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IMA-NA announces safety award winners
The Industrial Minerals Association - North America (IMA-NA) announced the winners of its safety recognition awards. IMA-NA Chairman Kevin Porterfield and IMA-NA President Mark Ellis presented the awards at the IMA-NA’s Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. The safety recognition awards program works in cooperation with the Mine Safety & Health Administration. A total of 14 companies and 28 individual mining operations were honored. The two classes of awards recognize different levels of safety performance. The IMA-NA Safety Achievement Award recognizes the best reportable injury rate for an individual IMA-NA member company by size category for the preceding calendar year. This year’s winners include: • OCI Wyoming L.P. Green River, Wyo. (large category) • Badger Mining Corp. Berlin, Wis. (medium category) • Old Hickory Clay Co. Mayfield, Ky. (small category) “The safety performance of these IMA members is truly inspiring,” Ellis said. “OCI Wyoming had only one injury while working 808,808 employee hours, for an injury rate of 0.25 per 200,000 employee work-hours. This is the third time that OCI Wyoming… Keep Reading
Lafarge North America moving headquarters to Chicago
The North American headquarters of Lafarge is moving from Reston, Va., to the Chicago area this fall, says The Washington Post. Lafarge, based in France, will reportedly invest $10 million in the move "to an as-yet-undetermined site near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport." The Washington Post reports that the state of Illinois is offering the company tax credits of more than $6 million over the next decade to make the move. Keep Reading
Web Exclusive: Innovations in bearing technology
By James A. Oliver and Joe Esmoer At one operation of a global aggregate producer, sand is moved from its source uphill to processing facilities via 11 vertical and 11 horizontal conveyors. Each conveyor came equipped with four open spherical roller bearings in the head and tail pulleys for a total of 88 bearing positions. Along every step of the way, these unsealed, open-type bearings in standard housings with standard seals were continually exposed to contamination from the ingress of sand, dust and grit. The contaminants damaged bearing housing seals and attacked the bearings, necessitating the replacement of housings every 18 months and bearings every nine months. Unanticipated costs for parts replacement, lost production and manpower were difficult to control and the goal of uninterrupted production became unpredictable. In search of a remedy, the producer turned to application specialists, who suggested testing a conveyor solution featuring a sealed spherical roller bearing. The two-year test compared the cost and performance of the existing open bearing and the sealed type. Over the… Keep Reading
House may look to change highway bill extension
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) reports that the U.S. House of Representatives could act as early as this Wednesday (Apr. 18) to move forward with a 90-day extension of the surface transportation program (from June 30 to Sept. 30) at level funding and attach the Keystone XL pipeline approval to the extension. According to Speaker John Boehner’s office, the ultimate goal is to produce a bill that: Maintains current FY 2012 funding levels. Reauthorizes and reforms policy and programs. Includes energy provisions such as the Keystone XL pipeline or expansion of domestic energy production. Runs at least through the Senate bill’s Sept. 30, 2013, expiration date. NSSGA says Republican leaders are gauging their members to see if they will support the combined Keystone XL/surface transportation extension bill. The legislation is scheduled to be brought up in the House Rules Committee at 3 p.m. Tuesday and could be on the floor Wednesday. The association adds that House Republicans hope to force senators to attach the Keystone XL language… Keep Reading
Martin Marietta, Vulcan court decision coming soon
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that we should know by as early as next week whether Martin Marietta Materials' $5.5 billion bid for Vulcan Materials could be stopped owing to previous confidentiality agreements between the two companies. Final arguments in Delaware court are set for Monday, April 9. WSJ reports, "Chancellor Leo Strine Jr. could issue a ruling from the bench immediately afterward or wait several days, but his decision is likely to come relatively quickly, according to people familiar with the matter." Keep Reading
Vulcan Materials’ stock takes hit as battle continues
The takeover battle between Vulcan Materials Co. and Martin Marietta Materials Inc. continues. Bloomberg News reports that Vulcan Materials' stock fell below Martin Marietta’s hostile bid price last week, "indicating investors doubt that the $5.5 billion all-stock transaction will succeed." The battle has been fought in a Delaware court, and final arguments are expected April 9. The judge could decide to block Martin Marietta’s bid. Also, Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Justice Department could decide to order more Martin Marietta asset sales than the company expected. The news agency quotes an analyst, saying there is a downside to Vulcan Materials' shares relative to Martin Marietta’s if there is no deal in place. Keep Reading
The rise of manufacturing
One particular manufacturer in the aggregates industry is telling its success story to the nation. McLanahan Corp., maker of aggregate-processing equipment, is coming off one of its best years ever, according to Michael McLanahan, its fifth-generation chairman and CEO. Find out why in this McClatchy Newspapers article. Keep Reading
Shedding some light on the situation
MSHA is clearing up a safety issue concerning Bayco flashlights. Certain model numbers of these flashlights are labeled with the MSHA emblem when, in fact, they are not an MSHA-approved product. Bayco’s website and advertising materials also improperly identified the flashlights as MSHA approved. The model numbers are XXP-5420B, XXP-5420G, XPP-5422B and XPP-5422G. Bayco is new to the mining market and has not received MSHA approval for any products at this time, though it has applied to MSHA for proper approval of the flashlights, the administration says in its alert. MSHA urges owners of these flashlights to return them to Bayco. The flashlights, however, are listed by Environmental Testing Laboratories as intrinsically safe for use in hazardous locations, and this listing is not affected. Keep Reading
Web Exclusive: Taking your mining company public
Are you wondering whether to take your mining company public and, if so, how to do it? Management teams begin to ask themselves those questions as they approach the normal threshold for going public in terms of revenue and operating performance. Due to the expenses of going public, that threshold today generally suggests the company have at least $20 million annual revenue and at least $2 million in cash. The revenue number can be lower for mining companies with large reserves. In order to properly attract the investing public, the company must also be operationally strong with robust prospects. The company should have a strong management team and a consistent history of double-digit growth that will continue into the foreseeable future. Assuming the thresholds are met, a company’s management needs to weigh the pros and cons of going public. Pros of going public Today, there are many good reasons companies continue to go public. Chief among them is increased ability to raise capital. Mining companies often need capital to fund… Keep Reading
