Wanlockhead

Wanlockhead is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, nestling in the Lowther Hills and south of Leadhills at the head of the Mennock Pass, which forms part of the Southern Uplands. It is Scotland's highest village, at an elevation of around , and can be accessed via the B797, which connects it to the A76 near Sanquhar and the A74(M) motorway at Abington.
History.
The village was called "Winlocke" until 1566, derived from the Gaelic "Cuingealach" (the narrow pass).
Wanlockhead owes its existence to the lead and other mineral deposits in the surrounding hills. These deposits were first exploited by the Romans, and from the 13th century they began to be worked again in the summer. The village was founded permanently in 1680 when the Duke of Buccleuch built a lead smelting plant and workers' cottages.
Lead, zinc, copper and silver were mined nearby, as well as some of the world's purest gold at 22.8 carats, which was used to make the Scottish Crown. Early gold miners included Cornelius de Vos, George Bowes, and Bevis Bulmer. Wanlockhead became known as "God's treasure house" from the richness of its mineral resources.
Despite a branch railway (see Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway), also the highest in Scotland, which served the village from 1901 to 1939, lead mining declined in the 20th century and finished in the 1950s. From 1850 the Glasgow and South Western Railway had provided sidings at Mennock Lye Goods Depot for the use of the Wanlockhead and Leadhills mines.
The village had a curling club which was formed in 1777 and there were also quoits, bowling clubs, a drama group and a silver band which had instruments purchased for them by the Duke of Buccleuch.
William Symington was from Leadhills, but lived and worked in Wanlockhead. His fame lies in the fact that he designed the engine used to power the world's first steamboat. This boat was successfully tested on Dalswinton Loch near Ellisland on 14 October 1788. Dalswinton was the home of Robert Burns's landlord, Patrick Miller.
Robert Burns.
Robert Burns and an associate, Thomas Sloan, visited Wanlockhead in the winter of 1789–90. The weather was very icy and they decided to have their horses' shoes 'frosted', that is sharpened to increase the grip. They had to wait their turn and took shelter at Ramage's Inn, where Burns wrote a poem entitled "Pegasus at Wanlockhead". Pegasus was the name of Burns' horse. Burns also visited Wanlockhead in January 1792 to explore the lead mines. He was accompanied by Maria Riddell, the sister of Robert Riddell of Friar's Carse. They breakfasted at Sanquhar and then took a poste-chaise to the mines. They went a considerable distance into the mines, braving the dark, wet and cramped conditions at first; however they had to turn back as Burns found the poor air very distressing. Burns did not record this visit, but Maria included the details in a letter.
Geography.
Climate.
Wanlockhead has a moist oceanic climate ("Cfb", according to the Köppen climate classification), with cool to chilly weather throughout the year, bordering on a subpolar oceanic climate ("Cfc", according Köppen). This town has cool summers and chilly winters, with snowfalls. It is one of the coldest inhabited places in the United Kingdom.
Facilities.
The village now features a lead mining museum and industrial equipment from the 18th century and is a popular tourist destination.
Wanlockhead is on the Southern Upland Way, a walking trail that traditionally starts at Portpatrick on the west coast, in Dumfries & Galloway, and finishes some 212 miles (341 km) away at Cockburnspath on the east coast, in the Scottish Borders.
The village is also the home of the highest pub in Scotland, the Wanlockhead Inn which opened in 2003; an earlier pub situated on a track rising from the other side of the main road through the village was considerably higher, but closed in the late 1990s.
The village is the setting for the BBC television drama series, "Hope Springs".
Wanlockhead library.
Wanlockhead Miners' Library is the second oldest subscription library in Great Britain and was established on 1 November 1756 with 32 male members who mainly funded the purchase of the books, etc.; a contribution was also made by mining companies who were keen to encourage such acts of 'self-improvement' amongst the miners. The Duke of Buccleuch, as the land owner, was a major patron of the library. The library was essential in facilitating a level of educational achievement that allowed some miners and their children to escape the toil of mine work.
The school housed the library at first, but as the number of books increased, it became necessary in 1787 to move the library to a cottage given for this express purpose by the mine overseers. However the cottage was a small one and it was found to be necessary to construct a larger building. The number of books purchased through subscription eventually rose to over 2,000 and in 1851 a new library was built and survives to this day. In 1974 the Wanlockhead Museum Trust took over the running of the library.
The Miners' Library became a Recognised Collection of National Significance in October 2007.
Meadowfoot cemetery.
This lies approximately from the village and dates from 1751. Before Wanlockhead had its own graveyard, coffins had to be transported along a typical corpse road the 8 miles (13 km) to the nearest graveyard, which was at Sanquhar. William Philip Minder who died on 2 April 1751 aged just 10 months was the first burial at the newly opened burial site.
Beam engine.
The beam engine and water bucket pumps were introduced into Wanlockhead in 1745. The history on the beam engine is not certain, but accounts of similar engines have been recorded on a coal mine at Canonbie, Dumfriesshire, in the 1790s. The Wanlockhead Beam Engine was built, supposedly, in the middle of the 19th century and is the only lasting example of a water bucket pumping engine to be seen on a mine in the UK today.
The beam engine allowed miners to continue working in the Straitsteps mine, and assuming that there were two strokes of the beam per minute, this engine would have been able to lift around and requiring little attention it would have been left to do this twenty-four hours a day. The wooden bucket was fed from a cistern above and once the weight of water was greater than the water above the pump piston the beam was lifted, carrying water from up to below ground into a wood lined culvert which carried it off to the nearby burn. Periodically the weight of the piston was adjusted so that it remained heavier than the empty bucket, ensuring that the beam fell to start the cycle again.
The Secretary of State for Scotland in 1972 took on the guardianship of the beam engine, making it Scotland's third Industrial Monument. Historic Scotland owns and maintains the engine. A working model of the engine is located in the Museum of Scottish Lead Mining.
Lowther Hills Ski Centre.
Wanlockhead is one of the birthplaces of Scottish winter sports. Curling in Wanlockhead can be traced back to 1777, when the Wanlockhead Curling Society –one of Scotland's first Curling societies- was created. Scotland's first boys' Curling club was established in Wanlockhead in 1883. The sport remained popular in the area until the 1930s, when the mines closed.
Since the 1920s skiing in the Wanlockhead area has been organised intermittently by a succession of local residents as well as several non-for-profit sports clubs. Lowther Hill, above the village, is home to the only ski area in the south of Scotland, and Scotland's only community-owned ski centre. Operated by Lowther Hills Ski Club, the ski centre runs three ski lifts above the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead for beginners and intermediate skiers.


Wafi-Golpu mine

The Wafi-Golpu mine is one of the largest gold mines in Papua New Guinea and in the world. The mine is located in the east of the country in Morobe Province. The mine has estimated reserves of 20 million oz of gold.


Fording Canadian Coal Trust

Fording Canadian Coal Trust (NYSE: FDG; TSX:FDG) was a Canadian-based royalty trust which owned a 60% stake in the Elk Valley Coal Partnership (EVCP), which in turn produced hard-coking metallurgical coal, primarily for steel production, at its facility in Elk Valley, British Columbia. Through the EVCP it also owned a 46% interest in Neptune Bulk Terminals (Canada) Ltd., which operates a dedicated coal berth at the Port of Vancouver. Its market capitalization was $11-billion USD in 2008.
The trust was formed in 2003 to assemble various assets from Luscar Ltd./CONSOL Energy Canada Ltd. joint ventures, Teck Cominco Ltd., and the former Fording Coal Ltd. (which was originally a unit of Canadian Pacific Railway until October 2001).
On July 29, 2008, Teck Cominco announced an agreement with Fording to purchase 100% of its assets; Teck Cominco had been the minority owner of the Elk Valley Coal Partnership, with a 40% stake. The purchase was closed on October 30, 2008, with a final cost of $14-billion USD to Teck. Elk Valley Coal Corporation will be renamed Teck Coal Limited.


Mittersill mine

The Mittersill mine (also known as Felbertal Mine) is a large mine located south of the Mittersill town, in the State of Salzburg in western Austria, South of Kitzbühel and some southwest of the capital, Vienna. Mittersill is the largest scheelite deposit in Europe, having in 2010 estimated reserves of 6.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.5% pure tungsten. The mine produces around 500.000 t ore grading 0.3 %WO3, i.e., around 1,200 tonnes of WO3 per year (data from 2010 to 2017) .
History.
The deposit was discovered in 1967, with production starting in an open pit mine in the eastern field in 1976. Since 1986 only underground mining in the western field is performed.
Geology and ore deposit genesis.
The Mittersill deposit hosted in Early Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, mainly in metabasites of the central Tauern Window, which were intruded by numerous granites during the Variscan orogeny (~340–290 Ma) and subsequently metamorphosed during the Alpine orogeny (~30 Ma).. Scheelite is accompanied by pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, molybdenite, apatite and beryl; less common are minerals of the tungstenite‐molybdenite solid solution, marcasite, galena, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, pentlandite, magnetite and hematite. Several sulfosaltss, partly of bismuth occur too, as well as native bismuth.
The ideas on the genesis of the Mittersill scheelite deposit have strongly changed since its discovery. Whereas in the early days, mainly on the basis of its partly stratiform morphology, the deposit was interpreted as syngenetic and caused by submarine exhalative activity related to Early Paleozoic basaltic rocks, recent authors have accumulated evidences favoring an epigenetic ore formation by hydrothermal fluids derived from a Late Paleozoic granite.


Imouraren mine

The Imouraren mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region. Imouraren represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 109.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.06% uranium. It is the site of a uranium mining project involving French company Areva and SOPaMin (Société du Patrimoine des Mines du Niger on behalf of the government of Niger). The U3O8 ore grade at nearby SOMAIR is 14,000 tons at 0.3%, COMINAK is 29,000 t at 0.4% and Imouraren 120,000t at 0.15%.


Bodie, California

Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8,379 feet (2554 m). Bodie became a boom town in 1876 after the discovery of a profitable line of gold; by 1879 it had a population of 7,000–10,000.
The town went into decline in the subsequent decades and came to be described as a ghost town by 1915. The U.S. Department of the Interior recognizes the designated Bodie Historic District as a National Historic Landmark.
Also registered as a California Historical Landmark, the ghost town officially was established as Bodie State Historic Park in 1962. It receives about 200,000 visitors yearly. Bodie State Historic Park is partly supported by the Bodie Foundation.
History.
Discovery of gold.
Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W. S. Bodey. Bodey died in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present-day Mono City), never getting to see the rise of the town that was named after him. According to area pioneer Judge J. G. McClinton, the district's name was changed from "Bodey," "Body," and a few other phonetic variations, to "Bodie," after a painter in the nearby boomtown of Aurora, lettered a sign "Bodie Stables".
Gold discovered at Bodie coincided with the discovery of silver at nearby Aurora (thought to be in California, later found to be Nevada), and the distant Comstock Lode beneath Virginia City, Nevada. But while these two towns boomed, interest in Bodie remained lackluster. By 1868 only two companies had built stamp mills at Bodie, and both had failed.
Boom.
In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. Rich discoveries in the adjacent Bodie Mine during 1878 attracted even more hopeful people. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 7,000–10,000 people and around 2,000 buildings. One legend says that in 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city, but the U.S. Census of that year disproves this. Over the years, Bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly .
Bodie boomed from late 1877 through mid to late 1880. The first newspaper, "The Standard Pioneer Journal of Mono County", published its first edition on October 10, 1877. Starting as a weekly, it soon expanded publication to three times a week. It was also during this time that a telegraph line was built which connected Bodie with Bridgeport and Genoa, Nevada. California and Nevada newspapers predicted Bodie would become the next Comstock Lode. Men from both states were lured to Bodie by the prospect of another bonanza.
Gold bullion from the town's nine stamp mills was shipped to Carson City, Nevada, by way of Aurora, Wellington and Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by armed guards. After the bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint there, or sent by rail to the mint in San Francisco.
Districts and amenities.
As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners' and mechanics' union, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.
As with other remote mining towns, Bodie had a popular, though clandestine, red light district on the north end of town. There is an unsubstantiated story of Rosa May, a prostitute who, in the style of Florence Nightingale, came to the aid of the town menfolk when a serious epidemic struck the town at the height of its boom. She is credited with giving life-saving care to many, but after she died, was buried outside the cemetery fence.
Bodie had a Chinatown, the main street of which ran at a right angle to Bodie's Main Street. At one point it had several hundred Chinese residents and a Taoist temple. Opium dens were plentiful in this area.
Bodie also had a cemetery on the outskirts of town and a nearby mortuary. It is the only building in the town built of red brick three courses thick, most likely for insulation to keep the air temperature steady during the cold winters and hot summers. The cemetery includes a Miners Union section, and a cenotaph erected to honor President James A. Garfield. The Bodie Boot Hill was located outside of the official city cemetery.
On Main Street stands the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions. It also served as an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum.
Mining town.
The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious toward the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich-quick, single miners who came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, and Bodie developed into a family-oriented community. In 1882 residents built the Methodist Church (which still stands) and the Roman Catholic Church (burned about 1930). Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881 Bodie's ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. Also in 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built called the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.
During the early 1890s, Bodie enjoyed a short revival from technological advancements in the mines that continued to support the town. In 1890, the recently invented cyanide process promised to recover gold and silver from discarded mill tailings and from low-grade ore bodies that had been passed over. In 1892, the Standard Company built its own hydroelectric plant approximately away at Dynamo Pond. The plant developed a maximum of and 3,530 volts alternating current (AC) to power the company's 20-stamp mill. This pioneering installation marked one of the country's first transmissions of electricity over a long distance.
In 1910, the population was recorded at 698 people, which were predominantly families who decided to stay in Bodie instead of moving on to other prosperous strikes.
Decline.
The first signs of an official decline occurred in 1912 with the printing of the last Bodie newspaper, "The Bodie Miner". In a 1913 book titled "California Tourist Guide and Handbook: Authentic Description of Routes of Travel and Points of Interest in California", the authors, Wells and Aubrey Drury, described Bodie as a "mining town, which is the center of a large mineral region". They referred to two hotels and a railroad operating there. In 1913, the Standard Consolidated Mine closed.
Mining profits in 1914 were at a low of $6,821. James S. Cain bought everything from the town lots to the mining claims, and reopened the Standard mill to former employees, which resulted in an over $100,000 of profit in 1915. However, this financial growth was not in time to stop the town's decline. In 1917, the Bodie Railway was abandoned and its iron tracks were scrapped.
The last mine closed in 1942, due to War Production Board order L-208, shutting down all non-essential gold mines in the United States during World War II. Mining never resumed after the war.
Bodie was first described as a "ghost town" in 1915. In a time when auto travel was on the rise, many travelers reached Bodie via automobiles. The "San Francisco Chronicle" published an article in 1919 to dispute the "ghost town" label.
By 1920, Bodie's population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline and a severe fire in the business district in 1932, Bodie had permanent residents through nearly half of the 20th century. A post office operated at Bodie from 1877 to 1942.
Ghost town and park.
In the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. The Cain family, who owned much of the land, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town's structures. Martin Gianettoni, one of the last three people living in Bodie in 1943, was a caretaker.
Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town.
The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and in 1962 the state legislature authorized creation of Bodie State Historic Park. A total of 170 buildings remained. Bodie has been named as California's official state gold rush ghost town.
Visitors arrive mainly via SR 270, which runs from US 395 near Bridgeport to the west; the last three miles of it is a dirt road. There is also a road to SR 167 near Mono Lake in the south, but this road is extremely rough, with more than 10 miles of dirt track in a bad state of repair. Due to heavy snowfall, the roads to Bodie are usually closed in winter .
Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survived, with about 110 structures still standing, including one of many once operational gold mills. Visitors can walk the deserted streets of a town that once was a bustling area of activity. Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Littered throughout the park, one can find small shards of china dishes, square nails and an occasional bottle, but removing these items is against the rules of the park.
The California State Parks' ranger station is located in one of the original homes on Green Street.
In 2009 and again in 2010, Bodie was scheduled to be closed. The California state legislature worked out a budget compromise that enabled the state's Parks Closure Commission to keep it open. As of 2019, the park is still operating, now administered by the Bodie Foundation.
Climate.
Bodie is a rare example of the dry-summer subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification "Dsc"), with hot to freezing summers and long, snowy winters, and is part of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5. Winds can sweep across the valley at close to . Nights remain cold even through the summer, often dropping well below freezing throughout the year.
With an average of 303 nights below freezing per year, Bodie rivals Utqiagvik, Alaska's 315, and no month has ever been completely frost-free. The fewest nights below freezing in a month was two, the exceptionally warm August 1967, whose mean minimum of was the highest during the twentieth century, although July 1896 had a mean minimum of . Bodie's actual highest minimum on record is on August 1 of 1968; however, on average only two nights per year stay above , and minima that high have never occurred between September 14 and June 4.
The longest frost-free period is a mere thirty days from July 20 to August 18, 1901, but to illustrate the vast diurnal temperature range, Bodie had as many as 98 consecutive maxima at or above between June 9 and September 14, 2007 – which included the record hot July 2007 with mean maximum .
The harsh weather is due to a particular combination of high altitude () and a very exposed plateau, with little in the way of a natural surrounding wall to protect the long, flat piece of land from the elements. Plenty of firewood was needed to keep residents warm through the long winters. Bodie is not located in a forest, so lumber had to be imported from Bridgeport, Benton, Carson City or Mono Mills. The winter of 1878–79 was particularly harsh and claimed the lives of many residents. On average, there are 22.7 days with + highs, 19.6 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 35 nights with sub- lows. The record high temperature of was set on July 21, 1988, while the record low of was set on February 13, 1903, which also saw the lowest maximum temperature of .
Average annual precipitation is , with August on average being the driest month and January the wettest. There are an average of 60 days annually with measurable precipitation. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1968 to June 1969 with and the driest was from July 1999 to June 2000 with . The most precipitation in one month was in January 1901, and the most in 24 hours on February 12, 1895. Average annual snowfall is . The snowiest year was 1965 with . The most snow in one month was in January 1969.


Luanzhou Mining

The Luanzhou Mining Company (Lan-chou; Chinese: 滦州矿务公司) was a coal mining company in Luanzhou, Hebei Province, China. It was created by Zhou Xuexi in 1908 to compete with Kaiping Mines. The production began toward end of 1908.


Malomir mine

The Malomir mine () is one of the largest gold mines in Russia and in the world. The mine is located in Amur Oblast, 35 km north of the nearest town of Stoyba. The mine has estimated reserves of 13.77 million oz of gold.


Roy Lynk

Roy Lynk OBE (born 9 November 1932) was a leader of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers.
Early life.
He was born in Chesterfield where his parents had married in 1932. He grew up in Sutton-in-Ashfield, attending Station Road Higher School and Healdswood School in Skegby. He would later receive a Certificate in Industrial Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Career.
He went down the pit aged 14 at Teversal Colliery in 1947. He left mining in 1979. He was Branch Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers at Sutton Colliery from 1958-79.
UDM.
At the start of the UK miners' strike (1984–85) on 6 March 1984, following a dispute at Cortonwood, Nottinghamshire's coal mining industry was second only to that of Yorkshire, with 32,000 miners; during the strike around 2,000 of those Nottinghamshire miners went on strike. On 12 March 1984, Yorkshire striking miners massed at Harworth Colliery to picket, and also on 14 March 1984 at Sutton Colliery.
He replaced Henry Richardson as General Secretary of the Nottinghamshire area of the NUM in March 1984. The Nottinghamshire area left the NUM on 7 July 1985. The UDM was formed in December 1985, by him (aged 52) and David Prendergast (aged 37). It received financial assistance from David Hart.
He was on a committee of the European Coal and Steel Community from 1988-93.
UK coal mining industry.
In October 1992 Michael Heseltine announced the closure of 32 of the UK's 53 remaining pits. British Coal, formed in 1987 from the NCB, was privatised by the Coal Industry Act 1994 and in England the pits became RJB Mining, later UK Coal. In 1991 the UDM had plans to buy British Coal. In October 1992 he held a week-long hunger strike protest at Silverhill Colliery.
Personal life.
He was appointed an OBE in the 1990 New Year Honours list. He married in 1978 in Mansfield and had three sons and three daughters.


Huoshaoyun

Huoshaoyun () is a mountain with significant lead-zinc deposit in the disputed region of Aksai Chin in Hetian County in Xinjiang, China. The discovery of the mineral deposit was published in academic journal in 2015 and commercially announced in 2016. The development of the site into a mining operation started in 2017. The mine is owned by Guanghui Energy. It is expected to come online between 2020-2022. It is expected to become world's 7th largest lead-zinc mine.
In 2019, on-site survey discovered nearby mountains to include sufficient deposits to warrant future development.


Camborne

Camborne () is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove.
Camborne was formerly one of the richest tin mining areas in the world and home to the Camborne School of Mines.
Toponymy.
Craig Weatherhill explains Camborne thus: ""Cambron" c. 1100 - 1816) Cambron, ?'crook-hill')"
Kammbronn is Cornish for 'crooked hill'. The word 'kamm', crooked, is the same in the Breton language, and the Welsh, Gaelic and Irish Gaelic word is 'cam'. 'Hill' in Welsh is 'bryn'.
Geography.
Camborne is in the western part of the largest urban and industrial area in Cornwall with the town of Redruth east. It is the ecclesiastical centre of a large civil parish and has a town council. Camborne-Redruth is on the northern side of the Carn Brea/Carnmenellis granite upland which slopes northwards to the sea. The two towns are linked by the A3047 road which was turnpiked in 1839 and the villages along the road (from the west) were Roskear, Tuckingmill, Pool and Illogan. Running north-south are a number of small streams with narrow river valleys which have been deeply-cut following centuries of tin streaming and other industrial processes. An example is the Red River valley which crosses the A3047 at Tuckingmill. To the north, the A30 (road) forms a boundary between the urban area and the agricultural land on the other side.
Climate.
The UK Met Office operate an Upper Air Station in Camborne.
History.
The first mention of the medieval Camborne churchtown is in 1181 although in 1931 the ruins of a probable Romano-British villa were found at Magor Farm, Illogan, near Camborne, and excavated that year under the guidance of the Royal Institution of Cornwall. It is the only Roman villa to be found in the whole of Cornwall. There are also early Christian sites such as an inscribed altar stone, (now in the Church of St Martin and St Meriadoc), and dated to the 10th or 11th centuries, which attests to the existence of a settlement then. Langdon (1896) records seven stone crosses in the parish of which two are at Pendarves. By the late Middle Ages manorial holdings developed in the surrounding area, and church-paths linked the churchtown to the outlying hamlets. Cornish medieval mystery plays were held in a playing place and the churchyard is said to have had a pilgrimage chapel and holy well. John Norden visited in 1584 and described Camborne as "". At this time there would have been moors and rough grazing as well as small fields in the surrounding countryside.
By 1708 Camborne had rights to hold markets and three fairs a year which may be an indication of tin mining in the area; Camborne's was inland and in an unfavourable location for trading. Mining is first recorded locally in the 1400s with early exploitation of the small streams cutting through the mineralised area and from shallow mines following lodes. Adit mining was first recorded in the 16th century. A sign of increasing industrial activity and increasing industrial population is the first chapel built in 1806 and the development of a local Methodist community. In 1823 the population was around 2,000 and in 1841 it was 4,377, with 75 smiths recorded and over two-thirds of the working population employed in the mining industry. In the expanding town gasworks were opened in 1834, the Hayle Railway was built (1834–37) and Holmans opened a small foundry in 1839.
Mining.
Camborne is best known as a centre for the former Cornish tin and copper mining industry, having its working heyday during the later 18th and early 19th centuries. Camborne was just a village until transformed by the mining boom which began in the late 18th century and saw the Camborne and Redruth district become the richest mining area in the world. Although a considerable number of ruinous stacks and engine houses remain, they cannot begin to convey the scenes of 150 years ago when scores of mines transfigured the landscape.
As the economic recession of the 1870s led to the first years of mining decline in Camborne, social tensions mounted. In October 1873 thousands of miners, aided and abetted by the townspeople, rioted against a hated, authoritarian police force. One of the greatest shows of mining defiance in Cornish history left the Town Hall vandalised, the Police Station ransacked, and the estimated fifty constables present in the town beaten and scattered. The militia were called in from Plymouth to quell the insurrection, and the Home Secretary, Robert Lowe, asked to be kept informed of events. The Camborne riots were reported in the national newspapers and Sir Colman Rashleigh, JP for Cornwall, had to address the Grand Jury regarding the tumult. The entire Camborne police force was found to be at fault and either removed from duty or transferred as a result. No rioter was ever convicted.
Dolcoath Mine, (English: "Old Ground Mine"), the 'Queen of Cornish Mines' was, at a depth of 3,500 feet (1,067 m), for many years the deepest mine in the world, not to mention one of the oldest before its closure in 1921. The "last" working tin mine in Europe, South Crofty, which closed in 1998, is also to be found in Camborne.
Mining related.
Apart from the mines themselves, Camborne was also home to many important related industries, including the once world-renowned foundry of Holman Bros Ltd (CompAir). Holmans, a family business founded in 1801, was for generations, Camborne's, and indeed Cornwall's largest manufacturer of industrial equipment, even making the famous Sten submachine gun for a stint during the Second World War. The Holman Projector was used by the Royal Navy. At its height Holmans was spread over three sites within Camborne, employing some three and half thousand men. Despite Britain's industrial decline, Compair Holmans Camborne factory finally closed in 2001. On the afternoon of Tuesday 5 December 2006, a wall of the Holmans factory was leaning towards the railway line, as a result the line west of Truro was closed for the afternoon and night and disrupting railway services, as it was feared the wall could collapse onto the mainline, part of the derelict factory was later demolished that night.
A modest quantity of South Crofty tin was purchased by a local enterprise and this gradually dwindling stock is used to make specialist tin jewellery, branded as the South Crofty Collection. Tin originally mined at South Crofty was used to form the bronze medals awarded in the 2012 London Olympics
Camborne School of Mines.
Because of the prior importance of metal mining to the Cornish economy, the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) developed as the only specialist hard rock education establishment in the United Kingdom, until the Royal School of Mines was established in 1851. Plans for the school were laid out in 1829, leading to the current school in 1888. It now forms part of the University of Exeter; it moved to the University's Tremough campus (now known as Penryn Campus) in 2004. CSM graduates work in the mining industry all over the world. It has a fine collection of minerals in its museum of geology.
Steam locomotion.
On Christmas Eve 1801, the Puffing Devil – a steam-powered road locomotive built by Camborne engineer Richard Trevithick – made its way up Camborne Hill in Cornwall. It was the world's first self-propelled passenger carrying vehicle. The events have been turned into a local song:
Trevithick was born in Penponds, in 1771, a miner's son, and was educated at Camborne School. His achievements (not to mention steam power, mining and Cornish culture as a whole) are celebrated every last Saturday of April as the town's 'Trevithick Day', and by his statue standing outside Camborne Public Library.
Cornish language.
The Cornish language was the language of the area around Camborne until the beginning of the 18th century and it is recorded that everyone living west of Truro spoke Cornish in 1644. Nicholas Boson wrote that Cornish was spoken as far east as Redruth and Falmouth circa 1700. In 1700 the pioneering Celtic linguist Edward Lhuyd came to Cornwall to study the language and visited Camborne, detailing many aspects of the parish.
One of the most important surviving works of medieval Cornish literature is Beunans Meriasek, the Life of St Meriadoc the patron saint of Camborne. In the 19th century the nickname for Camborne people was Mera-jacks, or Merry-geeks, and those who washed in St Meriasek's well were called Merrasicks, Merrasickers, Moragicks or Mearagaks.
In the 20th century several Cornish words and phrases were noted as still in use amongst the inhabitants of Camborne. These include "taw tavas" (silent tongue) and "allycumpoester" (all in order).
Although a limited amount of Cornish was taught in some schools in west Cornwall during the 19th and early 20th centuries the first school to properly dedicate itself to teaching revived Cornish was the Mount Pleasant House school run by E. G. Retallack Hooper in the post-Second World War period. By 1984 Cornish was being taught in Troon and Camborne primary schools as well as Camborne secondary school and there was a Cornish language playgroup. In 2000 Roskear and Weeth schools were teaching Cornish.
In the 2011 UK census, although there was no specific Cornish language question, thirty people living in the parish of Camborne declared that Cornish was their main language at home, thirteen in Troon and Beacon.
Governance.
Parliamentary representation.
The Camborne and Redruth constituency was created for the 2010 general election, following a review of parliamentary representation in Cornwall by the Boundary Commission for England, which increased the number of seats in the county from five to six.
It is primarily a successor to the former Falmouth and Camborne seat.
In the 2019 United Kingdom general election the results were:
Local government.
The Camborne Local Board was established in 1873; the seal was a mine shaft and engine house depicted with the date 1873 and the legend "The Local Board for the District of Camborne". This was replaced by the Camborne Urban District in 1895 which built the municipal buildings and fire station in 1903. The urban district was merged with that of Redruth and parts of Redruth Rural District and Helston Rural District (both of which were being abolished) in 1934 to form the Camborne-Redruth Urban District. The urban district persisted until it was merged into the Kerrier district of Cornwall under the Local Government Act 1972.
Cornwall Council.
Until May 2021, Camborne was represented by five electoral divisions: Camborne Pendarves, Camborne Roskear, Camborne Trelowarren, Camborne Treslothan, and Camborne Treswithian. From the 2021 Cornwall Council election, Camborne will be covered by four divisions: Four Lanes, Beacon and Troon; Camborne Roskear and Tuckingmill; Camborne Trelowarren; and Camborne West and Treswithian.
Town Council.
The composition of Camborne Town Council as of 2020:
Church history.
Camborne's parish church is dedicated to St Martin and St Meriadoc: it is entirely of granite, of 15th century date, but incorporating earlier structural features, including a Norman chevron stone in the west wall of the north aisle found in 2009 and is listed Grade I. St Martin was added to the original dedication to St Meriadoc in the 15th century. There is a western tower about 60 feet high containing eight bells (with a clock before 1882) and the aisles are identical in design: the building was gutted and restored in 1861-62 and an outer south aisle was added in 1878–79 to a design by James Piers St Aubyn. The church was re-opened on 7 August 1879 by Edward Benson, the Bishop of Truro.
An inscribed altar stone found at Chapel Ia, Troon (now set up as the Lady Chapel altar in the parish church), and dated to the 10th or 11th centuries, attests to the existence of a settlement then. It is inscribed 'Leuiut iusit hec altare pro anima sua'. The chapel of St Ia was recorded in 1429 and a holy well was nearby. The site was called Fenton-ear (i.e. the well of Ia). The stone is very similar to one now used as the mensa of the Lady Chapel altar at Treslothan Parish Church, formerly used from c.1841 to 1955 as the base for a sundial in the grounds of Pendarves House.
Camborne churchyard contains a number of crosses collected from nearby sites: the finest is one found in a well at Crane in 1896 but already known from William Borlase's account of it when it was at Fenton-ear. Arthur Langdon (1896) records six crosses in the parish, including two at Pendarves, two at Trevu and one outside the Institute.
Two other chapels are known to have existed in the medieval period: one not far from the parish church was dedicated to Our Lady and St Anne and one at Menadarva (derived from Merther-Derwa) was one of Celtic origin dedicated to St Derwa, Virgin, but mentioned in 1429.
Transport.
The A30 trunk road now by-passes the town around its northern edge. The old A30 through the town has become the A3047. There is a small bus station halfway along and to the south of Trelowarren Street (the main high street), which has featured in tales by Cornish comedian Jethro.
The railway station is a half-mile south from the town centre, with a level crossing and footbridge at its eastern end. Camborne railway station used to be famous for its short platforms, which meant that passengers on main line services between London Paddington and Penzance could only board and alight from certain carriages. Partly because of this not all services stopped at Camborne, preferring nearby Redruth (which is also classed by Great Western Railway (GWR) as a short station stop). The platforms have been upgraded but the memory lives on, again partly in stories by the comedian Jethro. Camborne railway station is served by CrossCountry and GWR trains.
Camborne was, for a quarter of a century, one of the termini of Cornwall's only tram service. This system was opened in November 1902 and ran a regular service to Redruth until it closed in September 1927.
Sport.
Camborne RFC were established in 1878 and are one of the most famous clubs in Cornwall, having produced numerous Cornwall players over the years. In 1987 Camborne were the highest placed Cornish club in the newly formed National leagues when they entered at 1987–88 Courage Area League South (equivalent to National League 2 South today). Camborne is one of the grounds used by the Cornish rugby team and has hosted many notable international sides including the New Zealand 'All Blacks' in 1905, 1924 and 1953, Australia in 1908, 1947 and 1967, South Africa 1960, United States 1977 and numerous other touring sides such as the South African Barbarians and Canterbury (NZ). Since 2006 it was agreed to ground share the Recreation Ground with local Division One team the Cornish Pirates and the ground has undergone major refurbishment including a new stand for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. This arrangement has now ceased as of 2012 season and Penzance now play at the Mennaye Field in Penzance.
Notable local rugby players include Josh Matavesi 18-year-old debut for Fiji against Scotland in 2010, his younger brother Sam, debut against Canada in 2013, Roger Arthur, Llanelli and Wales and Andy Reed, Camborne, Bath, and Scotland British Lions Luke Charteris, Wales.
Economy.
The region of Camborne, Pool and Redruth district is currently at the centre of a £150 million redevelopment, which hopes to reverse social and economic decline in this former industrial heartland.
CPR Regeneration.
CPR Regeneration (CPRR), one of the government's 19 Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) is overseeing a large urban renewal programme in the country on behalf of a range of partners including Cornwall Council, the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWERDA) and the Homes and Communities Agency. CPRR is tasked with driving the regeneration of former industrial land, attracting businesses and helping them create sustainable jobs; supporting local business growth ambitions and fostering employment growth through increasing the skills of those in and out of work. To date, as well as working on supporting businesses in the area—especially those in the town centres, CPRR has been engaged in the process of assembling sites, securing agreements with developers and doing enabling works for major projects such as the east–west link road between Redruth and Camborne.
A challenge faced by CPRR has been to work collaboratively with the owners of the South Crofty mine (which occupies a central position in the Pool regeneration area) to both allow mine development operations to continue and secure the re-development of the wider area around the mine. Stories did appear in the press regarding alleged illegal in-fill of ventilation shafts by CPRR. The truth—that English Partnerships had found old unmarked shafts on development sites which were in danger of collapse and made them good with concrete caps (removable if needed later by the mine company)--was lost. CPRR has continued to advance major projects in the area, such as a range of housing and infrastructure schemes, and will help SWERDA and the Homes and Communities Agency bring these forward shortly. Some of the work of the URC is becoming apparent, with works on the Pool Innovation Centre and the Trevenson Road area both advancing well.
Criticism of the Regional Development Agency.
Local MPs have criticised SWERDA for interfering in the private sector, and said there may be ulterior motives. Andrew George, MP for St Ives, said, "The RDA’s antics are at odds with the claims made to me by the Minister in Parliament and in a letter that the RDA 'will be informed by the outcome of public consultation. I am astounded that a public body can be acting in such a predatory manner. The RDA seems to want to jump in where it is not wanted and yet it doesn’t intervene where it is. There are places like the Union Hotel in Penzance where the owner and local applicants would be grateful if the RDA were able to step in and purchase but the RDA says that it must be market tested first. Yet when they are faced with a Mine where the owners want to do something constructive, the RDA seem keen to intervene. The public sector has a role in supporting the private sector when projects are not able to be self sustaining. Public money and resources should not be used to undermine the efforts of the private sector".
Education.
A Church of England National School was built in College Street in 1844 (replaced by a newer building further up the street towards the parish church in 1896-now demolished); in the following year a school for four hundred boys was opened in the Centenary Methodist Chapel and in 1847 the Basset Road British (Methodist) School was opened. A School of Mines started in 1872 with the Basset family paying for chemistry laboratories. The town now has a number of schools covering all age ranges, notably the main secondary school, Camborne Science and International Academy, and a campus of Cornwall College.
Twinning.
Camborne is twinned with two places: Santez-Anna-Wened in Brittany, France, and Pachuca, Hidalgo in Mexico. Camborne was twinned with Pachuca at a ceremony in Mexico on 3 July 2008.
The town name inspired the name of Camborne, New Zealand, a seaside suburb of Porirua City developed by an investment company headed by an Arthur Cornish. Most of its street names are of Cornish origin.
Culture.
Literature and film.
Media
Dale Webb was born and grew up in Camborne. He has had a successful radio and TV career, now managing an international media company


Aroa mines

The Aroa mines () were copper mines in the state of Yaracuy, Venezuela.
Mining started in 1632, and for some time the mines were owned by the family of Simón Bolívar.
Bolívar leased the mines to an English company to help finance the wars of independence, and they continued to be operated by English companies, using Cornish and local miners, until 1936. Today the mines are closed and partially flooded. Their remains are preserved by the Parque Bolivariano Minas de Aroa and may be visited by the public.
Location.
The Aroa copper deposits are located in the Bolivar Iron Quadrilateral mining district.
They are east of the village of Aroa in the state of Yaracuy, about west of Caracas and from San Felipe, Yaracuy.
The mines are in rugged country about above sea level on the northern side of the Andes, which run from east to west.
The climate is warm and humid, and the area is covered in thick forest.
Early years.
In the 16th century it was known that there was gold in the Yaracuy, Santa Cruz and Aroa rivers, and in 1605 gold deposits were found in a small valley leading to the Aroa River.
The King of Spain gave the mines in perpetuity to Dr. Francisco Marín de Narváez and his heirs in exchange for 40,000 pesos.
Mining began in 1632, following gold veins, which led to discovery of large deposits of copper.
The mines attracted the indigenous Gayones Indians of the Duaca region, to the southwest.
They came in part for the wages, in part because at the mines they could practice their traditional religion without interference by Catholic priests.
Around the end of the 17th century the "Cobre Caracas" mining company became the property of the family of Simón Bolívar (1783–1830).
The largest of the mines, La Vizcaina, was worked by 60 to 70 slaves.
There was a surge in copper production in the 1790s.
Alexander von Humboldt said the mines held some of the finest copper in the world.
According to an 1825 newspaper report, "The Aroa mines have been but partially and defectively worked by the old Spanish Govt., about 40 of the natives only being employed at one time and even then yielded 300 tons of refined copper annually."
English mining operation.
Bolívar leased the mines to a British mining company to help finance the struggle for independence from Spain.
The fighting continued in Venezuela from 1810 to 1821.
In 1824 Bolivar leased the mines to British entrepreneurs.
Captain Joseph Malachy sailed from Plymouth in March 1825 to take up his position as agent and resident director of the Bolivar Mining Association at the Aroa copper mines.
Malachy was given the huge salary of £1,200, compared to the typical salary of about £300 for a mine manager in Cornwall.
The British employed about 1,200 workers in the mines, including British and Venezuelans.
They used the Aroa River to carry the ore by barge to the coast, where it was loaded onto ships.
In 1832 Bolivar's sisters Juana and Maria Antonia sold the mines to the Robert Dent, an Englishman who owned the Bolívar Mining Association.
In the 1830s Cornishmen in the reduction department of the Aroa mines made significant advances in methods of calcinating the copper ore.
However, the company closed the mines in 1836 due to high mortality among the European workers and tensions with the native workers.
The Bolívar Mining Association was succeeded by companies such as the Quebrada Land Mining Company, Quebrada Railway Land and Copper Company Limited, Aroa Mines Limited and Bolívar Railway Company Limited.
The owners planned to build a railway to the coast in the 1830s under the supervision of the young English engineer, John, later Sir John Hawkshaw.
However, the project was put off several times due to civil wars and problems at the mines.
The mines were damaged during the Federal War (1859–1863).
Finally a narrow gauge line from Aroa to the port of Tucacas was opened in 1877.
The railway was built by the British-controlled New Quebrada Railway, Land, and Copper Company, which also established a shipping service from Tucacas to Puerto Cabello, the region's main import-export centre.
The Ferrocarril Bolívar was the first railway in Venezuela.
Also in 1877 the road from Barquisimeto to Aroa was upgraded so it could be used by wagons and carts.
In 1891 the railway was extended from Aroa via Duaca to Barquisimeto.
During the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03 Britain, Germany and Italy imposed a naval blockade due to Venezuela's refusal to pay damages suffered during the Federal War.
In 1903 the British-Venezuelan Commission made an arbitration decision in the Aroa Mines Case that damages would not be allowed for injury to people or property committed by the troops of unsuccessful rebels.
The umpire quoted an 1868 judgement that "Damages done to property in consequence of battles being fought upon it between the belligerents is to be ascribed to the hazards of war and can not be made the foundation of a claim against the government of the country in which the engagement took place."
Aroa was the first town in the country to obtain electricity and telephone service.
A cableway was built linking the mines to the town.
In 1915 the mines were owned by the South American Copper Syndicate Ltd.
In 1930 they were operated by the English-owned Bolivar Mining Association, which used coastal mangrove trees for lumber in the mines.
There were six mines, the Aroa Norte, Titiara, Titiara Norte, San Antonio, Zajón Verde 1 and Zajón Verde 2.
The longest was the Titiara Norte at , while the deepest was the Aroa Norte at .
Later years.
The mines were abandoned in 1936.
In 1957 the Venezuelan state acquired the mines and transferred them to the Venezuelan Petrochemical Institute, which extracted pyrite and copper carbonate from them for the production of sulfuric acid. In 1972 the Institute transferred its rights to Yaracuy state.
The Parque Minas de Aroa (Aroa Mines Park) was created on 21 September 1974, containing the old mine workings.
The park contains the remains of the mining camp, copper smelter, railway and English cemetery, and away the remains of the mine itself and the crushers.
There is a small museum with records of the mine.
The mines are now partially flooded.


Seeley W. Mudd

Col. Seeley Wintersmith Mudd (1861–1926) was a mining engineer.
Biography.
Early life.
He was born in Kirkwood, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri on August 16, 1861. He attended Washington University of St. Louis, where he graduated in 1883 with a degree in mining engineering.
Career.
In December 1885, he moved to Leadville, Colorado, to work at the Small Hopes silver mine, then in bonanza. He worked his way up from assayer to become the mine’s manager in 1888. While managing the Small Hopes mine he also leased other Leadville properties which provided him a modicum of financial independence.
In 1901, he and his family (wife Della Mullock and sons Harvey S. Mudd and Seeley G. Mudd) moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a consulting engineer for the Guggenheim Exploration Company. He acquired his first major capital by choosing to receive a percent of the findings instead of a fixed salary. In 1907 he started up the Ray copper mine in Arizona, one of the first large scale porphyry copper operations. By the time of his death Ray Consolidated Copper Company had produced 200 million dollars worth of copper. It is still in production.
Also in Arizona, he and Ray Con partner Philip Wiseman took a wildcat speculation on the United Eastern mine in the Oatman district. When they hit high grade ore in 1916 they caused one of the last of the desert country gold rushes. The high grade ore deposit proved Arizona's richest and provided the partners with a quick but short-lived profit.
In early 1914, just before World War I, he partnered with Charles Godfrey Gunther and Philip Wiseman for a drilling opportunity in the island of Cyprus, where evidence of Roman and Phoenician mining of Copper ore had been found. After obtaining permission from the British government, which was ruling Cyprus at the time, Cyprus Mines Corporation was formally launched and in March 1916 and shares of stock authorized. As detailed in his "The Story of Cyprus Mines Corporation," David Lavender credits Seeley with the creation of the company but his son Harvey Seeley Mudd with bringing in the overwhelming success and profits of this multi-national corporation.
During World War I, Seeley Mudd applied for a commission in the Engineer Officers Reserve Corps, and on February 12, 1917, he received his commission as a Major. In 1918 he became a Colonel in the U.S. Army. He served as one of the government's dollar a year men, helping upgrade munitions production for the War Department.
Seeley W Mudd died in St. Louis May 24, 1926. He was an advocate for education and, among other gifts in his will, provided one million dollars for the Claremont College in Pomona, California, where he had been chairman of its board. His sons would follow in his philanthropic foot steps.
Legacy.
The Engineering building at Columbia University was named in his honor, as was the School of Philosophy building at the University of Southern California and the Laboratory of the Geological Sciences ("North Mudd") at the California Institute of Technology.


Bannack, Montana

Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon. Founded in 1862, the town contemporarily operates as a National Historic Landmark and is managed by the state of Montana as Bannack State Park.
History.
Founded in 1862 and named after the local Bannock Indians, Bannack was the site of a major gold discovery in 1862, and served as the capital of Montana Territory briefly in 1864, until the capital was moved to Virginia City. Bannack continued as a mining town, though with a dwindling population. The last residents left in the 1970s.
At its peak, Bannack had a population of about ten thousand. Extremely remote, it was connected to the rest of the world only by the Montana Trail. There were three hotels, three bakeries, three blacksmith shops, two stables, two meat markets, a grocery store, a restaurant, a brewery, a billiard hall, and four saloons. Though all of the businesses were built of logs, some had decorative false fronts.
Among the town's founders was Dr. Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, a physician born in Cornish, New Hampshire, who gave up medicine for a time to become a gold miner. Dr. Leavitt arrived in Bannack in 1862, and alternately practiced medicine and mined for gold with pick and shovel. "Though some success crowned his labors," according to a history of Montana by Joaquin Miller, "he soon found that he had more reputation as a physician than as a miner, and that there was greater profit in allowing someone else to wield his pick and shovel while he attended to his profession." Subsequently, Dr. Leavitt moved on to Butte, Montana, where he devoted the rest of his life to his medical practice
Bannack's sheriff, Henry Plummer, was accused by some of secretly leading a ruthless band of road agents, with early accounts claiming that this gang was responsible for over a hundred murders in the Virginia City and Bannack gold fields and trails to Salt Lake City. However, because only eight deaths are historically documented, some modern historians have called into question the exact nature of Plummer's gang, while others deny the existence of the gang altogether. In any case, Plummer and two compatriots, both deputies, were hanged, without trial, at Bannack on January 10, 1864. A number of Plummer's associates were lynched and others banished on pain of death if they ever returned. Twenty-two individuals were accused, informally tried, and hanged by the Vigilance Committee (the Montana Vigilantes) of Bannack and Virginia City. Nathaniel Pitt Langford, the first superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, was a member of that vigilance committee.
A number of mining camps dotted the banks of Grasshopper Creek during the gold booms, starting at Bannack downstream almost to where the stream joins Beaverhead River. While many were short lived and considered just extensions of Bannack, others were designated towns of their own. Yankee Flats adjoined Bannack and was referred to as an "addition" to Bannack. Centerville and Marysville, about downstream, were both laid out as little camps in the winter on 1862. By the following March, a townsite company had laid out and platted Centerville. However, Marysville, named for early arrival Mary Wadam, gained more people and so contemporary maps alternately used the name on record, Centerville, or the name used by locals, Marysville. Dogtown was south of and "near" Bannack in 1866. It was named for the numerous stray dogs, and had a blacksmith shop, saloon, and grocery store. Jerusalem (also New Jerusalem or Jerusalem Bar) was located downstream of Bannack. Bon Accord, about downstream, was a larger camp that saw a revival in the 1890s, and had a post office and school district. White's Bar, located possibly downstream, was where John White and Company made the initial discovery of gold in 28 Jul 1862.
State park.
Sixty historic log, brick, and frame structures remain standing in Bannack, many quite well preserved; most can be explored. The site, now the Bannack Historic District, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The town is presently the site of Bannack State Park.
Bannack Days.
Every year, during the third weekend of July, this abandoned town witnesses a historical reconstitution known as "Bannack Days". For two days, Bannack State Park officials organize an event that attempts to revive the times when Bannack was a boom town, re-enacting the day-to-day lives of the miners who lived there during the gold rush. An authentic, old-fashioned breakfast is served in the old Hotel Meade, a well-preserved brick building which was for many years the seat of Beaverhead County, before Dillon, Montana, became the seat of the county.
Physiography.
The mines surrounding Bannack are located on both sides of Grasshopper Creek, which flows southeastward through the district and into the Beaverhead River about downstream.


Bartlett L. Thane

Bartlett Lee "Bart" Thane (August 26, 1877 – November 7, 1927) was an American mining engineer who pioneered hydroelectric power in Juneau, Alaska. The world's first thin arch dam, Salmon Creek Dam, was constructed by Thane.
Early years.
Thane was born in Oakland, California, USA, in August 1877. His parents were Joseph E. Thane and Laura E. Thane. His father was a well-known orchardist from Niles, California. His maternal grandfather was Judge Harmon J. Tilden. Thane's sister was named Laura. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in mining engineering in 1899. While attending the university, he played college football and was the quarterback of the 1898 California Golden Bears football team that defeated Stanford in the "Big Game" for the first time by a score of 22 to 0. He was also a member of Skull and Keys and Kappa Alpha Order at Cal.
Career.
Thane first came to Alaska in 1897. He was hired by Herman T. Tripp to work at the Sumdum Chief Mine south of Juneau. He was the first superintendent of the Eagle River Mining Company (1903-1910), before becoming Managing Director of the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company. By 1911, he had controlling interest in six Juneau area gold mines. In 1912, he took control of the Perseverance Mine and developed it into the world's largest. With the assistance of his former college football friends, Thane constructed Salmon Creek Dam, the world's first thin arch dam, in 1914.
In 1915, Thane and other mining and business executives established Juneau's first golf course, in the Mendenhall Valley. Between 1918 and 1919, Thane quit the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company, moved to San Francisco, and then returned to the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company. In 1921, after the Alaska-Gastineau Mine shut down, Thane attempted to develop his facilities for a new pulp mill, but a deal with Japanese investors failed in 1923.
Personal life.
In June 1902, Thane married Juliet Fay Blaine (born March 27, 1879) at Berkeley, California. They lived in what was to become the Wickersham State Historic Site on Chicken Ridge in Juneau during the period of 1914-1916, along with their daughter, also named Juliet Fay Thane (born August 2, 1906 in Juneau). Thane's sister Laura married James R. Whipple who became a business associate of Thane's.
In a Draft Registration Card completed in September 1918, Thane listed his permanent address as the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. He identified himself as a mining engineer with an office at San Francisco's Crocker Building. Also, in a 1923 passport application submitted of a trip to Japan, Korea, China and Australia, Thane listed San Francisco as his permanent residence. Thane died in New York City in 1927. Thane, Alaska, and Thane Road, on the Gastineau Channel, were named in his honor.


Sangatta Coal Mine

The Sangatta Coal Mine is a coal mine located in East Kalimantan. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 3.6 billion tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 35.7 million tonnes of coal.


Cordero Rojo Mine

The Cordero Rojo Mine is a coal mining complex located in the state of Wyoming in the United States, in the coal-rich Powder River Basin. The mine is of open pit construction and employs several dragline excavators. Two coal-processing facilities are located on-site, and crushed coal is shipped by rail to electric utility customers in the south and west of the United States. The mine employs between 430 and 540 people.
The mining complex is wholly owned by Cloud Peak Energy. Cloud Peak Energy acquired the mine in 2010 from Rio Tinto Energy America.
The mine was formerly owned by the giant mining company Rio Tinto Group, thru its subsidiary Rio Tinto Energy America. It was formed in 1997 from the consolidation of two previously existing mines, the Cordero mine (purchased by Rio Tinto in 1993) and the Caballo Rojo mine (purchased in 1997). The mine produced between 34 and 36 million tons of coal per year in the years 2004 to 2006, over 40 million tons of coal in 2007, and 22.8 million tons in 2015, making the Cordero Rojo actually fourth-largest producer of coal in the United States.


Mining on the Brendon Hills

The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in western Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. Iron ore and other minerals have been extracted for industrial purposes, primarily by the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company in the later half of the 19th century.
Geology.
The Brendon Hills are largely formed from the Morte Slates, a thick faulted and folded sequence of Devonian age sedimentary rocks. An east-west aligned anticline/syncline pair known as the Brendon Anticline and Brendon Syncline folds these rocks. The fold couplet is itself offset by displacement of the rocks on the NNW-SSE aligned Timberscombe Fault System. Over the centuries they have been mined for minerals, notably ironstone from which iron is extracted for making steel.
History.
Where lodes of iron ore reached the surface they were worked using bell pits from Roman times.
19th century.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the proprietors of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works acquired an interest in iron ore deposits in the Brendon Hills. Iron ore had been known there for centuries but not exploited industrially until the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company was formed in 1853. Initially goethite/hematite was extracted and later unoxidised siderite.
At an altitude of over and remote from usable roads, the deposits needed a form of transport to get the ore to South Wales. The West Somerset Mineral Railway, which included a long gravity worked incline on a gradient of 1 in 4, was built to take the ore to Watchet Harbour where it was loaded onto ships to be sent to Ebbw Vale for smelting. At Burrow Farm Mine a Cornish beam engine was installed around 1868 to pump water out of the mine. The mines provided employment for an average of 245 people between 1873 and 1882. Accommodation was also built for the mine workers.
Though sometimes productive, no nineteenth century iron mine on the Brendons was profitable and the venture as a whole was financially ruinous. From 1852 to 1883 a little over three quarters of a million tons of usable ore was delivered to Ebbw Vale, each ton costing the company £1.25 to produce and deliver for which it received 75p. Net losses amounted to £762,000. Furthermore, the industry as a whole was prone to boom and bust, with a sharp decline from the early 1880s acting as the coup-de-grace. In 1907 another venture, the Somerset Mineral Syndicate, leased the railway and resumed mining.
Several of the structures associated with the mines can still be seen. These include the Ironstone mine ventilation flue in Chargot Wood, and the remains of the Carnarvon New Pit.
Individual mines.
Many mines have been recorded on the hills. The following operated at various times between 1837 and 1909.
Baker's pit.
This mine is sometimes referred to as "Baker's mine" or simply "Bakers". Primarily aimed at Manganese, this pit was served by a siding off the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR). It was an early pit latterly developed and briefly productive in iron ore in the years 1881–2, but it closed in May 1883. Scant evidence remains that the pit ever existed.
Bearland Wood mine.
The first adit was started at this iron mine in 1854, aiming to work towards Gupworthy. Little ore was found and working had ceased by 1864. Later that year the Mines Captain, Morgan Morgans, decided to drive a new adit, which proved very successful, yielding 12000 tons of brown Haematite which was taken to Langham Hill pit by an incline operated by horse powered whims. The ore was loaded on to WSMR wagons at Langham Hill. This incline was abandoned in 1866–7 when Bearland Wood mine was joined underground with Langham Hill pit.
Mines on the tops of hills are usually sunk from above, with adits for drainage or access driven laterally to the hillside from the ore, coal or other target mineral. Bearland Wood mine was worked the other way round, with vertical working following lateral boring.
Bearland Wood faced the universal mining problem of ventilation in a way which was both very old and radically new. Most industrial age mines were drained and ventilated using pumps, typically powered by steam engines. Morgans equipped Bearland Wood with a ventilation flue where a chimney stack was built above the mine's upward shaft and a coal-fired furnace was placed at the foot of the chimney. The furnace sucked air from the mine shaft which sucked fresh air from the lateral adit in turn. The air flow was guided by wooden ducts so that it always passed through areas where men worked. Miners extended or redirected the ducts as the working faces moved. This method long predated steam pumps, but as Morgans was erecting it at Bearland Wood the Mines Inspector at Risca Colliery (near where Morgans had been a colliery manager) declared steam pumps to be unsatisfactory and ordered their older ventilation furnaces to be reinstated. The ventilation flue at Bearland Wood is a scheduled Ancient Monument. Its conservation was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Betsy mine.
This iron mine was served by a siding off the WSMR, it is sometimes referred to as "New Langham Mine". It was the last new mine in the area when it opened around 1875. It closed in 1883. Almost no trace remains of the mine's existence.
Blackland mine.
This iron mine was operated independently of the Ebbw Vale Company near Withypool, west of the Brendon Hills. It operated from about 1875 to 1881 then briefly in 1895, leaving a large bank of ore stockpiled on site. In 1907 a Withypool mining company started transporting ore by traction engine to Minehead to be shipped north, but this ended in October. The Somerset Mineral Syndicate added this to their portfolio of Colton and Timwood and
built a rope worked incline powered by a stationary engine to lower ore to the road. The workings were prospected but the ore sent to Minehead was almost all from the stockpile.
Burrow Farm mine.
This iron mine was served by a siding off the WSMR. It closed around 1868. The shell of its engine house, which was moved lock, stock and barrel from Langham Hill mine, stands today, the ore field's only engine house to do so.
Carew mine.
Sinking the shaft of this iron mine may have started in 1865. The last ore appears to have been raised in 1871. A photograph shows that ore from Carew was handled separately by the WSMR so that charges and income could be allocated accordingly. When the mine was surveyed in 1883 the shaft was flooded. Carew's ore was a target for the 1907 venture at Timwood Tunnel, but that venture failed before any ore was reached. All that can be seen in modern times is a small disturbance on the surface near a car park.
Carnarvon new pit.
This iron mine was served by a siding off the WSMR, on the opposite side of the line from Carnarvon Old Pit. It opened in 1866 and initially yielded good ore in quantity, but it closed in 1882. The ruins of the buildings have now been scheduled as an ancient monument. Carnarvon and Raleigh's Cross mines were both very wet. Complex interlocking drainage and flood prevention features were installed.
Carnarvon old pit.
This iron mine was next to the WSMR, on the opposite side from Carnarvon New Pit. It is sometimes referred to as "Old Carnarvon Pit". It closed in the early 1860s.
Colton mine.
This iron mine is sometimes referred to as "Coltonpits" and occasionally as "Colton Pits".
There is evidence of ancient mining at Colton, with the main site visible on maps just over 3 km ENE of . The site was investigated in 1847, but throughout the period up to 1875 when the WSMR was flourishing Colton mine was described as "insignificant", though in the early 1880s, just as the whole Brendon venture was on the point of collapse, output was increasing and an extra siding on the WSMR was sought but not started.
When the Somerset Mineral Syndicate Ltd attempted to resurrect mining and the WSMR from 1907 to 1910 it reopened Colton mine, but entered it through what had been a drainage adit in Galloping Bottom, some distance north west and downhill of the original workings. This location meant that whilst underground costs might have been reduced, it was difficult to get the ore to the WSMR. The original idea was to build an aerial ropeway, but a wholly new gauge tramway was built instead. This incorporated a incline to get the ore up to the top of the hill, followed by a two-mile run (including a timber viaduct) to where the ore was tipped into standard gauge wagons which were lowered down the larger incline then hauled to Watchet harbour.
The aim of developing Colton mine was to give an income until the Syndicate's main hope - Timwood - started to produce, but output was disappointing (a mere 4800 tons of ore was raised in 1908-10) and what ore was produced caked furnaces and proved almost unsaleable. In desperation the Syndicate erected plant at Washford to turn the poor ore into briquettes, thereby reducing volume, mass and impurities, but the undercapitalised venture failed in 1909 and all mining ceased, including Colton. The Syndicate voted to be wound up on 24 March 1910 and its assets were auctioned off on 28 June that year. in modern times only the faintest traces of the workings, incline and narrow gauge railway can be detected.
Eisen Hill mine.
Eisen Hill is named "Ison Hill" on OS maps and sometimes "Eyson Hill" elsewhere.
This iron mine opened in 1854 and stuttered to an end by 1877, with patchy result between. The mine was in soft ground which warranted different mining techniques. The company had a powder magazine and three cottages near the mine, one of which was used as the mine offices. The WSMR took the first steps towards seeking powers to extend their line from (where at least some Eisen Hill output was transferred to their rails) to Joyce's Cleeve to tap their product, but its poor prospects and their financial straits led them to back off. No buildings survive.
Elworthy Mine.
This iron mine is sometimes referred to as "Yeanon" or "Yennan". A trial shaft was sunk in 1875 and, whilst seven levels were developed, little ore was found. In Jones' words it "never amounted to much." It had closed by 1883. A Liverpool syndicate investigated the mine in 1907, employing around a dozen men, but nothing came of it. Only a small mound remains to suggest any workings ever took place.
Gupworthy new pit.
Digging started on this iron mine in 1871. In 1879 it closed with its neighbours, but was one of the few which reopened later that year, reaching its maximum depth of in November 1882, only to close with the rest of the orefield in June 1883. The WSMR built a branch to serve the pit, with a siding to bring coal to the engine house. By 2011 no visible trace of the pit remained.
Gupworthy old pit.
In 1863–4, the WSMR built is western extension through this iron mine's pit yard, which rivalled that at Raleigh Cross in size. It had been taken over and revived in 1852 and was said in the mid-1850s to have "good ore in workable quantities" which significantly exceeded pre-railway haulage capacity, leading to stockpiles. In the area's mid-1870s "peak years" the principal contributors were Raleigh's Cross mine and Gupworthy old pit. It closed with its neighbours in 1879, being one of the few which re-opened later that year. The mine reached its maximum depth of in October 1881, closing with its neighbours in June 1883. On closure machinery was brought to the surface and the mine allowed to flood. Some plant was returned to South Wales, most eventually went for scrap. Closing the mine gave the WSMR an additional problem, as the only water crane south of the incline was fed from Gupworthy Old pit. The crane and header tank were moved to Brendon Hill.
Gupworthy old pit had a permanent engine house, where a boy was killed in an explosion in November 1881. The miners' cottages were referred to as "The Square".
When the WSMR's remaining assets were auctioned in 1924 the trackbed through the pit was sold to local landowners. Some remains were identifiable in 1964, but in 2011 "not a wrack remains save for a datestone of 1864, rescued from the engine house."
Higher Goosemoor mine.
This mine is sometimes referred to, perhaps ironically, as "California". With others it closed in 1879, but reopened later in the year, eventually reaching a depth of with four levels and two shallow secondary drifts, known as Richard's Pit. This site survived in production until all mining ceased across the Brendons in 1883. Portable pumping machinery was used and ore was carted to the railhead at .
Kennesome Hill mine.
This mine is sometimes referred to as Kennisham Hill.
A Roman coin was found in old workings at Kennesome Hill, suggesting great age. In Victorian times it had been worked on a small scale before 1867. In 1871 "Curtis's Drift" was started, reaching by September 1874. Considerable development took place at Kennesome Hill, including an aerial ropeway (referred to locally as the "Flying Machine") to convey output to a siding next to Langham Hill pit, where it was tipped into WSMR wagons. This arrangement lasted until 1876, after which ore was taken from the mine to Gupworthy by a horse-drawn tramway. The mine closed with its neighbours in 1879, but re-opened later the same year, going on with the Gupworthy pits to become the most productive of the orefield's final years; it closed for good in September 1883. In November 1877 the company was fined for not providing a proper platform for workers at the mine.
The mine had a permanent rotary steam engine for both pumping and winding. Unlike most other such buildings in the area its engine house was not demolished for its stone and still stood into the 1970s. Its state, however, was "parlous", so the Forestry Commission blew it up on 7 March 1978, leaving only the pumping engine's granite base as a memorial, albeit at some distance from the site of the mine. By 2011 this block was all which remained to show the mine had ever existed.
Langham Hill pit.
This iron mine was served by a siding off the WSMR. Work started on the mine in 1866 and it closed in 1883. The adit was horizontal into the hillside. In 1877 the company was fined for failing to provide proper ventilation, proper fencing and proper drying facilities for miners' clothes.
As well as ore lifted from the mine itself the site served for periods as railheads for ore from Kennesome Hill and Bearland Wood mines. Neither route was straightforward. Ore travelled from Kennesome Hill via an aerial ropeway, thereby crossing a sharp, deep valley and ore travelled up from Bearland Wood via an incline operated by horse powered whims.
The mine had a substantial stone and slate engine house with a rotary beam pumping and winding engine. In 1878–9 the machinery and its engine house were dismantled, moved to Burrow Farm mine and re-erected, leaving bare foundations at Langham Hill. When the mines closed the Ebbw Vale Company not only had to bear considerable losses but it also became liable for duties and charges it had entered into in the heady early days when the Brendon Hills seemed like Klondyke. James Insole, owner of the Chargot Estate, entered litigation with the company for costs associated with the cessation of mining. This eventually went to arbitration, where the main beneficiaries were lawyers and the main loser was the Ebbw Vale Company. In the midst of this the Ebbw Vale company covered the Langham Hill engine house foundations with the pit tip, landscaping the site to appease Insole. Remarkably, this had a beneficial outcome, as it "preserved" the foundations so that when the Exmoor National Park Authority excavated them in 1995–8 they were found to be in good order. They can be visited to this day.
Raleigh's Cross mine.
Before its expansion in the 1850s the mine was referred to as the "Tone mine".
This iron mine was served by a branch off the WSMR, which was relayed early in 1876. It was one of the mines which Ebenezer Rogers examined when he started the major development of the Brendon Hills orefield in the 1850s, crystallised by the formation of the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company in 1853. The workings at Raleigh's Cross were progressively deepened, reaching a vertical depth of in 1858. Mining in the area before this time had been sufficiently small scale for horse-drawn cartage of ore to be sufficient, but "the mines at Gupworthy and Raleigh's Cross .. proved the existence of good ore in workable quantities" making industrial-scale transport necessary, this in turn led to the formation the WSMR company (Royal Assent was granted on 16 July 1855) and construction of the railway itself, which was in full operation to Raleigh's Cross by March 1861.
The mine was substantial both above and below ground. In 1857 an extensive and expensive adit was driven from the lower workings to emerge from the hillside below Sea View House. This involved extensive trialling of a tunnel boring machine which proved "greatly underpowered and in danger of knocking itself to pieces". This adit drained the mine to a depth of , but considerable machinery was needed to drain the mine's eventual depth of (achieved in 1879, the year the orefield first closed) and to wind ore to the surface. Raleigh's cross mine was the only one in the orefield to require an engine for each role. The engine which wound ore to the surface was mounted in the first floor of the substantial pithead buildings, it pulled the mine's narrow gauge tramway wagons along the sloping drift out of the ground and onto a platform above a standard gauge siding so the ore could be tipped directly into wagons beneath. The same building also housed a heated room for miners to dry their clothes and a Miners' Literature Institute. Raleigh's Cross and the two Carnarvon mines formed the nucleus of the mining community of Brendon Hill.
In the years up to 1867 Raleigh's Cross and Carnarvon New had produced over 100,000 tons of ore, peaking at an output of 400 tons per week. At Raleigh's Cross in 1856 two men, both until recently agricultural labourers, attempted to tamp a black powder explosive charge with an iron instead of wooden rod. A spark ensued, detonating the charge; one of the men died and the other was badly injured. The coroner's verdict was "accidental death". Raleigh's Cross and its neighbours were wet mines, necessitating extensive works, plant, interconnections and flood countermeasures.
The mine closed abruptly along with its neighbours in 1879, but reopened later the same year. It finally succumbed in 1882, followed by complete closure of the orefield in 1883. The branch to the site was lifted in 1884 and the engines dismantled and sent to Ebbw Vale for reuse. The mine buildings were blown up by the Syndicate to provide ballast to gravity work the incline and, in 1909, hardcore infill for the timber jetty at Watchet.
Only faint traces of the mine remain, visible only to the knowing eye.
Smallcombe Bottom mine.
This iron mine was also known as "Smoky Bottom mine". It had closed by 1867. All traces have been removed or landscaped.
Timwood tunnel.
The workings at Timwood are sometimes referred to as "Timwood adit" or simply "Timwood".
Timwood tunnel was the last venture in the orefield. It was the brainchild of the Somerset Mineral Syndicate Ltd which was formed on 11 March 1907 to work mines and lease the WSMR to carry output to Watchet harbour. The syndicate took over Blackland and Colton mines, as described above, and started new workings at Timwood.
The Syndicate expected Timwood to be its prize asset. It was the only mine at the foot of the Brendons, aiming to do on a grand scale what some mines had done on a smaller scale at the top, i.e. drill horizontally into the hillside (or even better, drill at a gentle upward slope to drain water and assist tramming ore and waste) until it encountered veins of ore previously worked from above at Carew and Raleigh's Cross mines. This approach had been suggested but not tried in 1854. It sought to reduce the cost and effort involved in pumping water and raising ore to the surface only to lower it down again using the incline to Comberow. It came at the price of having to drill much further to reach ore and carried an increased risk of not reaching ore at all.
As at Colton the workings at Timwood used gauge hopper wagons underground, but the mine entrance was so close to the WSMR and so close to its level that wagons could be hand worked to a movable crossing over the WSMR line then tipped direct into wagons bound for the harbour, thereby avoiding multiple handling. Apart from small amounts discovered while pursuing their main target, this method of working remained an aspiration, because the Syndicate ran out of money in 1909, it had many costs and almost no income. It voted to be wound up on 24 March 1910 and its assets were auctioned off on 28 June that year, with Timwood's tunnel long "but still well short of ore-bearing ground".
Unlike mine buildings at the hill top, those at Timwood were small and appeared temporary, none being built of stone or brick. The Robey steam engine from the incline winding house was installed to drive the compressor which powered the drills used to create holes for explosive charges. A second small building served as a smithy and the third was a mess and a dry for miners' clothes. The mine has left no visible evidence above ground.
Withiel Hill mine.
This iron mine, also known as "Floriel Hill Mine" and "Florey Hill mine", was sunk in 1866, but little development work was undertaken. It continued to give regular, three-figure quarterly tonnages until it closed in April 1876.


Gordon Battelle

Gordon Battelle (10 August 1883 – 21 September 1923) was the founder of Battelle Memorial Institute, a non-profit independent research and development organization.
Birth, death and family.
Gordon Battelle was born in Covington, Kentucky, to Ohio industrialist Colonel John Gordon Battelle (1845-1918) and his wife Annie Maude Battelle née Norton (1865-1925). He was named for his grandfather, prominent Methodist minister Gordon Battelle, who had helped found the state of West Virginia before dying of disease as a chaplain in the American Civil War. John Gordon Battelle had become a pioneer in the steel industry as owner of Columbus Iron & Steel Company. His wife, Annie Maude Norton Battelle, was a suffragette. They married in Memphis, Tennessee in 1881, where John Gordon Battelle had moved from Wheeling, West Virginia to establish an iron manufacturing company. The family moved to the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area (which includes Covington) as John Gordon Battelle established the Piqua Rolling Mill Company and the Cincinnati Corrugating Company. In 1905, the family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1905, where John Gordon Battelle died in 1918. Annie Maude Norton Battelle died in March 1925 (outliving her son Gordon by two years).
Education.
As the only son of John and Annie Battelle, Gordon was trained to inherit and manage his father's holdings in the steel industry. He attended military school in Chester, Pennsylvania, and later studied metallurgy at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University.
Career.
After working for his father for several years, young Gordon Battelle struck out on his own and invested in lead mining and smelting operations near Joplin, Missouri.
While there, he became acquainted with a scientist and former professor, George Waring, who was trying to develop a process to recover saleable minerals from mine tailings and mine water. Battelle became interested in the experimental work and built a small laboratory for Waring. This resulted in the successful completion of the process, which was then taken to a commercial laboratory for economic appraisal.
Death and legacy.
In 1923, at age 40, Gordon Battelle died following appendectomy surgery at a Columbus, Ohio hospital. He was buried in his father's mausoleum at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.
Battelle willed the bulk of his estate, about $1.6 million, to establish the Battelle Memorial Institute. He had developed a strong sense of social responsibility from his parents and hearing about his grandfather. His father led many charitable endeavors in the community. His mother devoted many hours to church, charitable work and benevolent political movements, and had become one of the largest donors to private charities in Columbus.
Gordon Battelle believed that the way to achieve lasting impact and benefit from his wealth was to use it in a way that would benefit mankind through science. He regarded scientific research as not only a means of making industry more efficient, but also of solving social problems and uplifting the common man. Thus, he established the institute "for the purpose of education in connection with and the encouragement of creative and research work and the making of discoveries and inventions in connection with the metallurgy of coal, iron, steel, zinc and their allied industries." Battelle Memorial Institute opened its doors on King Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, in October 1929.
Battelle Memorial Institute today.
Battelle Memorial Institute has its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. It supports and promotes science and math education, and conducts research and development through contract research, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Every year, Battelle Memorial Institute donates 20 percent of its net income to the communities in which it works.
The Institute conducts research in areas such as global climate change, sustainable energy technologies, high performance materials, next generation healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security products and services for people, infrastructure, and the nation. The Institute has also helped develop commercial products ranging from products to fight diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to the office copier machine (Xerox).


Solonechnoye mine

The Solonechnoye mine is a large mine located in the south-eastern Russia in Primorsky Krai. Solonechnoye represents one of the largest fluorite reserves in Russia having estimated reserves of 2.8 million tonnes of ore grading 67% fluorite.


Korea General Magnesia Clinker Industry Group

Korea General Magnesia Clinker Industry Group is a mining and heavy industrial corporate group headquartered in Pyongyang, North Korea. The company produces magnesia clinker, slightly burnt magnesia, chlorite, firebricks and fireproofing materials.
The group imports some raw materials and some mining and industrial accessories.
Jong Mo Pang, a manager, is listed as a contact person to purchase items from this company.
In 2010, Vesuvius USA Corporation received a licence, from Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), to import dead-burned magnesite into the United States from the Korea General Magnesia Clinker Industry Group.


Tomtor mine

The Tomtor mine is a large mine located in the Sakha Republic. Tomtor represents one of the largest phosphates reserve in Russia having estimated reserves of 500 million tonnes of ore grading 35% P2O5.