MARCH 2004 NEWSLETTER: WEBSITE EDITION
From
the Chairman
It’s been a busy winter for most of us, as usual. Lot’s of things to get ready for the spring and summer seasons. Things are looking up for most of the aggregate businesses this year, which is good news. As our economy plods forward, let’s keep in mind that the State can ignore highway infrastructure forever! On another note, I hope some of you were able to make it to the SME National meeting last month. I’m sure it was a good experience for those who went. I’d like to thank John Head for officially representing the Chicago Section. I didn’t make it, but I have to say I enjoyed being able to take a short breath from the monthly section meeting schedule. For those who made our last section meeting in January, we had an enjoyable time hearing from SME’s Henry Krumb lecturer, Susan Courter. We found out that PR can actually be a money-making enterprise, to the benefit of both the producer and the local community chest. As some of you may have noticed, Mike Dunn and I sent out a feeler to test the interest in an underground tour of the Conco-Western underground facility in North Aurora in late February or March. The response was so overwhelming that we had to back off the idea for a while to work out the logistics. We are hoping to come up with a solution by this summer. I will keep you informed. None-the-less, I’m looking forward to seeing you at our next meeting on the 23rd. Once again we will have an SME National representative, so let’s show our support by showing up. See you there. -- GORDIE
From the Program ChairmanThis Meeting“SME Member Survey 2002 - The Results and How It Is Being Used” The Society of Mining Engineers has noted with increasing concern the slow drop in membership in the society for a number of years. Some was due to the contraction in the industry in the U.S., but of greater concern was the number of members still active in the industry who did not renew their memberships, or engineers new to the industry that did not join. In 2002 the SME conducted an extensive member survey in an attempt to determine why active engineers were dropping their membership, or not joining the Society, and how the SME could better serve the current members and attract new members. The results of this survey are being used by the SME to develop and implement new products and programs to serve the membership. This talk will outline the survey results, the changes that resulted from it and how they are being brought about. He will also discuss the current SME membership staus and will be open for feedback and questions. John Weibmer is Marketing Division Manger for Caterpillar Inc. at Global Mining at Peoria, Illinois. He is a mining grad from University of Alsaka and spent the first three years of his career as Technical Editor of Mining Engineering Magazine. He then moved to CAT and has been with them for 23 years. His group is responsible for the marketing of Caterpillar products to the surface mining industry worldwide.As an active member of the SME, he is one of the six Directors of the SME from the Mining & Exploration Division. Last MeetingSusan
Courter, of Courter Resources, Oshkosh, Wisconsin gave a presentation titled
“Stone Soup – The Story of Success in the Community”.
The presentation focused on the effect that Quarry Quest, which is
sponsored by Michaels Materials of Neenah, Wisconsin, has had on the public
perception of mining in the local area, and went on to look at the effect that
perception has had on the company permitting efforts, complaints and the bottom
line. Ms. Courter pointed out that
in just four years, Quarry Quest has attracted nearly 70,000 people, raised over
$295,000 for charity, and measurably improved attitudes surrounding the local
mining industry. It has also gotten
a number of other local businesses and individuals involved on a volunteer
basis, and provided an educational Saturday for thousands of local kids and
adults. The primary beneficiary of
the funds raised has been the local school system, with other charities
benefiting as well. The effort has
also raised the moral of company employees, which now wear the company logo
around town with pride. The number of
complaints about the operation from the local community has also declined
dramatically since the event started. This
has made permitting easier for the company.
Courter noted that Michaels has recently permitted an expansion, while
another company was denied a permit to open a nearby operation.
Next
Our next SME section meeting ( April 27) will feature Frank Reed, of Vulcan Materials. Frank has recently moved into the area will share some of his experiences as a miner in the deep metal mines of the northwestern US. Many of us don’t know the real meaning of “rockburst” until you’ve been buried in one up to your neck…anyway we will leave the stories to Frank. We hope to see you there.
GEM News
Again - Rock Samples WantedThe Gem committee is hunting for rock samples of approximately 1 inch in size in quantities of 35 samples or more for rock kits which will be given to teachers at the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers teacher workshop next fall. Contact Anne Leslie of Raimonde Drilling at 773-889-1412 or email at rdcdrill@rdc-drill.com if you can help out.
Section
News
Don't forget to pay your 2003-2004 dues. Click here for details. Click here for the 2003-2004 Officers SME
Supports Chicagoland Engineers Week With $300 Gift!
The Chicago SME has been a
long-time supporter of the Chicagoland Engineers Week.
This year your local section gave $300 to support the cost the various
programs. The SME is one of many
engineering societies sponsoring the Chicagoland Engineers Week and our section
Chair, Gordie Stevens, sits as one of the Washington Award Commissioners.
This organization arranges talks by engineers of various disciplines at
local schools, science and engineering competitions, and awards to various
outstanding local students This year’s Chicagoland
Engineers Week program
took place February 21-27th 2004.
Engineers Week is a program to stimulate junior and senior high students
to consider careers in engineering, especially though hands-on school projects,
and highlight the contributions of engineers to the well being of society,
especially in Chicagoland. The SME
contribution helps support such educational programs as Math Counts, Future
City Competition, Bridge Design Competition and JETS TEAM
Competition. Engineer
volunteers are always needed to help judge and organize these programs. This week was anchored by the Chicagoland Engineering
Awards Benefit banquet held on Friday evening, February 27th.
Forty-five of the top achievers form local junior and senior high schools
got the opportunity to attend the banquet.
There they got a chance to meet a former astronaut and the commander of
the Army Corp of Engineers. They
also got the chance to rub elbows with engineers from a number of technical
professions from throughout the Chicago area.
Many of the students who participate in an Engineers Week activity will
go on to a career in engineering, and those who don’t will have caught a
glinpse of the important work that engineers do and the career heights they can
achieve. --
Rick Ackermann See the related article on the Washington Awards Ceremony No More Paper – More on the Electronic NewsletterThis is the second month that we tried sending out electronic links to the newsletter to those of you who have e-mail addresses. Paper copies can be sent out to those who request it and have paid the local section dues. If you have an e-mail address and still want a paper Newsletter, let either Gordie Stevens, Section Chair, or Rick Ackermann, Newsletter Editor, know and we will continue to send you a paper copy. Reducing the mailing costs will enable us to put our cash to more effective uses such as teacher scholarships to IAAP summer teacher workshops, other scholarships, engineers week and more and more Underground Mine Tour
This January Gordie Stevens & Mike Dunn started to plan an underground mine tour of the Conco Western underground operation near I-88 and the Fox river. The following was from Gordie on March 1st. They are still working on it. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response for the proposed Conco Western Mine Tour, we had to put the (tentative) March tour date on hold. We had over 60 expressing interest in the tour. The logistics are currently being worked out for a date during the late spring or early summer. If and when this happens, it will likely include a small fee to help defray the costs to rent a bus large enough to sequence two or three groups down and back. As many of you are aware, there are MSHA requirements for everyone going underground and therefore there has to be enough self-rescuers available, and a diesel-powered bus large enough for at least 20 people at a time...and powerful enough to drive out, etc. -- Gordie Stevens
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Member NewsStevens
Represents AIME/SME at Washington Award Commission Ceremony
Gordie Stevens, Chicago Section Chair for Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. (SME) recently represented the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) at the Chicagoland Engineering Awards Benefit banquet held in Chicago on February 27, 2004. The banquet featured the 91st presentation of the Washington Award to Nick Holonyak, PhD, the inventor of the light emitting diode (LED) for his pioneering contributions to the development of power silicon electronics and the invention of the first semi-conducting light-emitting diodes in a visible part of the spectrum. Dr. Holonyak is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Ilinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received the National Medal of Science in 1990 and the National Medal of Technology in 2002, (presented by President George W. Bush), and is one of only 13 Americans who have been awarded both medals. In June he was presented the Global Energy Prize from Russia, presented by President Vladimir Putin. Dr. Holonak indicated in his acceptance speech that the LED is poised to revolutionize the lighting industry in the next few years and as the brightest and most energy efficient light source known to man, far exceeding any light source previously developed. The Washington Award is conferred each year upon an Engineer whose professional achievements have preeminently advanced the welfare of humankind. AIME is one of the seven participating Engineering societies that commissions the Washington Award. Gordie has been the AIME Washington Award Commissioner for SME during the past two years. --Gordie Stevens John Magyar (Still) at Tourquise Ridge, Nevada
John is into his 6th
month (?!) on contract out at this
re-start operation for Placer Dome near Winnemucca, Nevada.
He has recently been hunting for other engineers who might want to work
on contract out there. If interested, e-mail him at imsjjm@aol.com Rick Ackermann joins Patrick Engineering
Rick
Ackermann has joined Gordie Stevens at Patrick Engineering in their Lisle, IL
office. Rick is a mining
engineering grad from Colorado Mines who brings in excess of 25 years of mining
experience to Patrick’s Mining Services Group. He can be reached by phone at
630-795-7246 or via e-mail at rackermann@patrickengineering.com New E-mail address for Frank Kendorski.
Our former newsletter editor, Frank Kendorski of Agapito Associates Inc. has changed is e-mail address. He will be gradually phasing this new e-mail address in: frankatagapito@sbcglobal.net.
Industry NewsCemex More Popular Than CoronaDate: 03/05/2004
Reprinted with permission from: http://www.aggregateresearch.com/press.asp?id=3862&s=m Martin Marietta and Earth Day Moves AheadDate: 02/25/2004 ROCK
SPRINGS, WI -- Plans are pro-gressing for Sauk County Earth Day 2004. Several
activities of years past will be returning, and a few new features are planned
for the April 25 celebration. Tours of the Rock Springs quarry by Martin
Marietta Aggregate is a new activity at this year's event. Visitors can view
towering hills of pink quartzite and learn about quarry operations. Earth
Day participants will also get a chance to check out the farmers' market,
exhibits in the Community Center, go on a guided nature hike or canoe the
Baraboo River.
Reprinted with permission from: http://www.aggregateresearch.com/press.asp?id=3805&s=m END OF AN ERA…Ingersoll-Rand
Agrees to Sell its Drilling Solutions Business to Atlas Copco
HAMILTON,
Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--02/19/2004--Ingersoll-Rand Company
Limited (NYSE:IR), a leading diversified industrial firm, today announced
that it has agreed to sell its Drilling Solutions business unit to Atlas Copco
AB, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, for approximately $225 million. The
transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2004, is
subject to government regulatory approvals. The Drilling
Solutions business, which dates to Ingersoll-Rand's origins in 1871,
manufactures drilling equipment and accessories for the worldwide construction,
mining, quarrying, and water-well drilling industries. It had 2003 revenues of
approximately $300 million and employs approximately 950 people. The transaction
will include production facilities in Garland, Texas; Roanoke, Virginia;
Yokohama, Japan; and Xuan Hua, China; and Ingersoll-Rand
Equipment Stores in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee; and Clarks
Summit, Pennsylvania. The transaction does not include Ingersoll-Rand's
France-based Montabert business unit, which manufactures hydraulic rock-breaking
equipment. "This
divestiture has significant strategic & symbolic importance for our
company," said Herbert L. Henkel, chairman, president and chief executive
officer. "Strategically, it improves our ability to invest in opportunities
that enhance our core product lines, recurring-revenue stream, and geographic
reach, particularly in the global growth markets of security and safety, climate
control, industrial and energy solutions, compact equipment and road
development. SOURCE: Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited - 02/19/2004 08:14 EASTERN Submitted by Frank Kendorski, Position Open: Mining/Geological EngineerAgapito
Associates, Inc. is seeking a full-time mining or geological engineer for
its Lombard, Illinois, office. Candidate
should have an advanced degree, two or more years of practical experience,
excellent communication and computer skills, and PE registration or ability to
obtain registration within one year of employment.
Must be willing to travel. Underground
and field assignments may be expected. Work
includes consulting and engineering in mine design, planning, ground control,
water management, blasting, forensic engineering and investigations in insurance
claims, mine and tunnel failures, wrongful death and injury in mining and
construction. Competitive salary and benefits.
Please contact in confidence Frank Kendorski, Manager, Chicago Office,
Agapito Associates, Inc., 2 East 22nd Street, Suite 307, Lombard, IL 60148.
Tel. 630-792-1520, Fax 630-792-1580.
E-mail frankatagapito@sbcglobal.com.
Submitted by Frank Kendorski,
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