Eruption of Tainted Water Could Innundate Leadville, Colorado
Geologic Hazards
Iowa county evacuates as Missouri River tops levee and sand boil forms a geyser
Residents of Iowa County were forced to evacuate as the swollen Missouri River caused a breach in one of its levees. What I found interesting was a description of a sand boil geyser: A Black […]
Project Related
The Drillers, Rigs, Rock and Hart of the Chile Mine Rescue
As 33 trapped miners waited more than 2,000-ft underground for their rescue, a whole team of Chilean government officials, mining engineers, equipment manufacturers and of course drillers came together get the job done. Jeff Hart, a driller from Denver, Colorado was one of the stars of the day. Hart was in Afghanistan drilling deep water wells when he got the call and hopped on a plane. He works for Kansas-based Layne Christensen, and along with 3 other Layne employees, he manned the Schramm T130 drill rig that was part of “Plan B” that eventually became the shaft from which the trapped miners were rescued.
On the drilling platform overseeing the drilling was James Stefanic of Layne, and crew members Matt Staffel, Doug Reeves and Jorge Herrera. The rig and I presume some of the support equipment was owned by Layne’s Latin America affiliate, Geotec Boyles Bros, SA. The drill bits were from Center Rock, Inc. of Berlin, Pennsylvania. The Center Rock CEO, Brandon Fisher, was on site throughout the operation as well.
Read on for more info, photos, video and links on the drilling, drillers and geology of the Chile Mine rescue.
Geologic Hazards
Famed Hole In Danger of Collapse
How ironic. Just last night I posted photos and descriptions of 7 Amazing Holes I received as an email forward from a colleague. Today one of them is in the news. The "Big Hole" in Kimberley, South Africa is making city officials nervous. Apparently some new cracks have formed in the pit walls or somewhere, and officials have decided to shut down traffic on Bultfontein Road that passes within 18-m of the pit. Read on for Google Map and more details. (Photo by No One Nels)