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First, I didn't know where to put this thread so, Admin, Mods...Do with it what you will.
Crash, what do you mine for ?...Blood diamonds ?...Gold ?...How long a stretch do you stay inside the mine ?...Are you ever worried ?...Bad things happen in mines here, do they where you are ?...I really am interested...I'm always curious why people are so willing to risk their lives for dollars.
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I work for an open cut copper mine in Irian Jaya (West Papua) As a copper mine, one of it's by products is Gold and it just happens to be the biggest gold producing mine in the world, not bad for a copper mine!
It's an open cut mine, so I don't go underground, although the bottom of the pit is a pretty scary place and I tend to avoid it. I do a 5 x 2 week rotation, which means I spend 5 weeks at the mine and then they fly me home for two weeks. I get paid in US dollars, tax free into an Australian account. There are accidents at tis mine, but being US owned their focus on safety is a lot better than some of the Asian owned operations. Their Moral compensation to the locals can leave a bit to be desired at times though..
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that is extremely interesting! be safe! 
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Duchess - this forum is for general discussions so no probs. Crash - VERY interesting! It's an extremely rare opportunity to get mocked by a real miner ...
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crash Wrote:I work for an open cut copper mine in Irian Jaya (West Papua) As a copper mine, one of it's by products is Gold and it just happens to be the biggest gold producing mine in the world, not bad for a copper mine! 1. So, do they call it "copper mining" as a political front point? It seems that they would mine the gold instead of the copper...right?::dunno::
2. Do you get to keep any of that by product if you happen to see some fall and scatter while you are getting all the precious copper?
3. What does copper look like when it is in that raw form?
4. Aside from the most obvious risk of a cave in, are there any other risks to miners in that type of open mine?
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They call it a copper mine, because that is the main process ore pulled out by tonnage pa. They value the by-product very much I kid you not. They also pull out Zinc, tin and small quantities of lead, everything is valuable in the minerals boom across the globe atm. Copper ore varies from in different rock formations, but once concentrated looks like a weird geen powdery substance. The most obvious risk is landslides due to unstable strata, or wet weather. Being squashed by a 2000 tonne truck is also another. This mine is at an elevation of 6500+ feet, there is a permanent mist all day.
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Do people steal gold from there?
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The gold leaves there as a concentrated ore, not as ingots or nuggets or anything like that. It would be pretty hard to nick anything of value
“Two billion people will perish globally due to being vaccinated against Corona virus” - rothschild, August 2021
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ok, now I am pissed! ::angrier:: (totally serious)
That's some shit I would have gotten involved in straight out of college if I had any clue......because I LOVE THAT SHIT!  ::hbeat::
Now, I'm gonna pick your brain to no reasonable end Crash!::hugs:: I'll have to beg you to do a post on that topic at my forum. How did you get into that field? Were you military prior to this or what?
Who goes into this area? Ecologists, geologists, engineers, archeologists, ??? How is it determined where they will mine and who makes the first discovery that leads to what metals they concentrate on excavating (or whatever you call it).
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crash Wrote:The gold leaves there as a concentrated ore, not as ingots or nuggets or anything like that. It would be pretty hard to nick anything of value Thanks for the scoop.
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Zenith Wrote:ok, now I am pissed! ::angrier:: (totally serious)
That's some shit I would have gotten involved in straight out of college if I had any clue......because I LOVE THAT SHIT! ::hbeat::
Now, I'm gonna pick your brain to no reasonable end Crash!::hugs:: I'll have to beg you to do a post on that topic at my forum. How did you get into that field? Were you military prior to this or what?
Who goes into this area? Ecologists, geologists, engineers, archeologists, ??? How is it determined where they will mine and who makes the first discovery that leads to what metals they concentrate on excavating (or whatever you call it).
Pissed why?
ok.. let's see.... I got here through a pretty long road. I did a trade as a mechanic when I left school, then later I studied engineering. I worked as a sales engineer for a big american oil company for numerous years. I moved into the developmental engineering side of lubricants and studied a post grad masters degree in tribology. After leaving big oil, I worked for myself for a number of years as a consultant, often to bigger mining companies around South East Asia. My wife died of breast cancer a while ago and I was kinda head hunted for this job, it all kinda fitted together.
As for who goes into this area? Engineers, mechanics, Geo's for sure, I doubt archaeologists would have any fit unless the site to be mined was of some historical sensitivity. It's not that hard to break into, if you get a small amount of experience in a relevant field and then whore your CV across numerous companies, as long as you are prepared to live remote you will get offers. As for who finds the sites? Every major miner has teams scouring the earth for deposits. Some independants do it and sell their Geo data to the miners who then start bidding for leases, it's a bit dog eat dog
“Two billion people will perish globally due to being vaccinated against Corona virus” - rothschild, August 2021
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Crash, sorry about your wife.
I had to look up tribology!:
the study of the effects of friction on moving machine parts and of methods, as lubrication, of obviating them.
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You have nothing to be sorry for, Frank, it wasn't your fault. Most people have to look up tribology, there aren't too many about, hence the head hunt
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Pretty long road indeed Crash! I'm too old to do that sort of thing now, but I will certainly tell my son about it. He might have an interest in that field. He received a partial scholarship to college and started his studies in engineering. I think it was electrical engineering he was originally interested in. Would chemical engineering be a good field of study for what you do?
I too am sorry about your wife (our fam has lost a few members to that dreaded disease. Currently, two more have recently been diagnosed:()
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Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, Structural, Geophysic, Mining Engineer, take your pick. They're all pretty incestuous fields
“Two billion people will perish globally due to being vaccinated against Corona virus” - rothschild, August 2021
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