Technology, mining methods and landscapes of a placer mining district in Fairbanks, Alaska, 1900-1930

Placer miners in Alaska’s interior were part of the last great gold rush in North America. As word of gold in the Fairbanks Mining District traveled down the Yukon River, a wave of miners from the Klondike placer fields in Dawson, along with a assortment of speculators and inexperienced green horns from the Lower 48 converged on the confluence of the Tanana and Chena rivers hoping to strike it rich. The steamers coming from Dawson were integral; they carried miners with experience working the frozen subarctic placer deposits of the Klondike. These miners encountered new environmental challenges that required the development of new technologies and mining methods to efficiently harvest gold. These methods and machines were brought into Fairbanks and further perfected to account for the local conditions. This thesis describes the local mining technologies and methods employed in the Fairbanks district and the landscape patterns created during the placer mining boom years of 1903-1909, decline years of 1910-1923 and recovery of 1923-1930.

An Ecological and Chemical Assessment of Copper Contaminated Streams in the Keweenaw Peninsula

The copper mining boom in Michigan's Upper Peninsula ended in the mid-1960s, but the historical mining still affects the region to this day. Earlier studies conducted in the Keweenaw have shown that trace metals in the sediments negatively affect benthic macroinvertebrate populations. However, because the concentrations of trace metals that are observed to be toxic often differ significantly between the laboratory and the environment, a better method for determining toxic levels of trace metals in the natural environment is desirable in order to establish surface water quality guidelines that effectively protect aquatic life. There were four research objectives for this research project. First, to determine if trace-level concentrations of copper can result in detectable ecological impacts even in the presence of high dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Second, to determine if there is a "safe" concentration of total dissolved copper below which there is little to no ecological impairment. Third, to establish which streams in the Keweenaw Peninsula have been most impacted by elevated levels of total dissolved copper. Fourth, to use this information to evaluate revisions to the water quality criterion for copper that were recently proposed by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). In order to collect water quality and macroinvertebrate data, two sampling surveys of approximately 50 streams were completed in the spring and summer of 2012. Our findings demonstrate that negative ecological impacts can be detected even in the presence of high concentrations of DOC. The majority of surveyed streams showed evidence of total dissolved copper concentrations that were elevated above background levels. Our findings suggest that there are detectable negative impacts below the current water quality standard for copper in many Keweenaw streams. The diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and the number of species present has been reduced as a result of exposure to copper. Additionally, the multimetric approach used by MDEQ is unable to detect copper impairment in local streams due to the use of several insensitive metrics. The proposed changes to the copper criterion would increase the amount of total dissolved copper allowable despite the fact that approximately 25% of streams sampled have aquatic chemistries that would leave them vulnerable to high levels of copper ions.

Selecting an electrical power source at the scoping level for a mining project

The electrical power source is a critical component of the scoping level study as the source affects both the project economics and timeline. This paper proposes a systematic approach to selecting an electrical power source for a new mine. Orvana Minerals Copperwood project is used as a case study. The Copperwood results show that the proposed scoping level approach is consistent with the subsequent much more detailed feasibility study.

Economic sustainability of the Flambeau Mine Ladysmith, Wisconsin

Today sustainable development is a very pertinent issue. Communities do not want companies, specifically mining companies, to deplete a natural resource and leave. The goal is to minimize the negative impacts of mining and the boom/bust cycles of natural resource extraction. In this study a three part framework was developed to analyze the sustainability of the Flambeau Mine in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The first and second part dealt with an in-depth local and regional analysis and whether the community was developing within its own vision. The third part used nine sustainability measures including: 1. Need Present Generation 2. Future Need 3. Acceptable Legacy 4. Full-Cost 5. Contribution to Economic Development 6. Equity 7. Consent 8. Respect for Ecological Limits, Maintenance of Ecological Integrity and Landscape Requirements 9. Offsetting Restoration This study concluded that the Flambeau Mine was sustainable relative to the first two criteria and that it can be considered mostly sustainable relative to the nine criteria. Overall it can be stated that the Flambeau Mine was a beneficial project to the Ladysmith Wisconsin area. Additionally it appeared to decrease the public’s negative perception of mining. Recommendations for future analytical work are made. Suggestions are made as to how mining companies could increase the potential for the attainment of sustainability in projects. It is recommended that this framework be used by other industries.

Public participation in Michigan mining policy : the Kennecott Eagle Project case

Public participation is an important component of Michigan’s Part 632 Nonferrous Mining law and is identified by researchers as important to decision-making processes. The Kennecott Eagle Project, which is located near Marquette, Michigan, is the first mine permitted under Michigan’s new mining regulation, and this research examines how public participation is structured in regulations, how the permitting process occurred during the permitting of the Eagle Project, and how participants in the permitting process perceived their participation. To understand these issues, this research implemented a review of existing mining policy and public participation policy literature, examination of documents related to the Kennecott Eagle Project and completion of semi-structured, ethnographic interviews with participants in the decision-making process. Interviewees identified issues with the structure of participation, the technical nature of the permitting process, concerns about the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) handling of mine permitting, and trust among participants. This research found that the permitting of the Kennecott Eagle Mine progressed as structured by regulation and collected technical input on the mine permit application, but did not meet the expectations of some participants who opposed the project. Findings from this research indicated that current mining regulation in Michigan is resilient to public opposition, there is need for more transparency from the Michigan DEQ during the permitting process, and current participatory structures limit the opportunities for some stakeholder groups to influence decision-making.

MATURE FINE TAILINGS (MFTs): A STUDY OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF ATHABASCA OIL SANDS PETROLEUM MINING WASTE APPLIED IN CONCRETE MIXTURES

This study investigates the compressive properties of concrete incorporating Mature Fine Tailings (MFTs) waste stream from a tar sands mining operation. The objectives of this study are to investigate material properties of the MFT material itself, as well as establish general feasibility of the utilization of MFT material in concrete mixtures through empirical data and visual observations. Investigations undertaken in this study consist of moisture content, materials finer than No. 200 sieve, Atterburg Limits as well as visual observations performed on MFT material as obtained. Control concrete mixtures as well as MFT replacement mixture designs (% by wt. of water) were guided by properties of the MFT material that were experimentally established. The experimental design consists of compression testing of 4”-diameter concrete cylinders of a control mixture, 30% MFT, 50% MFT and 70% MFT replacement mixtures with air-entrainer additive, as well as a control mixture and 30% MFT replacement mixture with no air-entrainer. A total of 6 mixtures (2 control mixtures, 4 replacement mixtures) moist-cured in lime water after 24 hours initial curing were tested for ultimate compressive strength at 7 days and 28 days in accordance to ASTM C39. The test results of fresh concrete material show that the addition of air-entrainer to the control mixture increases slump from 4” to 5.5”. However, the use of MFT material in concrete mixtures significantly decreases slump as compared to controls. All MFT replacement mixtures (30%, 50%, and 70%) with air-entrainer present slumps of 1”. 30% MFT with no air-entrainer presents a slump of 1.5”. It was found that 7-day ultimate compressive stress was not a good predictor of 28-day ultimate compressive stress. 28-day results indicate that the use of MFT material in concrete with air-entrainer decreases ultimate compressive stress for 30%, 50% and 70% MFT replacement amounts by 14.2%, 17.3% and 25.1% respectively.

IS THE U.S. SHALE GAS BOOM HAVING AN EFFECT ON THE EUROPEAN GAS MARKET?

This thesis focuses on the impact of the American shale gas boom on the European natural gas market. The study presents different tests in order to analyze the dynamics of natural gas prices in the U.S., U.K. and German natural gas market. The question of cointegration between these different markets are analyzed using several tests. More specifically, the ADF tests for the presence of a unit root. The error correction model test and the Johansen cointegration procedure are applied in order to accept or reject the hypothesis of an integrated market. The results suggest no evidence of cointegration between these markets. There currently is no evidence of an impact of the U.S. shale gas boom on the European market.

Federal Authority and the Development of Corporate Mining, 1807-1847

While the 1913-1914 copper country miners’ strike undoubtedly plays an important role in the identity of the Keweenaw Peninsula, it is worth noting that the model of mining corporations employing large numbers of laborers was not a foregone conclusion in the history of American mining. Between 1807 and 1847, public mineral lands in Missouri, in the Upper Mississippi Valley, and along the southern shore of Lake Superior were reserved from sale and subject to administration by the nation’s executive branch. By decree of the federal government, miners in these regions were lessees, not landowners. Yet, in the Wisconsin lead region especially, federal authorities reserved for independent “diggers” the right to prospect virtually unencumbered. In doing so, they preserved a comparatively egalitarian system in which the ability to operate was determined as much by luck as by financial resources. A series of revolts against federal authority in the early nineteenth century gradually encouraged officers in Washington to build a system in the copper country in which only wealthy investors could marshal the resources to both obtain permits and actually commence mining operations. This paper will therefore explore the role of the federal government in establishing a leasing system for public mineral lands in the years previous to the California Gold Rush, highlighting the development of corporate mining which ultimately set a stage for the wave of miners’ strikes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Role of Fraternal Organisation in Migration and Informal Labour Organisations in Mining Communities: Cornwall, the Keweenaw, and California Compared

During the second half of the nineteenth century fraternal and benevolent associations of numerous descriptions grew and prospered in mining communities everywhere. They played an important, but neglected role, in assisting transatlantic migration and movement between mining districts as well as building social capital within emerging mining communities. They helped to build bridges between different ethnic communities, provided conduits between labour and management, and networked miners into the non-mining community. Their influence spread beyond the adult males that made up most of their membership to their wives and families and provided levels of social and economic support otherwise unobtainable at that time. Of course, the influence of these organisations could also be divisive where certain groups or religions were excluded and they may have worked to exacerbate, as much as ameliorate, the problems of community development. This paper will examine some of these issues by looking particularly at the role of Freemasonry and Oddfellowry in Cornwall, Calumet, and Nevada City between 1860 and 1900. Work on fraternity in the Keweenaw was undertaken in Houghton some years ago with a grant from the Copper Country Archive and has since been continued by privately funded research in California and other Western mining states. Some British aspects of this research can be found in my article on mining industrial relations in Labour History Review April 2006

Mainari, Farmari, Lumperjäkki, Piika : “Ethnic Identity” and Earning a Living in the Keweenaw and Nickel Belts to 1930

Job seekers in resource-based economic settings like the Keweenaw Peninsula in Upper Michigan and the Nickel Basin surrounding Sudbury, Ontario faced many challenges, from the dangers of the job to corporate domination to the “boom and bust” nature of inevitably limited supplies of even “endless” natural riches. Adding to these many challenges in both settings was the employer view that you were best suited to certain tasks. This paper examines these expectations from “both” ends – how and why did employers see matters this way, and what did the “recipients” make of being cast in certain roles ? Did the newcomers also expect to earn their keep from a limited range of options ? While the last word on this issue awaits a much larger study, even a glance can inform both the scholar of resource settings and the ethnic historian about an important element of resource-based economies. This paper, then, examines the links between stereotype, preference, and necessity – to what extent did local populations fight, appreciate or succumb to expectation when “making a living.” As the title suggests, Finns get significant attention, as befits both settings under study. However, the paper looks to similar trends amongst a broad demographic swathe in each setting. Was “who” you were the crucial element in finding sustenance ? “Ethnic”, Aboriginal, or “established settler society” – what factors shaped economic expectations, choices and roles?

Technology, Transportation, and Scale in the Koyokuk Placer Mining District 1890s - 1930s

The Koyukuk Mining District was one of several northern, turn of the century, gold rush regions. Miners focused their efforts in this region on the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River and on several of its tributaries. Mining in the Koyukuk began in the 1880s and the first rush occurred in 1898. Continued mining throughout the early decades of the 1900s has resulted in an historic mining landscape consisting of structures, equipment, mining shafts, waste rock, trash scatters, and prospect pits. Modern work continues in the region alongside these historic resources. An archaeological survey was completed in 2012 as part of an Abandoned Mine Lands survey undergone with the Bureau of Land Management, Michigan Technological University, and the University of Alaska Anchorage. This thesis examines the discrepancy between the size of mining operations and their respective successes in the region while also providing an historical background on the region and reports on the historical resources present.

Winning coal at 78° North : mining, contingency and the Chaîne Opératoire in old Longyear City

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the evolution of an early 20th century mining system in Spitsbergen as applied by Boston-based Arctic Coal Company (ACC). This analysis will address the following questions: Did the system evolve in a linear, technological-based fashion? Or was the progression more a product of interactions and negotiations with the natural and human landscapes present during the time of occupation? Answers to these questions will be sought through review of historical records and material residues identified during the 2008 field examination on Spitsbergen. The Arctic Coal Company’s flagship mine, ACC Mine No. 1, will serve as the focus for this analysis. The mine was the company’s largest undertaking during its occupation of Longyear Valley and today exhibits a large collection of related features and artifacts. The study will emphasize on the material record within an analysis of technical, environmental and social influences that guided the course of the mining system. The intent of this thesis is a better understanding of how a particular resource extraction industry took root in the Arctic.