could in a chair in the auditorium where our team headquarters were, but after awhile that just wasn't good enough anymore. I ventured out to find a soft spot in the lawn outside of the building. I had an amazing rest; slept for a good hour or so. In fact, I woke up with enough time to make it to the competition I needed to be at. Luckily so or I would've missed out on a fifth place medal at the state level! I feel bad for my teammates who had to put up with a sick person as their partner. And I'll admit, I still didn't have 100 percent concentration even at those competitions. But I did what I could and I was there for support if anything else.
It's the weird thing about illnesses like a cold or flu because sometimes you can never figure out where you picked them up. But this time of the year, anything is possible and it's so easy for germs to spread. I attribute the illness I experienced in Lansing to food poisoning; as there were a couple of different instances where I could've had something that made my stomach churn. As for the newest cold I have, it's hard to speculate exactly where I picked it up. Needless to say, it always helps to wash your hands as frequently as possible this time of year, especially when you're in any public place. It sure beats having to be miserable and put up with any kind of illness, whether it's major or minor.
I am not one to get sick very often. If I do, they only end up being minor colds or a slight flu. Last year I had the flu a couple of different times. During one of the flu spells, I went to work feeling somewhat down but felt able enough to make it through the shift. Well, when all was said and done, I really felt awful and I probably should've went home early. All I did that evening and night was lay on the couch and rest. I don't even think I ate. I missed work the next day in hopes of trying to rest up for a weekend of 12-hour shifts. That's something you definitely don't want to miss out on. Later on that day, I felt much better and by that Saturday, I felt well enough to go to work and work that 12-hour shift. Not that working 12's are the greatest thing in the world, but it really hurts your paycheck in the end!
Back when I was a senior in high school, I was on a science team that competed at a regional level in this science-based competition that included many different categories. Our teams, both junior high and high school had an amazing track record (more so with the junior high team) where we'd win the regional level and won the right to compete at the state level. We were heading downstate towards Lansing where the state competition was taking place on the campus of Michigan State University. As we got closer to our hotel just outside of Lansing, I wasn't feeling the best. I started getting more and more sick and by the time I reached the hotel, I was miserable. The illness came on suddenly and shortly upon entering the room, I had to make a dash to the bathroom and started throwing up. I felt much better after I vomitted but that feeling didn't last long. I was miserable the rest of the day and elected to sleep and rest while the rest of the teams were out having the time of their lives. Even in the evening when we were supposed to be studying for our respective categories, I just didn't have the concentration to do anything. I felt that horrible. I had a fever and my body ached terribly.
The next day wasn't much better; but it was competition day. I had to do what I could for my team and fellow teammates. Between competitions, I rested. I laid back as well as I could in a chair in the auditorium where our team headquarters were, but after awhile that just wasn't good enough anymore. I ventured out to find a soft spot in the lawn outside of the building. I had an amazing rest; slept for a good hour or so. In fact, I woke up with enough time to make it to the competition I needed to be at. Luckily so or I would've missed out on a fifth place medal at the state level! I feel bad for my teammates who had to put up with a sick person as their partner. And I'll admit, I still didn't have 100 percent concentration even at those competitions. But I did what I could and I was there for support if anything else.
It's the weird thing about illnesses like a cold or flu because sometimes you can never figure out where you picked them up. But this time of the year, anything is possible and it's so easy for germs to spread. I attribute the illness I experienced in Lansing to food poisoning; as there were a couple of different instances where I could've had something that made my stomach churn. As for the newest cold I have, it's hard to speculate exactly where I picked it up. Needless to say, it always helps to wash your hands as frequently as possible this time of year, especially when you're in any public place. It sure beats having to be miserable and put up with any kind of illness, whether it's major or minor.
Weather - 1/9/07
After a very mild stretch of weather, temperatures are beginning to cool down. We even saw a light dusting of snow come down late in the evening yesterday to remind us all in the U.P. that it is still winter and not spring (afterall, it is January). Temperatures yesterday were generally in the lower to middle 30's and today they are expected to hover around 32 degrees. Only light snow is expected today; no significant accumulation is anticipated. No major snows are expected within the next seven days which means the winter sports lovers will be in agony at the lack of snows in our neck of the woods.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Weather - 1/1/08
Welcome to the new year (it will be hard getting used to writing/typing 2008)! The weather in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan this afternoon hasn't been too overly exciting so far. The much hyped lake effect snow event has been nonexistent thus far. Only 1-2 inches of snow has fallen in certain areas in the central U.P. Snows are expected to pick up this evening and overnight; dropping as much as five to eight inches of snow in the favored snow belt areas. Temperatures have remained in the middle 20's for much of the day, but they are expected to drop as night time approaches.
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