Iron Miners
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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:37 am 
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Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:15 am
Posts: 38
Location: McConnico, Arizona
fredmcain wrote:
Dawn_C wrote:
I use tracks in my mine for a few reasons. #1 is because the rail AND the mine train was already in the mine when i aquired the mine (I have 9 mines and my main one im most interested in is the one with the goodies in it) and the second reason is because i just dont have the 'ump' to be running wheelbarrowfuls of rock all down the tunnels and out the entrance to the dumps. Running the ore cars is just MUCH easier for me.

Dawna


I'm glad to hear that you are still using cars & tracks. It seems to me like the only really logical thing to do. But many larger mines have gone trackless and use these huge, rubber-tired "wart hogs" (LCD's, I think they call them) but I really don't understand what the advantage is.

Some people have told me that the "wart hogs" are more economical because they dispense with the cost of the track. But it looks to me like the drifts and passages have to be much, much larger to allow the LCD's. Plus, they burn diesel so I would think that would increase pollution in the mine. It was pointed out on another mining group I belong to that ventilation is so good nowadays that the exhaust from the wart hogs is not an issue.

But why burn diesel fuel when you can use electricity?

Perhaps this is a cyclical thing and mines with tracks are just out of favor right now, I don't know.

I hope you keep using them, though!

Regards,
Fred M. Cain



Actually at one time i was seriously thinking about going with something similiar to the LCD but then i got to thinking the same thing you was thinking, ventilation, ventilation, ventilation with all the diesel or gasoline smoke that would be confined in the mine while i was working it. I figure with my drilling and small scale blasting and the dust all that produces. i think i could do without the smoke. Another reason i decided just to stick with the ore cars is id have to pull up my tracks all through the mine and widen the tunnels to accomodate the gas driven stuff. As for the electricity, i don't have it in any of my mines except the generator i use for different things around there. I just decided instead of having to put in all that extra work to just stick with the mine cars.


Dawna


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:35 am 
So, you use your strength to move the ore cars? What do you mine?


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:45 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:21 am
Posts: 179
Location: United States
Dawna,

Do you use battery powered motors or "trammers"?

Regards,
Fred M. Cain


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:14 am 
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Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:15 am
Posts: 38
Location: McConnico, Arizona
fredmcain wrote:
Dawna,

Do you use battery powered motors or "trammers"?

Regards,
Fred M. Cain




I have 48V trammers that takes 4 6v batteries.Two of them(trammers i mean). They was already in the mine when i aquired it. All i did was just fix them up well enough to run them. The mine they was in is a patent and i was able to aquire the patent and from some other people that have thier own patents up in that area was telling me that when they closed down the mine back in the 40,s, that all the ore cars, trammers, tanks, pumps, etc was taken into the mine and the mine entrance blasted shut. Thats how i found them.

After i aquired the mine i found the mine train near the back of the mine still on the tracks. It was the 2 trammers, 8 ore cars, 4 are 1 ton cars, the other four are bigger cars that run on the 20lb track(the mine tracks was setup with the standard 8lb track and 20lb track ,one inside the other of sorts.Why they setup the trackage this way i have no clue.), a flat car and a timber car (a flatcar that has wooden uprights on it).

Now, about the trackage... they had the tracks laid with the smaller gauge track inside the larger gauge track so they obviously was using two different sized ore cars, possibly one size for the ore and the other size for what they thought might be waste rock. These tracks end at the hopper about 300 feet ahead of the mine entrance. About halfway between the hopper and the mine entrance, they had 'ears' that went off to the left and the right of the main track for a short distance where they stored the cars that they wasnt using at the time BUT someone had graciously pulled up the track and just left the ties where the tracks once laid. I already replaced those missing sections of track though since i thought that was a brilliant idea to have a storage area for the cars when im not using them in the mine at the time.


Dawna


Last edited by Dawn_C on Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:01 am, edited 3 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:17 am 
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Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:15 am
Posts: 38
Location: McConnico, Arizona
Miner Dave wrote:
So, you use your strength to move the ore cars? What do you mine?


Actually i probably COULD move the ore cars around loaded, although i havent yet and although i have moved them around while empty, however, i have a couple of guys that help me out at the mine on occasion and they have moved the cars around fully loaded.

Actually i mine whatever is mineable and whatever i can make dividends on, however, my main goal is gold and silver. The mine was originally a gold/silver mine.

Dawna


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 7:58 am 
Nice! how do you refine the ore?


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:51 am 
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Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:13 am
Posts: 237
Location: New Zealand
Fred:
Another mine with rail still in place was the Phoenix Mine near Idaho Springs Colorado. Run by a father and son, mine tours during the summer and actually mining after tourist season. Last time I was there was 2009, regret not looking them up last year.


Dawn_C:
The 12V batteries you have in your trammer. Are these deep cycle, forklift or heavy duty amp/hour automotive batteries? I'd sure like to know please. What sort of running and charge times are you getting by with?


Chris
in New Zealand

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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:37 pm 
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There are many coal mines in WV, PA, VA, OH and KY that use tracked rail vehicles. As for haulage, there are no bituminous coal mines left that use rail locos for hauling coal, they are only used for transporting personnel, supplies and equipment. Consol Energy's Shoemaker Mine, in Benwood, WV, was the last mine to haul coal with 300VDC electric 50-Ton Jeffrey trolley locomotives. Like mentioned before, some anthracite mines still use rail for haulage. Those sites use either homebuilt battery locos or Mancha 1-1/2-ton trammer's.

Now for metal mines, there are a few that still use rail haulage in the USA and Canada. The underground mines in the Southwest and Northwest use battery or internal combustion locomotives and rail cars, while the majority use rubber tyred vehicles.

I think there re only two mines left in the entire SW that use trolley equipment. One mine is a molybdenum mine and the other is a diatomaceous earth mine, located in California.

Ray


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:50 pm 
What is molybdenum and diatomaceous earth? I have never heard of them.


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:49 pm 
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From various sites: Molybdenum (often referred to as “Moly”) is an important metal in both the industrial world and our daily lives. It was found to be a distinct element by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1778 but retained its name from the Greek word ‘molybdos’ or lead-like. In its pure state, molybdenum is a lustrous grey metal, somewhat heavier than iron but melting at a much higher temperature – 4730 degrees Fahrenheit as compared with 2795 degrees Fahrenheit for iron.

Diatomaceous earth, also known as diatomite or kieselgur, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. This powder has an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and is very light, due to its high porosity. Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator, especially in high-temperature applications such as furnaces and boilers, as described in this film clip. In the United States, large deposits of diatomite are found in California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:42 am 
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Location: United States
Industrial Rail Ray wrote:
There are many coal mines in WV, PA, VA, OH and KY that use tracked rail vehicles.


Now for metal mines, there are a few that still use rail haulage in the USA and Canada. The underground mines in the Southwest and Northwest use battery or internal combustion locomotives and rail cars, while the majority use rubber tyred vehicles.

Ray


What about Indiana? Are there any underground coal mines in Indiana still using rail for personnel and/or equipment if not for coal haulage?

Also, I wonder if a lot of the interest in rubber-tyred vehicles might be because the sticker price on them is lower up front, not because of direct operational efficiencies. Would anybody have any ideas about that?

Regards,
Fred M. Cain


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:49 am 
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Location: United States
Kiwi#1 wrote:
Alleghany. Ca.
http://www.origsix.com/tmarticle.asp?id=293

Lots on Utube

Chris
in New Zealand


You know, I was looking at this website some more. I didn't catch the first time that they have a three to four hour underground tour! (By special reservation only). Sounds pretty cool! You can also buy common stock in the mine. I might consider that just for a lark and not necessarily a way to make money.

I am quite familiar with the West and California, too, but I have never heard of Alleghany, Calif. I'll have to "Google".

Regards,
Fred M. Cain


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS - FOR SALE?
PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:23 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:21 am
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Location: United States
Group,

I would like to add on and extend this thread just a bit. Is anyone on our group aware of any "hard rock" mines in the West that are "abandoned" with tracks in place where the owner might be willing to consider selling the track?

The reason I ask this is that I have come into contact with a small, independent gold miner in Northern California who wants to start mining but shies away from rail 'cause he thinks it's too expensive. So, he is trying to design and build and "ore car" with rubber tires to avoid the high costs of acquiring track. He told me it's really a shame 'cause he does have a rail-based mucker that he'd like to use.

So, I wondered about acquiring track from abandoned mines. Don't get me wrong, here, normally I would vehemently oppose any track removal from abandoned mines because that defaces and destroys the truly historic character of the property. *BUT* if it would serve to help out a small miner who really does intend to use the rail for active mining - as opposed to just selling them for scrap to make a fast buck, then I would certainly go along with that.

What about some of the others on our group? Chris, Dawna, and both Mikes? What do you think about this?

Regards,
Fred M. Cain


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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:51 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 2:34 pm
Posts: 6872
Location: Within 60 Miles of the Northern Anthracite Field
i dont have any contacts out west. however rail for a small mine is the best way to go. the floor of a mine can not be kept free from debris and rocks. it would be a nightmare to try and push a rubber tired car full of several hundreds of pounds of rocks over it. the mine i worked at we hand trammed a 1 ton coal car about 1000 feet at the longest point to the slope. i wouldnt even think that would be possible with rubber tires. now, if its powered thats a different story. light rail can be bought at scrap price if you can find it used and is not that expensive when you look at the big picture when setting up a mine. heck, we scrounged up about 800 feet of it for free!

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 Post subject: Re: MINES WITH TRACKS
PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:57 pm 
Where did you get it from?


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