Advertisement
Published: September 18th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Down the Mine
We had to dress in these very bright paper overalls, hard hats and steel capped rubber boots to go down the replica copper mine. We were up at 7am to make sure we could pack up and get down to the Information Centre for our tour of the Hard Times Mine at 8.45am. While we waited to start the tour I had a good look at the lovely murals in the foyer, painted by Rowena Paine Murphy. I especially liked the one of the Devil’s Marbles.
We were met by our guide, an Aboriginal miner named Joe, who took us through part of the Museum to see the perspex model of the underground mine tunnels and shafts, and some huge samples of ore bearing rock. Next we went to the locker room to get kitted up in orange disposable overalls, steel-capped rubber boots and a hard hat, with an LED helmet light. We left our clothes and bags in locked lockers for which we carried the key and went to the mine entrance for a photo of us in our gear. Joe then disappeared to give the office staff the camera so the photos could be processed while we did the tour and be ready for us to buy before we left.
On his return, we walked through an
Some Old Mine Machinery
We weren't allowed to take photos on the Hard Times Mine tour but there were some of the machines we'd seen below sitting in the yard above ground. The flat-topped roofs allow protection to the driver and fit into the low tunnels. area of open ground with lots of examples of old mining equipment and machinery dotted about, which he explained. We then went down 22 metres in an Alimak Cage Lift into the replica mine below. Joe explained that they used to take people down the working mine, but a woman slipped and broke her leg one day and then sued the company, so no more tours. !6 years ago they built the replica to show people what it’s like working below ground now and in the past. It cost $12 million to excavate and much of the work was done by volunteer mine workers. They made 1.2 kms of tunnels, 4m x 4m, with little pockets that house some of the old mine equipment, some work faces from previous eras as well as current practices.
Joe gave us all some earmuffs and then showed us an early drill which we had a go at putting it into the rock, guided by him. It actually moved through the face quite easily and smoothly. They would drill a series of holes and then pack the outside holes with explosives and leave the centre ones empty so the rock imploded
Outback Marbles
These colourful rocks are part of a wonderful mural in the foyer of the museum. into there. Then they would dig out the rock brought down by the firing (mucking). Next we saw a 1960s machine which digs into the rock and has a retractable flat roof over the cab so it could fit in no matter what height the tunnel was. Then we saw a 1980s 50 tonne mucking unit which digs faster but has a very tight cab and low roof which is not retractable. He had intended to start this engine to show us how noisy it is but it wouldn’t start up – flat battery.
Drilling was also required for rock bolting to strengthen the roof. They drill holes and insert roof plates attached to long bolts which are fixed into position with Araldite, so they have to do it quickly before the glue sets! They are set in a particular pattern that gives strength, like a honeycomb. Joe demonstrated this drilling that is done over your head - you imagine how tiring it would be using the heavy drill like that for hours.
The ore is then taken by skips to a crusher and tipped into it. This pounds the large rock into small
Camooweal Free Camp
We spent the night in a free camp next to the Highway overpass beside a river bed that was mostly dry (see right). You can just see a pocket of water still exists behind the central span of the bridge. pieces. This is all done underground, then it is taken topside and crushed again into a fine powder which is turned into a slurry. Chemicals are added to separate the various minerals. The copper and zinc adhere to the chemicals and float and are washed into bins. The lead stays in the slurry.
The final machine he showed us was a 3 Boom Jumbo Drill that had 3 massive drills going at once, one rock bolting automatically, one drilling for shot firing and one mucking (digging out the rock afterwards). It works really fast.
We had coffee in the Crib Room (like a lunch room), sitting at long tables and benches, as the mine workers would during meal breaks and smoko or when there is a shot firing. There were a few samples of various ores found in the mines, including Galena – a mixture of silver, lead and zinc, sitting on the table for us to pick up and examine, while we listened to some of Joe’s experiences as a miner for most of his life. He’d tried to leave Mt Isa twice to work in other mines (although he found many people
Extra Wide Load
We passed a lot of extra wide loads on this trip. This was one of them, carrying a Haul Pack destined for the Mines of Mt Isa. he’d worked with at Isa also now at those mines) but he kept coming back. He said he’d started as a cleaner, and after 6 months, decided that he wanted to work in the mine, which he was eligible to do as his work record with the company was excellent. He tried for a few positions but kept getting knocked back, until he said he’d work underground, when suddenly there were jobs available. He had to do 4 days of training and then was qualified to go below. They used to work 3 x 8 hour shifts, day, afternoon and night, but now do 12 hour shifts for more consecutive days and then have longer breaks between.
We went back to the surface in a Mine Shift Worker Transport (little buggy) and then took off all the gear, collected our shoes and valuables and said goodbye to Joe. Back at the reception desk, I paid $10 for the souvenir photo and bought a little copper miner using a drill for my collection – he’s a bit big but a great reminder of our interesting tour.
We went to do some shopping ready for departure
Everything is So Far Away
Distances between towns are getting bigger and bigger as we get more into the outback, as you can see from this board outside the Camooweal Roadhouse. into Northern Territory tomorrow but I found that my credit card was missing. I tried to remember where I’d had it last and thought it might have been at the Centre’s café when I bought lunch. I rang but it hadn’t been handed in. I searched through my bag again and still couldn’t find it so we went to the Commonwealth Bank so I could report it missing. The clerk at the reception asked for some photo ID and then disappeared out the back. She returned about 5 minutes later with my credit card in her hand. She asked where I’d used it and I told her I’d made a transfer of funds into my credit card from my savings account last night at the ATM. She said I’d left the card in the machine. Thank goodness no-one had seen it before the machine sucked it in and that I noticed it was missing while we were still in Mt Isa!
Enormously relieved, we went home and I made dinner for Barry. I just had a boiled egg as I had a stress migraine and was still coughing badly and wasn’t hungry.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 58; dbt: 0.0545s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb