George Reginald Starr

George Reginald Starr (born, 6 April 1904 – died, 2 September 1980), code name Hilaire, was a British mining engineer and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organisation in World War II. He was the organiser (leader) of the Wheelwright network in southwestern France from November 1942 until the liberation of France from Nazi German occupation in September 1944. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers. SOE agents in France allied themselves with French Resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Starr's accomplishments include building up a large network of resistance groups, carrying out a number of sabotage operations in the months leading up to the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, rescuing from imprisonment about 50 important resistance leaders and allied airmen shot down over France, and participation as a leader in the liberation of southwestern France from German occupation. By mid-1944 Starr had more than 20 SOE agents working for him, second in numbers only to the earlier (and defunct) Prosper or Physician network.
In the estimation of M.R.D. Foot, the official historian of the SOE, Starr was one of the half-dozen best agents of the SOE in France. He was one of only three SOE agents to be promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel, along with Richard Heslop and Francis Cammaerts. One of the French agents of the SOE, Philippe de Gunzbourg, compared Starr as a leader to Lawrence of Arabia. Starr's wartime record was not, however, without controversy. He had a confrontation with Charles de Gaulle after the liberation of France and one of his agents, Anne-Marie Walters, accused him of permitting the torture of captured collaborators.
Starr's brother, John Renshaw Starr, was also an SOE agent.
Early life.
He was born in London on 6 April 1904, one of two sons of Alfred Demarest Starr, an American bookkeeper who became a naturalised British subject, and Englishwoman Ethel Renshaw. He was a grandson of William Robert Renshaw. He was educated at Ardingly College, and at the age of 16, undertook a four-year apprenticeship as a coal-miner in Shropshire. After studying mining engineering at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, he joined the Glasgow firm of Mather and Coulson Ltd, manufacturers of mining equipment. He worked in several countries in Europe installing mine equipment. Starr's second wife, Pilar Canudas Ristol, who he met in Spain, worked in Spain for SOE during World War II.
Starr was described by his wireless operator, Yvonne Cormeau, as short in stature, five feet six inches in height, very nervous, a heavy cigarette smoker, and a man who took duty and responsibility seriously and would never ask a person to do anything he would not do himself. Cormeau was his closest associate, "confidante and, a few alleged, his lover."
World War II.
Building a network.
Starr was working in Liège Province, Belgium in 1940 when the German invasion began. He escaped back to England with British forces in the Dunkirk evacuation. He joined the British Army, being commissioned on the General List. He was subsequently recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for his language skills (although his spoken French was described as "atrocious") and given the code name "Hilaire".
On 3 November 1942 Starr arrived by boat with several other SOE agents at Port Miou on the Mediterranean coast of Vichy France. A few days later the Germans occupied Vichy which made SOE operations there must more dangerous than previously. Starr was scheduled to go to Lyon to work there, but the Lyon SOE network was penetrated in October 1942 and the agents arrested. SOE agent persuaded Starr to go instead to the Gascony region in southwestern France where a resistance movement was forming. His instincts were correct. SOE networks were more secure in rural areas which had a much smaller presence of German soldiers and milice, the pro-German French militia, than large urban areas.
Starr based himself in Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon, a rural village of 300 persons, without running water or electricity. Local leaders were sympathetic to the resistance and the nearest Germans to the village were in the city of Agen, distant. Starr posed as a retired Belgian mining engineer who had made a fortune in the Congo. From Castelnau, Starr began to build up a local resistance movement, called by SOE the Wheelwright Network (or Circuit). Starr was very conscious of security, communicating with his contacts only through couriers or the spoken word, never putting words to paper, and building up his network one trusted associate at a time. In January 1943, the SOE in London parachuted weapons and explosives into Castelnau. They were hidden in a medieval dungeon beneath the church in the village. Starr's ability to call on the United Kingdom to provide weapons made him a power among the nascent rural resistance organisations called maquis (whose members were called maquisards). Also, in January 1943, Starr borrowed a wireless operator from another network to facilitate communication with SOE in London.
These initial successes aside, in spring 1943, seemingly forgotten by SOE headquarters in London, Starr was suffering from a skin disease probably caused by stress and contemplating failure and the abandonment of his mission. He sent Denise Bloch, an SOE agent on the run from another part of France, to Spain and hence to England with a written report (violating his own rule against written communication) requesting money and a wireless operator of his own. London's immediate answer was to send an aeroplane to hover over Castelnau to communicate with Starr by short-range S-Phone to determine that he was still alive. Starr affirmed his existence by greeting the pilot with a string of expletives and finally got attention from London. It was soon "raining containers" full of arms and equipment for the maquis. Starr's SOE team would expand to include explosives expert , wireless operator Yvonne Cormeau, and courier Anne-Marie Walters.
All did not go smoothly, however, in the fractious world of the French Resistance. Starr had setbacks, rivals and enemies, some of whom he managed to marginalise. The Germans arrested several of his trusted associates. Starr was accused of being a "warlord," a law unto himself, independent of the French Resistance to the German occupation.
Security.
M.R.D Foot said that the motto of every successful secret agent was "dubito, ergo sum" ("I doubt, therefore I survive.") and Starr is on his short list of agents who survived by paying careful attention to security. Starr's caution extended to the people he worked with. On the boat which brought him to France in 1942 he complained about being "in charge of three bloody women," Marie-Thérèse Le Chêne, Mary Katherine Herbert, and Odette Sansom, all SOE agents. He took a special dislike to Sansom, who would become one of the most honoured SOE agents. In December 1942, he was suspicious of another SOE agent, Denise Bloch, who was fleeing from the Gestapo. He initially thought her to be a nuisance and contemplated her "liquidation," but learned to trust her, sending her back to the United Kingdom with an appeal for SOE assistance to his network. Starr also broke with Henri Sevenet, the Frenchman who had brought him to southwestern France and helped him become established. Among his complaints about his courier, Anne-Marie Walters, was that she wore "high Paris fashion," thus violating his principle of being inconspicuous.
Sabotage.
The maquisards and their leaders wanted to begin harassing Germans as resistance forces were doing elsewhere in France. In December 1943 Starr requested and received permission from SOE headquarters to begin attacking the Gestapo and railroads in his region. On New Year's Eve 1943, Starr reported that the maquisards he had trained had destroyed more than 300 locomotives by carefully placing explosives on the engines.
The National Gunpowder Factory near the city of Toulouse was a high priority for destruction by the allies. However, a daylight bombing raid by the Royal Air Force would kill many of the 6,000 French workers at the 'factory. London asked Starr to try to destroy the 'factory as an alternative to bombing. In March 1944 Claude Arnault and Anne-Marie Walters smuggled explosives to Toulouse. On 28 March, Arnault sneaked into the plant at night, placed explosives, and destroyed 30 electric motors out of 31 in the 'factory which were used to grind gunpowder. The 'factory was out of operation for six weeks.
In April and May 1944, the resistance carried out a number of additional sabotage operations against 'factories and railroads, including a 'factory near Lourdes which made parts for aeroplanes and armoured vehicles. Arnault repeated his earlier success by sneaking into the 'factory at night along with three other men and destroying machinery with explosives.
Sabotage successes notwithstanding, the French resistance was impatient in the early months of 1944. The French were beginning to lose confidence that the allies would ever invade France and liberate the country from German occupation. The joke circulated that "the English will fight to the last Frenchman."
Battle of Castelnau.
With the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944, the SOE wanted the maquisards to convert from being saboteurs to armed fighters directly contesting German forces. Starr began distributing arms to resistance groups. Starr collected 300 men, one-half French and one-half Spanish, at Castelnau sur l'Auvignon and prepared to begin an armed uprising against the Germans. The Spaniards in Starr's forces were former members of the Spanish Republican Army who had fled to France after their defeat in the Spanish Civil War. Many of them were communists. Starr was one of only a few SOE agents who was able to persuade the feuding communists and non-communists to join together to form a single resistance force.
However, the Germans learned that Castelnau was Starr's base and on 21 June an estimated 1,500 soldiers of the German army attacked. Nineteen of the maquisards were killed and the Germans captured the village. A rear guard blew up the explosives left behind during the retreat, destroying most of the village. The Germans completed the destruction. Starr and his surviving maquisards retreated all the way to the hamlet of Lannemaignan, west of Castelnau. Another eleven maquisards died during the retreat. On 2 July, the Germans attacked Lannemaignan with artillery and bombers. Still on the run, Starr led the maquisards south to the town of Panjas where he joined forces with his friend, the French resistance leader . Starr's men became part of the Armagnac Battalion with Parisot as the commander. Starr became his adviser.
Armagnac Battalion.
The Armagnac Battalion was a polyglot collection of 1,900 men of a dozen different nationalities who came together in June 1944 after the Normandy landings. After the battle of Castelnau and other conflict, the men of the various resistance groups making up the battalion, including Starr's, were short of ammunition. Starr was ordered by SOE headquarters to attack German army units, but his pleas for air-drops of ammunition were ignored. Angered, he sent a wireless message to London saying, "I have given orders to the men under my command to manufacture bows and arrows. As soon as this is completed, we will attack and destroy these fucking divisions." The message got London's attention and ammunition supplies began arriving.
The battalion fought a battle with units of the German Das Reich Division at Estang on 2 July, but was forced to abandon its positions by German bombing. On 14 July, 4,000 Germans were advancing on the Armagnac Battalion but, inexplicably, withdrew toward Toulouse. On 12 August, the Armagnacs liberated the village of Aire-sur-l'Adour with little loss and on 20–21 August surrounded and accepted the surrender of 192 Germans, including two colonels, at L'Isle-Jourdain, only from Toulouse, the largest city in the region, the objective of the Armagnacs, and the stronghold of the remnants of the German army in the region. Starr, long accustomed to the shadows of the war, now donned his British uniform and led columns of men.
On 21 August, Toulouse fell to the French Forces of the Interior, the umbrella organisation of resistance fighters. Starr and Yvonne Cormeau drove into the city, American and British flags on their car. The liberation of southwestern France was complete. However, the leader of the Armagnac Battalion, Maurice Parisot, was killed on 6 September; while an American aeroplane was landing, a propeller broke away from the motor and struck him.
Starr and De Gaulle.
The withdrawal of the Germans from southwestern France left the area in political chaos in which "feudal barons," of whom Starr was among the most important, took control. On 16 September 1944, General Charles de Gaulle, head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, visited Toulouse. De Gaulle had little respect for the Resistance which had varying philosophies among its different groups of how France should be governed post-war. On meeting Starr and other resistance leaders, De Gaulle denounced them as mercenaries. He ordered Starr to leave France. Starr replied that he was in France under the authority of the allies and he did not recognise De Gaulle as his superior officer. De Gaulle threatened to arrest him but Starr stood his ground, and the meeting ended with a handshake. Nine days later, on 25 September, Starr and his wireless operator, Yvonne Cormeau, made a hasty departure from France.
De Gaulle's reaction to Starr and the resistance fighters reflected De Gaulle's "obsession with restoring the authority of the state and allowing no challenges to its – to his – authority."
Allegations of torture.
In late July 1944, Starr ordered his youthful courier, Anne-Marie Walters, to leave France accusing her of disobedience. When Walters returned to London, she said that Starr had countenanced torture of French collaborators with the Germans. On 1 November 1944, Starr, who had returned to London, was interviewed by SOE. He recounted "with relish" an incident of torture, causing consternation in the SOE although the interviewers said that he could not be blamed for the tortures committed by the French Resistance. In February 1945, a court of enquiry with testimony from Starr, Walters, and others took place. The part of the transcript of the enquiry containing Walter's testimony has disappeared from the record. On 28 February, the conclusion of the "rather perfunctory court of enquiry" (in the words of M.R.D. Foot), was that "there is no justification whatever for any imputation against Lt. Col. Starr of inhumanity or cruel treatment to any prisoner at any time under his control or under the control or troops or resistance forces under his immediate command or control."
Post-war.
After the war, Starr was sent to Essen in the Ruhr district to direct the re-opening of German coal mines. He later returned to his previous employer, Mather and Coulson, as managing director before retiring to live in France.
Starr died in a hospital in Senlis, France on 2 September 1980.


Padma mine

The Padma mine is one of the largest vanadium mines in Russia. The mine is located in Republic of Karelia. The mine has reserves amounting to 4.6 million tonnes of ore grading 2.35% vanadium.


Maurice Russell Brown

Maurice Russell "Mort" Brown (November 11, 1912 – June 24, 2008) was a Canadian mining journalist.
Born in Port Arthur, now Thunder Bay, Ontario, he graduated in 1938 from the University of Toronto with a B.Sc. in mining engineering. Mining instructor Lakehead Technical Institute 1947–1949. In 1949 he joined the staff of "The Northern Miner", Canada's most important mining journal, became editor in 1977 and publisher in 1985, retiring in 1992.
Brown was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 1993.


Kyzyl-Tash Turk mine

The Kyzyl-Tash Turk mine is one of the largest lead and zinc mines in Russia. The mine is located in the Tyva Republic, and has 12.9 million metric tons of ore grading 1.55% lead and 10% zinc, or 0.2 million metric tons of pure lead and 1.29 million metric tons of pure zinc. The mine also has reserves amounting to 482,000 oz of gold and 21.7 million oz of silver.


Government Engineering College, Jagdalpur

Government Engineering College, Jagdalpur (GEC Jagdalpur) is a Public engineering college located in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, India. Established in 1983, it is affiliated to Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Bhilai. It is one of three Government Engineering College in Chhattisgarh along with Government Engineering College Raipur and Government Engineering College, Bilaspur.
History.
Established in March 1983, it was affiliated to Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur and started with an intake of 20 students in Civil Engineering. Again Mechanical Engineering was introduced in 1984 with intake capacity of 30 students. Later, Undergraduate courses in Electronics and Telecommunication (2000), Information Technology (2000), Electrical Engineering (2005), Mining Engineering (2009) and Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering (Civil) (2009) and Thermal Engineering (Mechanical) (2009) started.
Location.
The college was started from forest rest house. In 1990–91, the college shifted in dandakaranya building at Dharampura-1. In 1995–96, it was again shifted in its own present campus. Now, The college campus is spread across an area of 69 acres. It is located in between Dharampura, Negigudha, Gatpadmur and Kalipur. The college campus is surrounded by walls and has three entrance, the main entrance opens in front of Bastar university, second entrance is on the Chitrakote road and the other opens towards residential complex.
Academics.
Programmes.
The college offers Bachelor of Engineering in various fields (270 seats per annum) as well as Master of Engineering (36 seats per annum).
Admission.
Admission to Bachelor of Engineering is done through Chhattisgarh Pre Engineering Test (CGPET) conducted by Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board, Naya Raipur.


Kelian mine

The Kelian mine is one of the largest gold mines in Indonesia and in the world. The mine is located in the east of the country in East Kalimantan. The mine has estimated reserves of 7.8 million oz of gold.


T. S. Lippy

Thomas or Tom S. Lippy (c. 1860 – 1931) was an American millionaire and philanthropist who became wealthy as a prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush.
Lippy was the athletic director of or an instructor at the Seattle YMCA before he and his wife Salome headed north in search of gold in 1896 or 1897 after an injury forced him to leave his YMCA job. Some Scotsmen from Nanaimo had staked claims Fourteen to Seventeen on Eldorado Creek. They decided to abandon Sixteen and Seventeen in order to concentrate on some other claims. Lippy had a claim further up the creek, but restaked Sixteen because his wife wanted a cabin, and there was timber there. Sixteen proved to be one of the richest claims of the gold rush.
Salome Lippy was the first white woman in the area, until she was joined by Ethel Berry. Clarence and Ethel Berry, who also became rich, were neighbors of the Lippys, living a mile away.
On July 25, 1898, the Lippys arrived in San Francisco aboard the "Excelsior", the first ship to reach the lower United States from the Klondike with now-wealthy prospectors; the Lippys brought with them gold valued, according to the "Chicago Tribune", at "not less than $200,000." He sold his holdings in 1903.
He and his wife went on a worldwide tour, before building a lavishly decorated 15-room house in Seattle. He gave generously to the YMCA, the First United Methodist Church and the Anti-Saloon League, and donated the land for a five-story addition to the Seattle General Hospital. He also established a free hospital for miners in Dawson City, and sent "a library of 1000 volumes" to Skagway, Alaska.
He won the 1907 Pacific Northwest Amateur golf tournament and was the Port Commissioner of the Port of Seattle from 1918 to 1921.
Unfortunately, his business investments, "a mattress-and-upholstery company, a brick company, a trust-and-savings bank, and the Lippy Building", all failed, and he died bankrupt in 1931 at the age of 71. However, his widow was provided with $50 a month from a hospital land agreement. Salome Lippy died in 1938.


Tanfield, County Durham

Tanfield is a former mining village in County Durham, England, near Stanley, and the location of Tanfield Railway, the Causey Arch and Tanfield School.
History.
The village was first recorded in 1179 as Tamefeld, believed to be Old English for "field by the River Team", but it is mentioned in an account by John of Hexham of the Scottish invasion of 1138. The village church is from the 10th century.
Economy.
Collieries.
The village has the highest rate of people aged 16–74 who have never worked, the figure stands at 33.33 percent, in the whole of England and Wales.
Religious sites.
The village church of St. Margaret of Antioch dates back to 900 AD, but the present structure was built in the 18th century. It was the parish church of Beamish Hall, former home to the Eden, Joicey and Shafto families. There is a Methodist church in Tanfield Lea.
Notable people.
Tanfield was the home of Tommy Armstrong (1848–1919), the "pit-man poet", whose grave is in the village cemetery.


Planchas de Plata, Sonora

Planchas de Plata (Spanish for "slabs of silver"), sometimes called Bolas de Plata ("balls of silver") is a historic silver-mining district near Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and a few miles south of the border with the US state of Arizona. Native silver was discovered here in 1736 by Antonio Siraumea, a Yaqui Indian, on the "Rancho Arizona" of . Historian Donald Garate believes Urrea's Arizona Ranch to be the likely source of the name of the present US state of Arizona, and he claimed the origin of the name of the ranch was the Basque phrase "aritz ona" ("good oak"). Other historians have, however, debated this. For more detail on the etymology of the name Arizona, see Arizona.
Prospectors and miners rushed to the area of the great silver discovery of October, 1736. It was given the name "San Antonio de Padua" by "Justicia Mayor" Juan Bautista de Anza when he arrived on the scene in November and ordered that all the silver that had been taken from the site be impounded and brought to Urrea's Arizona Ranch, some fifteen miles down the canyon.
Because the large pieces of silver were found in a placer deposit (unusual for silver, and unique for such large masses) the Spanish colonial government maintained that the silver was an artificial treasure trove and so belonged to the crown. The miners maintained that it was a natural placer deposit that belonged to the discoverers under Spanish law. The court case dragged on for years, and in the meantime, Spanish soldiers ejected the miners.
Because his "escribano" (scribe), Manuel José de Sosa, dated all the impounding documents at Arizona, people in faraway places like Guadalajara and Mexico City were soon referring to the silver as the "silver of Arizona." "Arizona" became a household word in early 18th century Mexico, associated with great and sudden wealth.
Some modern writers on lost mines have assumed Planchas de Plata to be "lost," although the location has always been well known.
After the initial placer silver discovery, the district was idle until silver veins were discovered in the vicinity, and between 1872 and the 1930s, at least six mines operated, and ore was treated by a stamp mill and pan amalgamation. The amount of silver produced is not known, although the amount of ore mined has been estimated as between 50,000 and 100,000 tons. No mining has been done since the 1930s, but a Canadian firm has had some encouraging results from exploration drilling in 2007.
References and further reading.
This article incorporates text from Arizona / Planchas de Plata, a
public domain article produced by the US National Park Service.


Thurcroft

Thurcroft is a village and civil parish situated south-east of Rotherham in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. From 1902 to 1991, it was a mining community. It has a population of 5,296, increasing to 6,900 at the 2011 Census.
History.
The name Thurcroft has Norse (Viking) roots as 'thorr' means thunder in old Norse, so is probably at least a thousand years old. According to A. D. Mills in his "Dictionary of English Place-Names", the first mention of Thurcroft is in 1319. Thurscroft: 'Enclosure of a man called Thorir. Old Scandinavian person's name + Old English word Croft.
Until the 20th century, Thurcroft consisted of Thurcroft Hall, the longtime holding of the Mirfin family, and three other farms. Thurcroft Hall was held by the Mirfins (sometimes spelled Mirfield) until 1644 when Robert Mirfin, the lord of the manor, died childless. The property then was carried into the Beckwith family by his widow, who also happened to be his stepsister. The Mirfields and the Levetts of nearby High Melton were interrelated, Thomas Levett having married Robert Mirfin's sister Elizabeth.
Coal mining.
The land on which the village would one day stand was bought in the 1800s (along with the Hall) by a Sheffield brewer (Thomas Marrian), whose son, Thomas Marrian Jr, leased the coal mining rights to [[Rother Vale Collieries]] in 1902. Modern Thurcroft only really came into being with the sinking of the coal mine in around 1909. Many of the terraced houses on the area showed characteristics of coal mining in the last quarter of the 19th century and first quarter of the 20th century. The population grew from next to nothing in 1900 to around 2,000 in 1923: Shortly after which the village saw hard times in the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike]], when 250,000 free meals were given out between May and September. By 1947, the mine employed over 2,000 men, and in the [[UK miners' strike (1984–1985)|1984/85 miners' strike]] the pit was again involved in industrial action.
The coal mine was closed in 1991 despite attempts by the workforce to buy it out.
Church and parish.
[[File:St.Simon and St.Jude's church - geograph.org.uk - 1588986.jpg|thumb|St. Simon and St. Jude's church]]
Before 1995, Thurcroft was within the parish of [[Laughton-en-le-Morthen]] and a permanent stone church was only built in 1937, making it one of the newest on this site (although there was a Methodist chapel built in 1917, and a village cemetery was established in the 1920s). Thurcroft parish became separate from Laughton in 1995. The old Catholic Church is now home to TCF Church.
Big Local.
Residents have created a Big Local partnership made up of local residents and people from organizations involved in the area which will then create a local plan using the ideas of local people. Once the plan is agreed with the Big Local Trust, the partnership can start to spend the money on the plan's priorities.
External links.
[[Category:Villages in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Mining communities in England]]


National Union of Mineworkers headquarters

The National Union of Mineworkers headquarters is a building in Sheffield, England which formerly housed the head office of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
History.
The building was commissioned by Arthur Scargill in the early 1980s in an effort to move the NUM from London to the friendlier territory of the "Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire". Construction began in 1986 and the building opened in 1988. Following the decline of the mining industry the NUM again relocated its headquarters to Barnsley. The NUM occupied the building for less than four years. It then stood derelict for more than two decades and was threatened with demolition in 2006.
In December 2011, plans to turn the building into a casino were approved by Sheffield City Council. It was reported that as a casino, the building would include two restaurants and a rooftop bar. In January 2013 work began to open two restaurants on the ground floor, but developers Quest Property said the casino was on hold but "still an option". In January 2014 developers said the structure had been stripped out in preparation for use as restaurants, offices and for leisure purposes.
A £5 million refit, following which the building would become home to three restaurants on the ground floor and offices on the first and second floors, began in March 2016. The lease on the building was taken up by Quest Property, and the redevelopment funded in part by Sheffield City Council and the city's local enterprise partnership. A large marble frieze, made in Florence, Italy and depicting two miners, was left in place, due in part to its size and weight. In March 2016, both Pitcher and Piano and Turtle Bay were announced as occupiers of the restaurant units. In April 2016 the professional services network Grant Thornton International announced it would become the primary occupier of the building's office space from 2017.
Architecture.
The building was designed by Malcolm Lister and features a prominent central section inspired by the appearance of a mine's pit head. Architecturally, it is designed to blend in with Sheffield City Hall, which it sits opposite. In his 2010 book "A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain", Owen Hatherley cites as ironic the fact that the NUM headquarters is more sympathetic to the history of Sheffield than anything constructed by New Labour, despite the latter's professed concern for "heritage".


Cananea

Cananea is a city in the Mexican state of Sonora, Northwestern Mexico. It is the seat of the Municipality of Cananea, in the vicinity of the U.S−Mexico border.
The population of the city was 31,560 as recorded by the 2010 census. The population of the municipality, which includes rural areas, was 32,936. The total area of the municipality is approximately .
History.
The first non-indigenous inhabitants of the present day Cananea, arrived in 1760 from other parts of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain (colonial México).
In the 19th century General Ignacio Pesqueira, from nearby Arizpe, retired to Cananea. He fought against the Apache who raided the area. One time, while following them into the mountains, he discovered the abandoned Spanish mines and by 1868 he had renewed the extraction of minerals in the Cananea mines. General Pesqueira's wife, Elena Pesqueira Pesqueira, "discovered" a nearby mountain range ("sierra") and the General named the highest peak "La Elenita" ("The Little Helen", 9,327 feet or 2,843 meters above sea level) in her honor. The other peak is named "La Mariquita" ("The Little Mary", 8,123 feet or 2,476 meters above sea level).
In 1889 William Cornell Greene purchased the mine from General Pesqueira and founded the Nogales, Sonora-based company, The Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, S. A. (CCCC or 4C). In June 1906, a labor dispute erupted into the violent cross-border Cananea strike, that resulted in the death of 23 people and dozens injured, in a fight between the strikers and a posse led by Arizona Rangers from the United States. A corrido titled "La cárcel de Cananea" ("Cananea jail") written in 1917 and commemorating the incident has since become famous. At the time of the strike the population of 23,000 included 7,000 Americans and 5,000 Chinese.
On October 31, 1901, the area became a municipality with Cananea town as its seat. On July 11, 1957, Cananea town became a city.
Cananea Jail.
The Cananea jail was built in 1903 and is located in downtown Cananea. It was the first public jail of the city and is currently a museum "Museo de la Lucha Obrera" with exhibitions of photographs and instruments used in mining.
La carcel de Cananea or The "Cananea Jail" song is a corrido that has become part of the culture of Cananea and the state of Sonora. It describes the experiences of a man accused of murdering Chinese immigrants while at this jail. According to historian Rodolfo Rascón, a man called Francisco, nicknamed "El Cucharón de Batuc" ("The Big Spoon of Batuc"), wrote the song in 1917.
Climate.
The municipality of Cananea has a sub-humid Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csa"), with an average monthly maximum temperature of 74.3 °F (23.5 °C) in the months of June to September and an average monthly minimum of 45.3 °F (7.4 °C) in December and January; the average annual temperature is 59.5 °F (15.3 °C).
Atypically for the Mediterranean climate type, the dry season occurs in spring and early summer, whereas the rainy season is in mid/late summer and autumn. Through winter the rains are less intense, but of longer duration. Called “”, they can fall in the form of snow. In the months of February, March, and April there are frequent frosts, hailstorms, and occasional snowstorms. Precipitation averages at annually.
Economy.
Mining.
Mining is the main source of revenue for Cananea and will be for the foreseeable future. Eighty percent of the population is directly or indirectly supported by mining companies in Cananea. The first and most important mining company is Buenavista del Cobre, S.A. de C.V. (formerly Mexicana de Cananea, S.A. de C.V.) owned by the Southern Copper Corporation, and still shares ownership with Grupo Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. Grupo Mexico plans to invest $3.7 Billion US Dollars at the Cananea Mine. This program is expected to increase Buenavista's production capacity from 180,000 tons of copper per year to over 450,000 tons. During 2Q11, Buenavista reached its full capacity and produced 45,588 tons of copper: 15,170 tons of copper cathode at its SX/EW Plant and 30,417 tons of copper concentrate at the Concentrator Plant.
Cananea is among the world's largest copper mines in terms of reserves.
A miners strike at the Buenavista del Cobre mine lasted almost three years, until broken on the night of June 6, 2010, when Mexican police dispersed striking workers. On June 6, 2011, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (“CTM”) was granted the collective bargaining agreement for the Buenavista union, replacing the miner's National Union of Mining and Metallurgical Workers Sindicate, Section No.65 (Labor Union), headed by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, People celebrate these days of mining copper in a festival in Cananea in the town square called "La Feria De Cobre" (translates to "The Copper Festival"
The second and smaller active copper mine is "Minera Maria", owned by Minera Frisco, S.A.B. de C.V. a Mexican company controlled by Carlos Slim Helú and family, including Inmobiliaria Carso, S.A. de C.V. and located west of Cananea. The plant has an installed monthly production capacity of 2,500 tons of copper cathode.
Industry.
Light industry is the second most important activity in the local economy, generating approximately 3,100 jobs. A modest industrial park north of the town comprises an area of . There are several companies operating as . The most important were co-founded by Mr. Benjamin Schirrmeister which they are "Fullfillmen Systems de México", "Stewart Connectors Systems de Mexico" , "Datacenter del Norte", "Customer Specific Cables". In other section they have "Fundidora de Cananea, S.A.", a manufacturer of ball mill liners, and "Road Machinery Company de México, S.A."—which all aforementioned companies together provide approximately 600 jobs and are involved in diverse activities, from cable assembly to steel fabrication.
The intent to open a concrete products industrial park north of Cananea was announced in January 2018 by Ing. Glenn Edward Roy E. of "Ferrocret", a conglomerate that shall produce all manner of precast concrete products such as: hydro conduit; walls, floors, and ceilings of affordable housing; drycast concrete pavers; cinder block; concrete railway sleepers. The factories will utilise proprietary fast-cure concrete formulations in combination with the abundant nearly free-of-cost copper slag "escoria"—an aggregate alternative to expensive riverbed-mined gravel. Over one hundred years of mining activities at Cananea have generated huge manmade mountains of copper slag... thereby providing an ideal, low-cost alternative for supplying graded aggregates for inclusion within those various precast concrete products. Precast concrete products manufacturing promises to become a major industry in the region, and one which shall lessen the dependence of the Cananea job force on a local economy that historically solely has been dependent upon the mines remaining open.
Agriculture.
Cattle raising is important and there were approximately 16,000 head in the last census.
Farming consists mainly of corn, potatoes, beans, sorghum, alfalfa, barley, and apples. Most of these crops are used for local consumption and cattle fodder. The infrastructure consists of 30 wells, equipped with a system of electrical motors, and 10 kilometers (6 mi) of reinforced canals used for irrigation.


Weardale

Weardale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The upper valley is surrounded by high fells (up to O.D. at Burnhope Seat) and heather grouse moors. The River Wear flows through Weardale before reaching Bishop Auckland and then Durham, meeting the sea at Sunderland.
The Wear Valley local government district covered the upper part of the valley, including Weardale, between 1974 and 2009, when it was abolished on County Durham's becoming a unitary authority (from 1894 to 1974 there was a Weardale Rural District). Upper Weardale lies within the parliamentary constituency of North West Durham. The dale's principal settlements include St John's Chapel and the towns of Crook, Stanhope and Wolsingham.
Local climate.
Historically, Weardale's winters have been typically harsh and prolonged with regular snow, now taken advantage of by skiers using a ski run at Swinhope Head.
Wildlife and ecology.
Wildlife includes an important population of black grouse, along with the more usual upland birds. Sea-trout and salmon run the River Wear while adders (snakes) are sometimes encountered on the moors. With regard to flora, some species-rich meadows remain, and the wood cranesbill ("Geranium sylvaticum") and meadow cranesbill ("G. pratense") are easy to spot in summer while the mountain pansy ("Viola lutea") is a characteristic plant of the shorter grass round the upper dale. Around the upper dale also, in late Spring, damp places are bright with yellow marsh marigolds, of a variety (Caltha palustris minor) that is rather smaller than the ordinary marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). The tiny but beautiful spring sandwort ("Minuartia verna") may be seen around old lead workings, enabled by its high tolerance of lead to colonise ground where contamination inhibits other species.
History and historical associations.
Past occupation or activity by man is attested by evidence such as the Heatheryburn Bronze Age collection of gold and other objects, now in the British Museum; altars placed by Roman officers who took hunting trips out from forts in present-day County Durham; and the use from Norman times onwards of "Frosterley Marble", a black fossiliferous layer of limestone occurring near that village, as an ornamental material in Durham Cathedral and many other churches and public buildings.
The small towns of Stanhope and Wolsingham appear to have existed as Anglo-Saxon settlements before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Normans extended farming in this part of the dale, and later in the Middle Ages the upper dale was cleared for "vaccaries" – farms for pasturing cattle. The Bishops of Durham owned the mineral rights: the Church retained these throughout the effective life of the lead industry, miners and companies being lessees.
In 1327, Edward III led his first military campaign in Weardale. The so-called Weardale campaign against the Scots was a military failure but led to the politically important Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton. The campaign was graphically described by a participant, the chronicler Jean Le Bel.
In the 18th century John Wesley visited the dale on a number of occasions, and the valley became a Methodist stronghold. High House Chapel near Ireshopeburn has been claimed to be the Methodist chapel with the longest history of continuous use in the world, and contains the Weardale Museum (not to be confused with the Lead Mining Museum at Killhope) which includes a room devoted to Methodist and Wesley memorabilia.
As a youth between the world wars the poet W. H. Auden walked amid the wild countryside and the relics of the lead mining industry in and around Weardale and found these a lifelong source of inspiration. One place he visited, Rookhope, is also the setting of a ballad, "The Rookhope Ryde", which describes in some detail how in 1569 Weardale men drove out a party of cattle-raiders who had come down from the Roman wall area.
Among contemporary works, Helen Cannam's "The Last Ballad" is a lively historical novel set in the dale in the early 19th century.
Mining history.
Weardale was historically important for lead mining, and there is a lead mining museum incorporating the preserved Park Level Mine at Killhope (pronounced "Killup").
The first documented evidence of mining in the Northern Pennines dates from the 12th century, and records the presence of silver mines in the areas of what are now Alston Moor, just west of Weardale, and Northumberland. Weardale was at this time a forested area and belonged to the Bishops of Durham, who used part of it as a hunting preserve. The villages of Eastgate and Westgate mark the former eastern and western entrances to this forest preserve (King, 1982).
Lead mining in Weardale reached its greatest levels during the 18th and 19th centuries, when the London Lead and Beaumont Companies dominated mining throughout the region, e.g. at the Cornish Hush Mine. During the 1880s the declining prices for lead forced both companies to give up their leases in the area, though the Weardale Lead Company continued lead mining and smelting until 1931. According to Dunham (1990), 28 separate lead smelting operations were active in the region during the height of mining in the 19th century, but by 1919 the last major commercial mine had closed.
Besides lead, silver and fluorspar were extracted from Weardale. Large amounts of ironstone were taken, especially from the Rookhope area, during the Industrial Revolution to supply ironworks at Consett and other sites in County Durham. Local deposits of other minerals were also found on occasion. Ganister (hard sandstone) and dolerite (whinstone, basalt) have also been quarried in the past in Weardale.
The lead mining industry occasioned the coming and going of much of the population. Cornish miners, used to tin-mining, are one group who came to find similar work in the Pennine ore-field. Later, many left Weardale for better-paid jobs in 19th century coal mines in the North East or emigrated to the New World.
Fluorspar.
A major by-product of lead-mining was various crystals including the decorative coloured fluorspar (fluorite), for which no industrial use was known till the later 19th century. Thereafter it was used in part of the steel-making process and also in the manufacture of non-stick frying pans, CFCs for aerosols, and other products. It is not a precious stone but fine samples are prized by collectors. The fluorite from this region, owing to europium impurities, glows with a bluish light under ultraviolet excitation, and the characteristic glow of fluorspar samples from this region are responsible for the word fluorescence to describe that phenomenon. Weardale fluorite is considered by collectors to be amongst the finest, and therefore most valued, in the world. Mines such as Frazers Hush, Boltsburn, Heights, Cambokeels, Blackdene, West Pastures, Greenlaws, Billings Hill and Groverake (amongst others) are legendary for their fine fluorite specimens. Until 2016 some of the finest green fluorite was being mined at Rogerley Mine. Mineralised veins in a nearby limestone quarry were then opened up to create the Diana Maria Mine, and this produces fine green fluorite specimens and the occasional purple.
The North of England Lead Mining Museum at Killhope has a huge working water wheel, known as the Killhope Wheel. This was installed in the 1870s to power the crushing of grit in tanks in an adjacent building, so as to complete the separation of lead ore from worthless stone. The museum also exhibits a fine collection of local minerals, as well as "spar boxes" – display cases made by miners to show crystal specimens they had themselves found.
Economy other than mining.
After the closing of the lead mines, there were few sources of income for the local population left in the upper dale.
In the lower dale round Stanhope and Frosterley, however, carboniferous limestone was quarried on a large scale from the 1840s, when rail links created with Teesside and Consett enabled it to be carried to these and other places for use in the iron and steel-making processes there. These places included Wolsingham in the lower dale, Tow Law on its fringes, and Witton Park further down the Wear valley. Of these, only a business at Tow Law now persists (2009) as a going concern.
Limestone quarrying continued into and beyond the 1960s, a relatively recent and large-scale development being the quarry serving the Blue Circle cement works near Eastgate, set up in the 1960s. This site has now been decommissioned and the major industry in Weardale is now cattle and sheep farming. Only one mine, the Rogerley Mine, is currently being prospected on a very small scale for mineral specimens.
Weardale had a railway reaching as far as Wearhead in three stages opened in 1847, 1862 and 1895, but the section of the line above Eastgate closed between 1961 and 1968 in another series of three closures due to the decline of the lead industry. The remaining line was kept open by cement traffic and excursions until 1993, after which it was eventually taken over by the Weardale Railway. Passenger services recommenced briefly in 2004, but in 2005 the project went into administration. Trains began running again in 2006, under a new ownership structure. The line between Bishop Auckland and Wolsingham was reopened in May 2010. Both heritage (steam and diesel loco hauled) and community (railbus) services are worked. During the first part of 2011 it is anticipated that coal traffic will start loaded at a new terminal in Wolsingham. It will be trucked there from an opencast at nearby Tow Law. The connection to Network Rail has seen a number of through excursions during 2010 although for daily passenger traffic a separate platform called Bishop Auckland West is in use. It is on the site of the former West Junction when Bishop Auckland was a tri-angular station.
Currently there is a regular Monday to Saturday bus service provided by Weardale Motor Services from Bishop Auckland and Crook to Cowshill at the head of the dale; it may be possible at certain times of day to take the bus further on to the Killhope Lead Mining Museum, and to return by bus from it, at those times of the year when the latter is open.
There is a modest tourist industry, and inn/hotel, B&B and self-catering are among the types of accommodation available; there are some caravan sites. There are opportunities for pony-trekking and mountain biking, as well as much scope for the walker.


Nordfeld Consolidated Coal Mine

The Nordfeld Consolidated Coal Mine (German: Steinkohlenbergwerk Consolidirtes Nordfeld, or Grube Nordfeld) was a large-scale but ultimately short-lived and unsuccessful German mining operation on the border of the present-day states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). It existed from 1889 and 1905 in the Pfaffen Woods (Pfaffenwald) on the northern slope of Höcherberg (Mt. Höcher) in the vicinity of the Saarland town of Höchen and the Rheinland-Pfalz towns of Waldmohr and Dunzweiler. The mine's second shaft, named "Wilhelmine," was the deepest in the entire Saar area at the time.
History.
After a coal mine had been established in nearby Bexbach-Frankenholz in 1879, a merchant from Leipzig named Moritz Rosenthal received a concession for a mine at Höcherberg in 1887. The assumption was that the Frankenholz seams would continue in a north-easterly direction, and based on boring samples there were four seams of coal available. Two shafts were eventually sunk: The Fortuna Shaft (Schacht Fortuna) and the Wilhelmine Shaft (Schacht Wihelmine). By 1894 the Fortuna Shaft had been dug to a depth of 628 meters but did not yield coal as expected. Nonetheless, in 1897 an expert submitted a new (and possibly embellished) report predicting an annual output of 300,000 tons for 105 years. In that same year work on the Wilhelmine Shaft began, and eventually went down to a depth of 867 meters. Connecting the two mining shafts was horizontal access tunnel at a depth of 79 meters. The tunnel's mouth ("Stollenmundloch") exited the mountain in the Brandsbach Valley where the company also had various facilities.
Full mining production started in 1902 via an endless cable system of ore cars that delivered coal from the Stollenmundloch to an unloading station where the coal was transferred to standard-gauge railroad hopper cars of the Northfeldbahn short line. Once the cars had been loaded with coal they were transported along a 4.2-kilometer route which ran beside the headwaters of the Glan River, through central Waldmohr, and then to a siding at the Waldmohr-Jagersburg Station where the Northfeldbahn connected with the Glan Valley Railway (Glantalbahn).
Based on the geological conditions actually found underground it soon became clear that the amount of coal that could be extracted economically would be out of proportion to the investments already made. On top of that an attempt to extend the mining concession north and northwest beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Bavaria into Prussian territory failed due to Prussia's veto. The company went bankrupt and the mine was closed on 1 January 1905 putting 500 miners out of work. 7.5 million marks, and immense sum at the time, had been invested in Nordfeld Consolidated. The machines and conveying equipment were later sold to the Frankenholz mine.
Today.
In the districts of Waldmohr and Höchen one can still find the overgrown evidence of this bad investment, from walls and tailing piles to long-unused access roads. A 6-kilometer hiking trail with historical signage and directional markers leads visitors around and through the remains of the operation.


Homestake Mining Company

Homestake Mining Company was one of the largest gold mining businesses in the United States and the owner of the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota. Founded in 1877, it was acquired by Barrick Gold in December 2001.
Homestake was the longest-listed stock in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.
History.
George Hearst (father of William Randolph Hearst), Lloyd Tevis, and his brother-in-law James Ben Ali Haggin bought the 10-acre Homestake Mine from its discoverer, Moses Manuel, for $70,000, and incorporated the Homestake Mining Company on November 5, 1877.
On January 25, 1879, the company became a public company via an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the first mining stock ever listed.
In 1910 and 1917, the company established hydroelectricity plants. They were sold to the city of Spearfish, South Dakota in 2004.
Between 1970 and 1977, Paul C. Henshaw was President of the company.
In 1981, the company bought out its partner in its uranium joint venture, United Nuclear Corporation, for $23 million and assumed operation of four uranium mines and one mill.
In March 1996, the company exercised its option to buy 34% more of a mine in Bulgaria.
In 1997, the company agreed to acquire a majority interest in the Troilus mine from Inmet Mining but backed out of the deal, leading to a lawsuit.
In April 1998, the company acquired Plutonic Resources Limited for $640 million, adding mines in Australia.
In December 1998, the company acquired the 49.4% of Prime Resources Group that it did not already own.
In September 2000, the company announced plans to close the Homestake Mine by January 2002.
In December 2001, Barrick Gold acquired the company.


Greg Rickford

Greg Rickford (born September 24, 1967) is a Canadian politician who currently serves as Minister of Energy, Mines, Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs in the cabinet of Premier Doug Ford, and represents the riding of Kenora-Rainy River in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Rickford previously served as the Minister of Natural Resources and as the Minister of State for Science and Technology in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 2008 federal election and represented the electoral district of Kenora as a member of the Conservative Party until his defeat in the 2015 election.
Life and career.
Rickford was born in Paris, Ontario on September 24, 1967. He has worked as a nurse and lawyer in the remote First Nations communities of the Kenora District. Rickford holds degrees in common and civil law from McGill University, an MBA from Université Laval, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Victoria University and a Diploma in Nursing from Mohawk College.
Federal politics.
Rickford was elected to represent the Ontario electoral district of Kenora in the 2008 federal election and re-elected in the 2011 election.
A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Rickford was the first Conservative MP elected in the Kenora riding and the first right-wing MP to represent the Kenora area since 1921.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Rickford to become Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages on August 30, 2010.
On January 30, 2011, Rickford was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
On July 15, 2013, he was appointed the Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario).
On March 19, 2014, he was appointed to succeed Joe Oliver as Minister of Natural Resources.
He was defeated in the October 19, 2015 Canadian federal election by Bob Nault. Nault had represented the predecessor riding of Kenora-Rainy River from 1988 until 2004, when he chose not to run in the 2004 Canadian federal election. Rickford was pushed into third place, behind Nault and former Ontario New Democratic Party leader Howard Hampton.
Provincial politics.
Rickford re-entered politics on November 18, 2017, when he was acclaimed as the Ontario PC Party candidate in Kenora—Rainy River for the 2018 election. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in the June 7, election and Rickford was elected in his riding.
On June 29, 2018, Rickford was appointed Ministry of Energy, Mines, Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs in the cabinet of Premier Doug Ford.


Guyana Goldfields

Guyana Goldfields is a Canadian company that owns and operates the Aurora gold mine in Guyana. It is a publicly-traded company with shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and previously TSX Venture Exchange. Beginning in 1996 the company acquired exploration rights to the former Peters and Aurora mines with the objective of utilizing modern exploration technology to re-evaluate the potential gold reserves. Following positive exploratory results, the company received financing from the International Finance Corporation and other investors and conducted economic and technical feasibility studies. The Aurora gold mine began commercial production in 2015 and has produced approximately 125,000 to 160,000 ounces of gold per year from the mine since then. These lower than expected results and a revised technical study that significantly lowered the recoverable reserves estimates, led to the removal of the CEO and directors involved in making the investment decision and a class action lawsuit alleging misrepresentations in public disclosures.
Operations.
Guyana Goldfields owns and operates the Aurora Gold Mine in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region, along the Cuyuni River, of Guyana. Guyana Goldfields oversaw its development in 2014-15. While they produced 35,901 ounces of gold in 2015, commercial production began in January 2016. The mine produced 151,600 ounces in 2016 as the company again transitioned to a company focused on mine operation. During 2017, 160,500 ounces were produced, 150,450 ounces were produced in 2018 and 124,200 in 2019. It is an open pit mine that uses a semi-autogenous mill and carbon in pulp processing. The company's March 2020 updated life of mine plan estimated 2.2 million ounces of proven and probable reserves where the gold is dispersed at an average 2.7 grams per tonnes of ore. The plan estimated a 14-year mine life assuming the transition to underground mining can be achieved.
The company is also investigating the feasibility of developing its Aranka/Sulphur Rose deposit, located 23 km from the Aurora mine, as well as exploring at other properties in Guyana.
History.
Guyana Goldfields Inc. (Champs D'Or De Guyana Inc.) was founded in December 1994 by J. Patrick Sheridan Jr. for the purposes of exploring mineral properties located in Guyana. In 1996-97 the company acquired exploration rights to the Peters Mine and Aurora Mine properties which had last produced gold in the early 1900s.
The company had also acquired exploration rights to the Coronation Gulf project near the Coppermine River in Nunavut, Canada, which had last been explored in 1967-69 but moved that property in 2000 to a subsidiary company called Coppercorp, and later to Coronation Minerals (later renamed Guyana Precious Metals and then GPM Metals Inc.) which would be separately listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company's stocks moved from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2003. In 2009 the company would acquire Sheridan Jr.'s other company Aranka Gold Inc. and its properties around the Aremu River area in Guyana to conduct similar exploration work as being done in the Peters and Aurora properties.
The company funded new exploration and, in 2004, reported result that indicated the discovery of a significant deposit in the Aurora Mine area. The company's stock price rose from $0.70 per share in May to $3.50 in November, as Goldcorp bought into the company, that acquiring 8.7% of its shares. The share price peaked in late-2006 at $11.90 as the company had raised funds for proceeding with scoping and feasibility studies. Over several years, as the studies outlined the feasibility of mining and they were issued a license to mine, the company was considered for acquisition by larger companies experienced in developing and operating gold mines, such as Agnico-Eagle Mines, however, the deals did not take place and Guyana Goldfields transitioned from a mineral exploration focus to a mine development company and sold some of its non-core assets to focus on its Aurora and Aranka deposits.
In 2012, they released an updated mine plan for Aurora that had them producing 3.29 million ounces of gold over a 17 year mine life. They raised sufficient funds to pay for the mine through private placements, stock offerings, and borrowings, much of it from International Finance Corporation and Export Development Canada. They began construction of the Aurora gold mine in 2014 after the board of directors approved the $238 million expenditure. In August 2015, Guyana announced its first gold production at its Aurora mine and began commercial Commercial production started in January 2016. However, also in 2015, a revised study lowered the mine's reserves to 2.86 million ounces of gold and a mine life of 16 years, and also the government of Venezuela made a territorial claim for the land underlying Guyana Goldfield's Aurora mine, and threatened the company with legal action.
Guyana Goldfields was listed on the S&P/TSX Composite Component from June 2016 to Dec 2018. During that time, the Aurora mine under-performed and the 2018 third-quarter results were released, Sheridan Jr. was removed from the company causing its share price to fall to $1.62. A new technical study revealed that the 2012 studies had over-estimated the amount of recoverable gold reserves and a proxy fight, led by Sheridan Jr., resulted in the CEO Scott Caldwell and the remaining directors who were present in 2012 also being removed from the company. While Alan Pangbourne took over as CEO in January, the company faced a class action lawsuit in 2020 alleging misrepresentations were made by the company in its public disclosures.


Locarno Mine

The Locarno Mine is situated in Kern County, California, USA. Gold and tungsten have been mined there.


Morobe Goldfield

The Morobe goldfield is in Morobe, Papua New Guinea, and mined gold. It was the largest employer of indentured labour on the island at one time, employing many Biangai people. On 30 June 1936 there were 13,121 labourers in Morobe as a whole, 6816 of whom were classified as involved in mining at Wau and Bulolo. But that was the limit of local involvement until 1957 when the Administration began to issue miner’s permits to Papua New Guineans. By this time the peak of alluvial production was past, but from this point the proportion of the total in local hands rose to 80% by 1975, according to a 1975 analysis of buying records.


Lavrovo-Nikolaevsky mine

The Lavrovo-Nikolaevsky mine is a large copper mine located in the south-west of Russia in Orenburg Oblast. Lavrovo-Nikolaevsky represents one of the largest copper reserve in Russia and in the world having estimated reserves of 813.5 million tonnes of ore grading 0.8% copper.


James Benton Grant

James Benton Grant (January 2, 1848 – November 1, 1911) was an American mining engineer, Confederate soldier, and the third Governor of Colorado from 1883 to 1885. He was born in Russell County, Alabama and died in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
During the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the 20th Alabama Light Artillery regiment in the Confederate Army. He attended what is now Iowa State University for two years and then Cornell University from 1873–1874 before he moved to the Freiberg School of Mines in Germany, where he studied metallurgy. He was also the first Democratic governor of Colorado.


Argyle Pink Jubilee

The Argyle Pink Jubilee is a rough pink diamond and the largest rough pink diamond unearthed in Australia. It was found at the Rio Tinto Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia.
Large stones like the Jubilee typically go to museums or end up at high-profile auction houses like Christie's. Christie's has only auctioned 18 polished pink diamonds larger than 10 carats in its 244-year history. The Jubilee was expected to tour internationally before sold at an invitation-only tender.
Originally weighing , the light pink diamond started its cut in Perth in February 2012 by Richard How Kim Kam. While being cut, the diamond was found to have "one major internal fault line that could not be overcome." Only roughly formed and polished, and down to , the diamond was donated to the Melbourne Museum.


Jack Stivetts

John Elmer "Jack" Stivetts (March 31, 1868 – April 18, 1930), was a professional baseball pitcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning from 1889 to 1899. He played in the American Association (AA) with the St. Louis Browns, and in the National League (NL) with the Boston Beaneaters and Cleveland Spiders. "Happy Jack" (nicknamed due to his pleasant demeanor) was born to German immigrants and raised in Ashland, Pennsylvania. He initially followed his father into the coal mining industry before playing professional baseball. After playing two and half seasons in minor league baseball, he was signed by the Browns. Over the next few seasons, he was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
He led the AA in earned run average (ERA) in his first MLB season, and then in strikeouts two seasons later. In the years spanning from 1890 through 1896, he posted 20 or more victories in a season six times; two in which he won more than 30. In 1892, he won a career-high 35 games, and on August 6, he threw a no-hitter. During his seven seasons with the Beaneaters, he was part of four NL championships, and pitched alongside future Hall of Fame members John Clarkson and Kid Nichols. He was among the best hitting pitchers of his era, and was often used at other positions when he was not pitching. His season total of seven home runs in 1890 stood as the record for pitchers until 1931. He compiled a .298 lifetime batting average, hit 35 home runs, and delivered 357 runs batted in (RBIs).
In his last season in the major leagues, he played for the Spiders, widely considered to be one of the worst teams in MLB history. After his baseball career, he returned to his hometown of Ashland. He worked for the area coal mines as a brewery wagon driver and carpenter, and died there at 62 years of age.
Early life.
John Elmer Stivetts was born on March 31, 1868 in Ashland, Pennsylvania. His father, Adam, a coal worker, and mother, Amelia (née Cooper), were both German immigrants. He was raised in a family of Lutherans, receiving his baptism one month after his birth, and his confirmation on April 2, 1882 at the age of 14 from Christ's United Lutheran Church in Ashland. He attended public schools for eight years, before following his father in the coal trade. He married Margaret Ann "Maggie" Thomas in June 1896, and together they had one son, John, and five daughters, Ida, Mary, Leona, Margaret, and Gladys.
In June 1897, at the age of 19, Stivetts began his professional baseball career with the Ashland representative of the Central Pennsylvania League. He compiled a 9–5 win–loss record (W–L) that season with a 1.35 ERA. He returned to the Ashland team in 1888, though he later joined the Allentown Peanuts of the Central League. He began the 1889 season with the York representative of the Middle States League. It was there when an umpire named Tim Hurst noticed Stivetts' talent; who then recommended him to Charles Comiskey, the manager of the St. Louis Browns of the AA. Comiskey was impressed by the velocity of Stivetts' pitches, and offered him a contract. The Philadelphia Athletics soon made an offer of their own, but he accepted the Browns' salary offer of $275 a month, with a $200 signing bonus.
Career.
St. Louis.
1889 season.
When Stivetts joined the Browns, he became their third starting pitcher in the rotation behind Silver King and Ice Box Chamberlain. He made his major league debut on June 26, 1889 against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched a complete game and struck out nine batters, but lost the game by the score of 6–1 behind several errors made by his teammates. His performance was noted in the press to have "made a good impression."
In his 26 games pitched that season, he had a W–L record of 12–7 and had a league-leading 2.25 ERA while St. Louis finished two games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for the AA championship. He started 20 games, completed 18, struck out 143, and pitched 191 innings. It was reported on November 13, 1889 that he had re-signed with the Browns for the 1890 season.
1890 season.
During the off-season, an up-start league was created, the Players' League (PL), which drew many players away from teams from both the AA and NL teams. The Browns lost a few of their best players as well, including Comiskey, their player-manager, and King, the team's top pitcher. Chamberlain re-signed with the team, but he was sold to the Columbus Solons after pitching in just five games. These movements left Stivetts and Toad Ramsey as the franchise's top two starters, with rookie Billy Hart cast as the occasional relief starter.
The Browns opened the regular season on April 18 with a four-game series on the road versus the Louisville Colonels, and Stivetts started games two and four. In game two, he recorded 13 strikeouts, but lost the game 5–3 on a tenth-inning, two run double by Tim Shinnick. In game four on April 21, Stivetts was again credited with the loss by allowing 17 runs to score, seven of which were earned. He fared better in his third start however, allowing just one run as the Browns defeated the Solons by a 14–1 score. He struck out 12 batters, including the first seven he faced, and hit the first home run of his career.
On June 10, against Fred Smith and the Toledo Maumees, he hit two home runs in one game, the first of three times in his career he accomplished the feat. The first was a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and the second came with his team down by three runs in the bottom half of ninth inning and the bases loaded. It was the first, and only, grand slam of his career, and the second "ultimate grand slam" in history. In a game versus the Brooklyn Gladiators on July 6, manager Chris von der Ahe removed the Browns' starting pitcher Ramsey in the third inning and replaced him with Stivetts. Though the crowd momentarily interrupted the game in protest, the move proved successful. Stivetts hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Browns a 3 runs to 1 advantage, leading the team to an eventual 7–2 victory. The home run was his sixth of the season, and he added another on August 9 for number seven: his final season total. His seven home runs in a season by a pitcher was neither broken nor tied until 1931, when Wes Ferrell hit nine for the Cleveland Indians. St. Louis finished in third-place among the nine AA teams, 12 games behind the Colonels. Stivetts had a W–L record of 27–21, a 3.52 ERA, and 289 strikeouts in 419 innings pitched, along with three shutouts.
1891 season.
On January 25, 1891, it was reported that he had re-signed with the Browns for the up-coming season. The season opened April 8, and the Browns faced the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers at home. Stivetts was the team's opening day starting pitcher. The game ended in the bottom of ninth inning when the umpire, former player and St. Louis native Bill Gleason, determined that Cincinnati was intentionally allowing St. Louis to score in an effort to delay the game. St. Louis was awarded the forfeit when Cincinnati refused to play. AA president, Louis Kramer, declared the forfeit illegal a short time later, and the game was re-played on April 12. St. Louis won the re-match behind the pitching of Stivetts. This was Gleason's second and last career game as an umpire. Over the course of the season, Stivetts was the Browns' ace, pitching mostly every second or third game the team played. When not pitching, or when he occasionally played in right field, the Browns used Joe Neale, Willie McGill, and future Hall of Fame executive Clark Griffith as part of the starting rotation. On May 30, Stivetts started both games of a doubleheader in a home series versus the Philadelphia Athletics. Due to large leads by the Browns, he was pulled from each game; lasting two innings in the first and six in the second.
Stivetts won each of his next three starts, hitting a home run in the third game, on June 6, against the Boston Reds. He hit two more in a game on August 6, against Gus Weyhing of the Athletics, the second two-homer game of his career. He connected for another off of Weyhing in a game on September 16, during a four-run ninth inning that gave the Browns a 10–7 victory. This was his seventh home run of the season, fourth as a pitcher, adding to three that he hit while playing right field. Again, he was among the best pitchers in the AA, and among the league leaders in many pitching categories. His 259 strikeouts led the league, while his 33 victories were third, and his 2.86 ERA ranked fifth. St. Louis completed the season second in the AA among the nine teams, 8.5 games behind the champion Reds.
Boston.
1892 season.
Though Stivetts initially denied it, it was reported on September 28, 1891 that he signed with the Boston Beaneaters of the National League (NL) for the 1892 season. Stivetts joined a pitching rotation that already included future Baseball Hall of Fame members John Clarkson and Kid Nichols, as well as veteran Harry Staley. With Boston's solid pitching staff, and their potent mix of position players consisting of future Hall of Fame members and established veterans, the team was expected to compete for a second consecutive NL championship. When analyzing the 12 National League teams, New York Giants captain, Buck Ewing, remarked about Boston's roster, "I think Clarkson has seen his better days. Jack Stivetts will strengthen them wonderfully. He is one of the best pitchers in the country to-day." In Stivetts' first start of the season on April 23, his pitching was described as "wild", as he issued six bases on balls. He prevailed, however, and Boston won by the score of 11–7. Four days later, he was victorious again, and Boston's W–L record stood at 10–1 after their first 11 games. On June 23, he hit his first home run of the season, along with a double, in a 13–6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The Pittsburg Dispatch reported on July 1 that Stivetts was leading Boston hitters in batting at that point in the season.
With Stivetts now established, Clarkson became expendable and was released from the team on June 30, leaving Boston with a solid three-man pitching rotation for the remainder of the season. On August 6, 1892, Stivetts pitched a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, an 11–0 victory. Later, on September 5, he started, completed, and defeated Louisville in both games of a doubleheader. The following day, the press credited the victories to his ability to work well with runners on the bases. The regular season for the Beaneaters closed on October 15 with a doubleheader against the Washington Senators. Stivetts pitched the second game, and delivered a complete game shutout, his third shutout of the season, and his 35th victory. Although he finished within the top-ten in several pitching statistical categories, his strikeout total dropped to 180 in 1892. His 3.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (K/9) was significantly lower from the 5.3 the previous season.
The AA had dissolved following the 1891 season, with several teams merging with the NL, re-establishing itself as the lone "major league". The NL devised a post-season series to determine a champion between the two half-season victors. This series pitted the Beaneaters (the first-half champions) against the Cleveland Spiders (the second-half champions). The first game occurred on October 17; Stivetts started for Boston, and future Hall of Famer Cy Young pitched for Cleveland. The pitching duel lasted eleven scoreless innings before the game was brought to end by darkness. After Boston won game two behind Staley on October 18, Stivetts started and gained the victory in the game on October 19. The Beaneaters were declared the NL champion after winning five straight after the opening tie game; Stivetts gained victories in three. This playoff scheme was abandoned after the season.
1893 season.
On January 21, 1893, it was reported that Stivetts re-signed with Boston for the up-coming season. In March, Stivetts' name was tied to an "imminent" trade between Boston and Brooklyn that involved pitcher Tom Lovett transferring to Boston. Ultimately, the deal did not transpire, however, and each pitcher reported to their respective teams. Several rule changes were implemented before the 1893 season that intended to even the competitive balance between the pitchers and hitters. One lengthened the distance between the pitching mound and home plate from 50 feet to 60 feet 6 inches, and another required pitchers were to pitch from a rubber slab instead of being allowed to take a running start before they delivered the ball to the batter.
Stivetts struggled with the new distance initially; his first four starts of the season were largely ineffective. On April 29, with the weather cold and rainy, he issued bases on balls to ten New York Giants batters, and surrendered 15 runs. The next two starts were against Baltimore and he allowed seven runs to score the first game despite gaining the victory, and another 16 runs in a loss in the second game. Another ten runs scored on May 10, in a loss versus the Washington Senators.
His troubles adjusting to the new rules, and his athletic conditioning during June and July, prompted the team to sign Hank Gastraight for added pitching strength. He struck out just 61 batters in 283 for a 1.6 K/9, and his ERA increased from 3.03 in 1892 to 4.41. Despite this, he helped Boston claim their third consecutive NL championship with a 20–12 W–L record.
1894 season.
With the previous season's inconsistencies behind him, Stivetts was re-signed and was the team's starting pitcher for Boston's season-opening game on April 19; a 13–2 victory versus the Bridegrooms of Brooklyn. He then lost his next eight starts, however, before beginning a ten-game winning streak that lasted into mid-July. On August 21, he started and gained complete game victories in both ends of a doubleheader versus the Cincinnati Reds. Two days later, on August 23, he pitched Boston to a 12–10 victory against the Spiders. That same day in Ashland, his father was killed in a coal mining accident when a load of coal fell on top on him.
Boston finished in third place among the 12 NL teams in 1894, and Stivetts won 26 games, though most of his numbers in important statistical categories failed to improve or became worse. His ERA rose to 4.90, and his K/9 moved up slightly to 2.0 when he struck out 76 in 338 innings pitched. He issued 127 bases on balls, and surrendered a league-leading 27 home runs. His biggest success in 1894 was his skill as a hitter. Beginning on July 5, Boston played a three-game series against Cleveland. While alternating game to game from pitching and playing in right field, Stivetts hit one home run in each game, the last one coming in the sixth inning off of Cy Young, completing the sweep. He hit a career-high season total of eight home runs. He also achieved career-highs with 64 RBIs, seven triples, and 55 runs scored, while batting .328 in 68 games played.
1895 season.
In early November, due to the threat that a new American Association was near formation, the National League clubs were quick to sign their players without much negotiating. Many of the players' salary demands were met, including Stivetts'. In March, shortly before the 1895 season began, Stivetts claimed he was in "excellent phycial condition", and that he was "many pounds lighter than he was at this period last year." The season opener was on April 19 against Brooklyn, and Stivetts got the start over Nichols for the second consecutive season. Despite being down early in the game, Boston won the game 11–6 behind a seven-run seventh inning. Stivetts scored thrice and gathered two hits in the game, including a double.
During the 1893 season, Stivetts involved himself in a dispute between two catholic players, Tommy Tucker and Hugh Duffy, and their manager Frank Selee. The resulting rift occasionally caused strife among team members. Factions formed, with Duffy, Tucker, and Tommy McCarthy on one side; Herman Long, Bobby Lowe, and Stivetts on the other. These disagreements, in part, led to an incident in a Louisville, Kentucky hotel dining room between Stivetts and McCarthy. In response to something Stivetts had said, McCarthy retaliated by punching him once in the face and then calmly left the restaurant.
His W–L record slid to 17–17, while his ERA improved slightly to 4.64 in 291 innings pitched, as Boston fell to fifth place, 16.5 games behind the NL champions from Baltimore. His hitting suffered as well; his batting average dropped to a career-low .190, and he failed to hit a home run for the first time since his rookie season. Shortly after Boston completed its schedule, Stivetts re-signed for the 1896 season.
1896 season.
During the off-season, trade talks were conducted, but not completed, between the Beaneaters and the Philadelphia Quakers. The deal likely involved Stivetts and Tucker, two players involved in Boston's religious quarrel from the previous season. As the season progressed, the press noted that his season had begun better than the previous season. Stivetts claimed that it was his weight loss (now just over 200 lbs), that was the main reason why he had been more of an asset to the team than in past years.
Though he lost his first start of season, he rebounded to win six starts in succession from April 25 though May 20, including a 7–0 shutout victory on May 8 versus Louisville. On June 12, he pitched Boston to a 15–3 victory over the Reds at home, and connected for two home runs against Chauncey Fisher. This was the third, and last, time he hit two home runs in a single game. He hit three home runs total for the season and improved his batting average to .347 in 222 at bats. He increased his win total to 22, and his 4.10 ERA was the lowest since 1892.
On October 3, it was reported that he was retained by Boston under the reserve clause. When interviewed during the off-season, Stivetts claimed that he would like to quit pitching and play first, that is if a team would give him the opportunity. Selee, Boston's manager, disagreed and claimed that the team needed Stivetts in the pitching rotation instead. It was also likely that he would have received less salary playing at first.
1897 season.
Boston re-signed Stivetts for $2,100 despite the view of some in the press who believed Boston would continue to sink in the standings if they didn't rid themselves of him and the team's manager. Shortly after Stivetts' first start of the season, a 10–5 loss on April 23 in Baltimore, Selee commented that Stivetts will not be pitching much into the future, saying that "he is growing rather stiff, and will not let himself out as he did when he was at his best, some years ago." His weight was now at 217 lbs, so as the team departed on May 10 for a western road trip, Selee sent him back to Ashland to get back into proper game condition. Although he was told not to report back to the team until his weight was below 200 lbs, he had re-joined the team and played right field in the second game of a doubleheader on May 15. His place in the rotation fell behind Nichols, Fred Klobedanz, and Ted Lewis. He made a relief appearance on May 18, before having to take some time off for a sore arm. His next start occurred on May 31, when Boston defeated St. Louis by a 25–5 score. He earned his second consecutive victory on June 11, a 12–4 win over Louisville.
While he only pitched 129 1/3 innings in 18 games during the season, he fared well, and helped Boston re-claim the NL championship, with an 11–4 W–L record, and 3.41 ERA. As a hitter, he continued to flourish, with a .367 batting average, hit a career-high nine triples, and added two more home runs. At the conclusion of the regular season, Boston faced the second place Orioles in a post-season series, the Temple Cup. Created after the 1893 season by Pittsburgh Pirates owner William Chase Temple, the winner of the best-of-seven game series was awarded possession of a silver ornate cup, and 65% of the proceeds to be distributed to the players. Boston players were fatigued by their championship run, especially their games against second-place Baltimore, and now were facing the Orioles again, in the Temple Cup. Because of the fatigue, and an agreed upon even-split of the proceeds, the series was played without much enthusiasm from either team. Boston won game one, but then lost the next four games, giving Baltimore the cup. Stivetts pitched in game four, losing 12–11 to Jerry Nops. Due to McCarthy's sloppy play in center field throughout the series, he was benched in the final game in favor of Stivetts. After four seasons, the series lacked popular support and was discontinued.
1898 season.
Stivetts was again reserved by Boston, and later re-signed for $2000. Due to the Beaneaters' solid, four-man starting pitching rotation of Nichols, Klobedanz, Lewis, and rookie Vic Willis, his role with the team was expected to be as an extra outfielder. Stivetts claimed that he had never felt better in his life and his outlook on the up-coming season was positive.
In a game versus the Reds on June 9, the score was tied 5–5 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Stivetts connected for a pinch-hit, walk-off solo home run. This was his second career walk off home run, his third as a pinch hitter, and the last home run of his career. It was reported on July 22 that a deal had been agreed upon to trade Stivetts to the St. Louis Browns of the NL for Kid Carsey and cash. The deal was contingent upon the acceptance of Stivetts. In early August, the Boston manager Selee sent Stivetts home, commenting that the team did not have use of his services any longer. Tim Hurst, now managing St. Louis, planned on using Stivetts in center field. Stivetts refused to accept the move to St. Louis, and a sale was officially conducted on August 14 that sent him to St. Louis for $2000 and an unnamed player. True to his word, Stivetts did not report, or play a single game for St. Louis that season. Due to his objection to being sold to St. Louis, he claimed that he would remain in Ashland and return to coal mining.
St. Louis/Cleveland.
1899 season.
During the off-season, the owners of the Cleveland Spiders purchased the St. Louis Browns from Chris von der Ahe. They changed the team name to Perfectos, and inherited their players. In early 1899, Stivetts claimed interest in playing for the St. Louis franchise if his salary were equal to what he was paid with Boston. The new owners, to maximize their assets, transferred all the best players to St. Louis, while sending the rest, including Stivetts, to Cleveland. The Spiders released Stivetts on June 13, and he subsequently retired from playing baseball. In 18 games for the Spiders, Stivetts had a .205 batting average and a 0–4 W–L record. He was claimed by St. Paul of the Western League a few days later, but did not play a game for the team. In his 11-season career, Stivetts won 203 games against 132 losses, a 3.74 ERA, and 1223 strikeouts in 2887 innings pitched. In addition to his 35 career home runs as a hitter, he collected 593 hits in 1992 at bats for a .298 batting average, and had 357 RBIs.
Post-baseball/Legacy.
After his retirement from professional baseball, he worked for the coal industry in various capacities. He was listed as a carpenter in both the 1910 and 1920 Federal Census. He operated a brewery wagon for a coal company in his hometown of Ashland. In April 1912, he was working as a carpenter for the Black Ridge mine in Conyngham, Pennsylvania. He occasionally played on small clubs around the Ashland area, and in May 1902, he survived a bout of smallpox. By 1930, he was no longer working. He died on April 18, 1930, at the age of 62 in Ashland, and is interred at Brock Cemetery.
He was described by sportswriters of the time as one of the fastest pitchers in the league, comparable to Amos Rusie and Ted Breitenstein. Kid Nichols remarked in 1902 that Stivetts' speed was as fast as Rusie, and could have extended his career much longer had he taken better care of his body. Baseball writer O. P. Caylor wrote that Stivetts' issues were entirely his own, blaming his hard-drinking lifestyle and his inability to remain in good condition.


Croy, North Lanarkshire

Croy is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. A former mining community, Croy is situated south of Kilsyth and north of Cumbernauld, some 13 miles (21 km) from Glasgow and 37 miles (60 km) from Edinburgh on the main railway line between the two cities. Croy has a population of about 1,390.
Croy railway station is the transport hub for the surrounding area and is one of the busiest stations in the Scottish Central Belt. The station has frequent services seven days a week to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling. The station has undergone significant expansion in recent years including extended platforms, increased car parking facilities, and a new station building & ticket office. The line has been electrified as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme.
Antonine Wall.
On Croy Hill, to the north east of the village, are remnants of the Antonine Wall, built by the Romans between AD 142 and 144, including a fort and two beacon platforms. Croy hill's neighbouring forts were Barr Hill to the west and Westerwood to the east. Two communication platforms known as ‘expansions’ can be seen to the west of the fortlet. Alexander Park excavated the site in 1890–1891. Sir George Macdonald wrote about his excavation of the site which occurred in 1920, 1931, and 1935. At Croy Hill, the ditch in front of the rampart was not excavated by the Romans. It is likely that hard basalt and dolerite of the hill was virtually impossible to shape with Roman tools. This is the only place along the Wall where the ditch was not dug. There is a bath house just outside one fort.
Mining town.
The modern settlement of Croy as it appears today is primarily the result of a coal mine being established in the mid-1800s. This attracted a sizable population of Irish immigrants to the area seeking employment and is the reason for the village's strong Roman Catholic origins. A single row of original miners' cottages is still present and occupied on the Constarry Road high street; the cottages feature highly distinctive red brickwork and are exceptionally well preserved. Locals affectionately refer to the row as 'Coronation Street' due to the similarity with the houses of the iconic UK television series.
Croy has a Roman Catholic primary school (Holy Cross Primary) and a large Catholic church (Holy Cross Church) that services a substantial congregation from all over the local area. The church has been established for over 100 years and has some impressive architectural features; the church bells are rung prior to each service and can be heard throughout the village. Another impressive architectural feature is the Croy Railway Viaduct (known locally as the four arches). Built in the mid-1800s, the viaduct can be accessed via a heritage path running alongside Croy station. The path was redeveloped with the Croy station improvements and is now well signposted and more easily accessible. In 2013 it was announced that Croy Quarry, near the World Heritage Site of the Antonine Wall, was to close. Aggregate Industries lost their license to extract minerals at the end of 2017.
Croy Miners Welfare Club and other amenities.
In 2002 the Croy Miners Welfare Charitable Society received a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund of £500,000. The grant was used to demolish the old Croy Miners Welfare Club and build a large multi-functional leisure facility to house several of the area's groups and societies. Those using the building included the Croy Historical Society, Croy Silver Band, and the Croy Male Voice Choir. Despite the sizable investment, the club suddenly closed its doors and declared insolvency without warning in 2012. The reason for this is not known and the building remains closed to date. The club's legal status is currently classed as dissolved and reports indicate the building is to be put up for sale in the near future.
Other amenities in the village include a newsagents/post office, Chinese takeaway, Indian takeaway, bakery, barbershop, and Salon. The village once had a pub named the Celtic Tavern, later known as The Croy Tavern, but this ceased trading in the early 2000s and was eventually demolished. A car wash now stands in its place.
Croy Shrine.
A notable feature of the village is the Croy Shrine located in the Nethercroy area to the north-east. The Shrine was built around a natural spring in the mid 1970s by local residents and featured a statue of The Virgin Mary in a grotto scene with a stone channel in front to allow access to the spring water. The Shrine fell into a state of disrepair over the years due to neglect and vandalism. In 2013 some local residents rebuilt it and a rededication ceremony was held in 2014.
Sports.
Antonine Community Sports Hub.
In 2012 a state of the art £1 million pound sports facility was opened in the village. Spearheaded by local residents and part financed by North Lanarkshire Council, the facility is home to a full size 3G football pitch with enclosure and stadium quality floodlighting, a 2 floor community pavilion with changing rooms and meeting area, and additional goalposts and line markings to allow conversion to 3 smaller football pitches when needed.
Links to Celtic F.C..
Despite the small scale of the village, Croy has a series of remarkable high-profile links with Scottish football team Celtic. At one stage there was a junior (non-league) football team in the village, known as Croy Celtic. The village had a pub named The Celtic Tavern and in the late 1990s it featured prominently in matchday programmes. The village is almost exclusively populated with Celtic supporters and has a large Supporters Club (Croy CSC).
Former player Jimmy Quinn, considered a Celtic legend and one of the club's greatest ever players lived in the village and former Celtic owner Fergus Mccann, the man credited with saving the club from extinction and now recognised as one of the most important figures in the club's history, lived in Croy and was the social convener of the Croy Celtic Supporters Club.
In addition to Jimmy Quinn, former Celtic players who lived in the village include Andy McAtee, John Morrison, Frank Meechan, Tom McAteer, James Culley, Pat McMahon, and Jimmy Quinn (grandson of Jimmy Quinn named above). Former Celtic players not from the village but who played for Croy Celtic include Arthur McInally, Tommy McInally, Frank Murphy, and Andrew Miller.
Notable residents.
Other people of note with links to the village include Scottish folk singer and accordion player Will Starr. and former WBO Flyweight world champion boxer Pat Clinton.
In July 2020 local resident and the serving SNP counciller for Kilsyth and Croy, Mark Kerr, was charged by Police Scotland with 5 offences relating to historic sexual abuse. Due to Mr Kerrs position as a serving government official, the charges generated attention nationwide from various news outlets. A court case is pending.


John S. Bransford

John Samuel Bransford (August 26, 1856 – 1944) was the 15th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1907 to 1911.
Biography.
Bransford was born in Richmond, Missouri. As a child, Bransford had traveled the Mormon Trail with his family on their journey to California in 1864, stopping temporarily in Salt Lake City. In Plumas County, California, Bransford was a county assessor from 1886 to 1890 and served three terms as the county sheriff. He was elected to these positions as a Democrat.
Bransford moved to Salt Lake City in 1899 and remained there permanently. In 1900, Bransford was elected the president of the Salt Lake Stock and Mining Exchange. In 1904, he joined Utah's anti-Mormon American Party, but remained a member of the Democratic Party.
Bransford became the mayor on August 13, 1907, 11 days after Ezra Thompson resigned due to ill health and accusations of corruption. Bransford was unanimously elected by the city council as the replacement for Thompson. Bransford served out the remainder of Thompson's term and was elected mayor in the election of 1907. He was re-elected in 1909, and served until the end of his second elected term in 1911.
As leader of the American Party, Bransford was considerably less vocal in his anti-Mormonism than his predecessor had been, and the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were much relieved to have Bransford rather than Thompson leading the city where their church was headquartered.
Bransford's most notable achievement as mayor was the creation of a walled red-light district in Salt Lake City, known as the "Stockade", which restricted the prostitutes of the city to working in the square block between 100 and 200 South and between 500 and 600 West.
After Bransford left office, the American Party collapsed. He was a delegate from Utah to the 1912 Democratic National Convention and was a member of the Platform and Rules Committee.


Bob Miller (Nevada governor)

Robert Joseph "Bob" Miller (born March 30, 1945) is an American former attorney and politician who served as the 26th Governor of Nevada from 1989 to 1999. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1987 to 1989. After his re-election in 1994, no Nevada Democrats were elected to the governor of Nevada for 24 years until Steve Sisolak won his former governor's mansion in 2018.
Life and career.
Miller was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved with his family to Las Vegas, Nevada as a child. His father, Ross Miller, was a bookmaker, who, according to his son's 2013 autobiography, "Son of a Gambling Man", had operated on both sides of the law on some of the meaner streets of industrial Chicago.
Bob Miller attended Roman Catholic schools. He graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 1963 with honors, and from Santa Clara University in 1967, earning a degree in political science. He received his J.D. degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California.
Miller served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1967 to 73, and later in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He served as Clark County Deputy District Attorney from 1971 to 73. In 1978 Miller was elected Clark County District Attorney, and in 1982 became the first holder of that office to win re-election. He was president of the National District Attorneys Association in 1984.
Elected the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 1986, Miller was sworn in for a four-year term on January 5, 1987. On January 3, 1989, Miller succeeded to the governorship when Richard Bryan resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. Miller was elected to two full four-year terms as governor, in 1990 and 1994, and served until January 4, 1999; his decade in office made him Nevada's longest-serving governor. Lifetime term limits prevented him from seeking re-election in 1998. He was the last Democrat to serve as Nevada governor until Steve Sisolak in 2019. In 1997–98, he served as chairman of the National Governors Association. Miller has a middle school in Henderson, Nevada named after him, which opened in 1999.
Miller presently serves on the board of directors of Wynn Resorts and International Game Technology. He is the Principal of Robert J. Miller Consulting, which provides business-to-government and business-to-business advice and assistance. He is also a senior advisor with Dutko Worldwide, a bipartisan government relations company headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Family.
Miller and his wife, Sandy, have three children, including Ross Miller, who served as Secretary of State of Nevada from 2007 to 2015. He and his wife currently live in Henderson, Nevada.