FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[vic rzonca]

You win, Tony. Rock outcrop in a collection room is not very common. No blasting agent on hand for the build?

[Sante Celiberti]

Hello, Tony.

This is a very impressive location for your mining artifacts! Better than a museal display.
And what an assortment of nice items (included the hand detonator and jackhammer).
The foundation rock looks somewhat translucent: what is it, calcite?
It would be nice if you show your stuffs in detail.
My best compliments.

Greetings from Tuscany and take care.
Sante

[Tony L. Potucek]

Hi, Vic and Sante and the rest,
No, I did not have to use any blasting agents to get this work done, but the contractor built the foundation over the outcrop. I have attached a work in progress photo when I covered the cement foundation with local quartzite slabs Anasazi style, except it is more than the dry stack the ancients constructed. I used mortar. The dark brown pegs resembling old wood slats and poles are actually locally collected Cretaceous age petrified limbs. I then laid down slabs of Supai sandstone as a base on the top of the cement ledges. Fun stuff. A geological engineer playing with rocks and construction! Oh, this windowless man cave is where the nectars of the gods is kept--single malt scotches and vino, Vic! Along with all of my minerals which never see the light of day unless I am in the man cave. I keep the room at 55 degrees F except when I am there to preserve the vino.

[Sante Celiberti]

[Michael Shaw]

A few more mining artifacts.

[Sante Celiberti]

Hi, Michael.

I confirm my first impression: very nice objects and lovingly preserved. Bravo!

[Joseph DOliveira]

While not a true mining object, I thought I would share this sculpture. It is called "The Geologist", and depicts a German geologist in full attire, complete with rock sample in hand. It is by Friedrich Reusch, cast of bronze in the late 1800's. I was fortunate to acquire it through an auction in California in the late 1990's.

[Sante Celiberti]

Very beautiful and important sculpture, worthy of a museum.
Many compliments, Joseph.

Greetings from Tuscany.
Sante

[Michael Shaw]

more mining related objects

[Joseph DOliveira]

Here is one of my special pieces, it is a Pajari (Tropari) instrument used to determine the dip and direction of diamond drill holes. It has a gimballed compass sphere that encases a watch works. The sphere is set to free float and the watch mechanism is wound before inserting the instrument into the borehole with the diamond drill rods.

When the instrument reaches the bottom of the drill hole the watch mechanism activates and the sphere is locked in place. The Tropari is retrieved and the dip and direction of the borehole is displayed on the compass face. A very tedious but unique way to plot diamond drill hole dip and direction.

[Sante Celiberti]

Michael, your objects are very beautiful, but I really like the care with which you keep them.
Warm greetings.

Joseph, This is a beautiful and very interesting instrument that I had never seen before.
My compliments.

The next object is almost nothing, but I post it for two reasons: first because it is a fresh gift from a few hours ago by an ex-miner (my neighbor); secondly because, by giving it to me, he explained to me other operations that were carried out in the mine.
And I like hearing his stories and learning something new about mining.

1) Old tools that could no longer be used in the mine were given to miners who requested them. The same thing for pieces of wood or iron, especially the old rails of the wagons (I have seen in our villages many houses of miners in whose constructions these old rails have been used).
But a new tool, like in this case?
Well, with a written request to the mine management it was possible to get it in some occasion (better to give than to be robbed).
2) This widia tip is a model prior to the one with the diamond spheres previously posted by me and Vic Rzonca (which could no longer be used when the spheres jumped off). In this widia model the termination could be rolled up. In fact, it was rolled up, in the mine itself, every two days of use, by a worker assigned exclusively to this task, who by regulation could not work alone in the subsoil and therefore had a companion who just looked at him!
3) This type of tip had a specific function and only that: to prepare holes in the vaults of the tunnels to apply nail plates in order to consolidate them and avoid the detachment of rock (or massive pyrite itself).
The spiked plates were prepared in the mine by hand. In the last years of activity, so called "French" nails were introduced: they were bifurcated (expanding) and had a length of 25-30 cm and a diameter just greater than that of this tip.

This and much more can tell such an insignificant object!

Warm greetings and stay safe.
Sante

[Joseph DOliveira]

Interesting to see the gold paint on the drill bit, as different colours of paint were used to identify the various sizes (diameter) of the bits. After graduation, I worked in a mine as a jackleg driller for a short stint. At the start of shift, you would pick up your bit bag and they would be sorted by size and painted accordingly. The gold bits were the largest, as you drilled a hole, the bit would wear and the diameter of the hole would shrink. When you changed bits to deepen the hole, a bit of smaller diameter had to be used, the paint made it easier to identify the new bit. Brings back memories.

[Sante Celiberti]

Hi, Joseph.

Thanks for these informations.
A new and interesting addition to the mining knowledge.

Greetings. Take care.
Sante

[Michael Shaw]

A few more....

[Sante Celiberti]

Hello.

These humble hand-made pliers from Niccioleta mine give me the opportunity to tell a rule that existed in the mines of Tuscan metalliferous hills in the first half of the last century.
While the hiring of miners took place without preliminary examination, the hiring of specialized staff such as mechanics, blacksmiths and carpenters required an examination of their working skills.
The blacksmiths were required by a mine technician to make an iron tool without using any machinery, except a forge, anvil and hammer. And this is because during the mining activity a particular tool not available on the market could become necessary.
The blacksmith had to be able to understand which tool could be more appropriate to the case and, above all, be able to make it perfectly and quickly.