Aggregates Manager September 2019 by Sandy Turner Jr

Water 101 PG15

Interference case law PG28

Minerals and cell phones PG32

September 2019 | www.AggMan.com

Your guide to profitable production

West Henly takes on

Texasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hot hill country market

7 excavator makes its 20 Dash North American debut

Understand the economics of preemptive maintenance

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Aggregate motors For the toughest conditions

We understand that harsh and rugged environments require exceptional designs and features. If you have specific needs around torque, service factor, overload, inverter use, or dust ratings, we have quarry duty, severe duty, crusher duty, and custom solutions. Stock ABB and Baldor-RelianceÂŽ aggregate motors are now available in 184T through 588 frames. Reliable. Flexible. Performance.

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Van Tongeren’s Gravitational-Inertial Classifier system separates dry materials without water — eliminating the need for settling ponds.

PAGE 7

On Our Cover: Rhett Brooks, plant manager for West Henley Materials, helped develop a greenfield site in a booming Texas market. Cover photo by Kerry Clines.

If operated without proper rail rubber, this is what can happen to a screen sub deck.

PAGE 24

TABLE OF CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019 |

VOLUME 24, NUMBER 9

FEATURE ARTICLES

10 Hitting it Hot and Heavy in the Hill Country

When the call went out for construction aggregates in a booming Texas town, West Henly Materials answered the call.

20 Tried. True. New.

Rango Inc. puts Hitachi’s EX1200-7 through its paces at an aggregate operation in Mesa, Ariz.

A Case for Preemptive Replacement Rather than run to fail, plan for preemptive maintenance. It can improve morale and your bottom line.

OPERATIONS ILLUSTRATED

Water 101

From stormwater to settling ponds, know how to manage your H2O.

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 3 Editorial Location. Location. Location. 4 Data Mining The latest financial analysis of issues impacting in the industry and Aggregates Manager’s exclusive aggregates industry outlook. 7 RollOuts Metso launches the Metso VPX filter, and other new equipment for the aggregates market. 28 Rock Law Three court cases underscore the lack of a single test for what constitutes interference. 31 Advertiser Index See who’s who and where to find their products. 31 Classified Ads Aggregates industry classifieds. 32 Carved in Stone Did you know it took about 75 pounds of mined materials to make one cell phone?

ROCK CRUSHING AT ITS FINEST. Since 1946 the name HAZEMAG has been linked with many accomplishments in impactor design and control technology. Today’s impactor is different. It’s better. It’s more user friendly, and it’s easier and less expensive to maintain. It offers optimum and continuous control over product size, and can do much more. In fact today’s impactor, the Hazemag Impactor, can do things never before possible. With over 50 years of experience in design and application of impactors, the future of impacting technology is now here.

YOUR PARTNER IN THE AGGREGATE INDUSTRY. ENGINEERED TO BE DEPENDABLE AND RELIABLE.

Visit us at: Booth #36088

HAZEMAG USA INC. P.O. BOX 1064 Uniontown, PA 15401 Phone: 724.439.3512 Fax: 724.439.3514 E-mail: info@hazemag.com

HAZEMAG CANADA INC. 1 Marconi Court, Unit #10 Bolton, ON L7E 1E2 Phone: 905.857.9623 Fax: 905.857.3025 E-mail: info@hazemag.ca

N A . H A ZE M AG.CO M

September 2019

EDITORIAL

Vol. 24, No. 9

by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief, tdunphy@randallreilly.com

aggman.com /AggregatesManager /AggManEditor

Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Senior Editor: Kerry Clines Online Editor: Wayne Grayson editorial@aggman.com

Location, location, location

Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@aggman.com

Construction Media Vice President, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com

3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com

Corporate Chairman Emeritus: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Kim Fieldbinder Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Audience: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development: Robert Lake Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault

For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com.

Aggregates Manager TM magazine (ISSN 1552-3071) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly, LLC copyright 2019. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Subscription rates: $24 annually, Non-domestic $125 annually. Single copies: $7. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406.

his month’s plant profile (page 10) features West Henly Materials’ operation in Dripping Springs, Texas. The operation underscores the first rule of real estate: value is all about location. With its proximity to the booming Austin market, the small town was the perfect spot to develop a greenfield site. Despite the lack of any experience in the market, the operation quickly became a thriving one due, in part, to its prime location. The rules of real estate hold true for operators large and small. At the end of July, Martin Marietta Chairman, President, and CEO Ward Nye appeared on Mad Money with Jim Cramer to discuss the company’s financial performance after its stock rose 10 percent in a single session — as the overall stock market melted down following a cut in interest rates. Its value is up 40 percent this year. “If you look at what is going on relative to infrastructure, non-residential, and residential, we’ve been in the right places,” Nye said. “Being in the right places with the right products makes all the difference. Our teams have performed extremely well.” With its operations located primarily in the Southeast and Southwest, Martin Marietta is focused on areas of growth. Nye said population trends, employment growth, and state fiscal health are drivers of good markets. “We also take good care of the cost side of our business,” he added. “We recognize that if we are going to be selling aggregates at $15 per ton, we have to be really good at it, and we are good at that.” Martin Marietta experienced its remarkable gains despite weather challenges in its top two states, Texas and Colorado. The company’s top 10 states account for 85 percent of its revenue, Nye said. In those states, residential construction is outperforming the nation whether on total housing, single-family housing, or multi-family housing. “Multi has stayed very, very healthy throughout this cycle,” he noted. Infrastructure investment has also been solid in Martin Marietta’s top markets. Over the last three years, Georgia has doubled its transportation spend. Texas and Florida are at near record levels. “Almost every one of our top 10 states, over the last three or four years, has raised their revenues relative to what they are spending on transportation in the states,” he said. “We have seen a shift — more of the burden to the states themselves. If we see something come from the federal government, that would be incredibly powerful to our business.” Nye credited the company’s employees with its strong results. “We have an extraordinary team of people,” he said. “They give me the privilege of telling the story. They put up the numbers.” AM

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

mining

Company Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V.

Diesel Fuel

Prices 8/5/19

United States $3.032 One Week -0.002  One Year -0.119

Central Atlantic $3.233 One Week -0.013  One Year -0.160 

Lower Atlantic $2.923 One Week -0.001  One Year -0.170 

Midwest $2.942 One Week +0.002  One Year -0.209 

Gulf Coast $2.787 One Week -0.006  One Year -0.208 

Rocky Mountain $2.965 One Week -0.002  One Year -0.396 

West Coast $3.605 One Week -0.001  One Year -0.112 

West Coast less California $3.182 One Week +0.004  One Year -0.250

California $3.940 One Week 0.000  One Year -0.003  Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (dollars per gallon, prices include all taxes).

$3.02

$7.60

$31.25 

$24.31

$34.33

EXP

$82.71 

$57.00

$102.05

Granite Construction Inc.

GVA

$30.54 

$29.86

$58.93

HEI

$67.06 

$58.06

$82.34

HCMLY

$9.37 

$7.96

$10.63

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

MLM

$245.98 

$150.75

$252.08

MDU Resources Group, Inc.

MDU

$26.30 

$22.73

$29.02

Summit Materials

SUM

$18.99 

$11.25

$21.85

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.

USLM

$81.49 

$68.20

$85.85

U.S. Concrete

USCR

$42.67 

$27.68

$54.95

Vulcan Materials Co.

VMC

$137.58 

$82.52

$141.84

Source: Wall Street Journal Market Watch. Currency conversion calculated on date of close 8/5/19.

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

One Week -0.004  One Year -0.167  One Week +0.001  One Year -0.164 

$3.10 

52-Week High

CRG

East Coast $3.055

New England $3.107

52-Week Low

CRH plc

LafargeHolcim Ltd. ADR

U.S.

Current Value

Eagle Materials Inc. HeidelbergCement AG

On-Highway

Ticker

agle Materials (EXP) reported revenue of $370.6 million, a 6-percent decrease, for the first quarter of fiscal 2020, ended June 30, 2019. Net earnings per diluted share were $0.94, a 32-percent decrease, while adjusted net earnings per share were $1.13. “Our cement sales volume was up 3 percent to a record 1.6 million tons in the first quarter, despite challenging weather conditions, and was considerably stronger during periods when the weather was favorable,” said President and CEO Michael Haack, in a news release. Haack succeeded former CEO Dave Powers on July 1. “Market demand for our wallboard also remained healthy when adjusted for a shift in the timing of our price increases and related buying activity.” Its Heavy Materials sector, which includes cement, concrete, and aggregates, reported revenues of $234.7 million, a 3-percent Eagle Materials (EXP) improvement from the first quarter of 2019. The sector’s operating earnings, however, decreased 5 percent to $40.6 million, due primarily to increased fixed and freight costs, as well as significant wet weather, which hampered concrete and aggregates sales volumes. Cement revenue for the quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenue, was up 5 percent to $195.3 million, reflecting higher sales prices and improved sales volumes. The net sales price for the quarter was up 1 percent to $109.70 per ton. Cement sales volume for the quarter was a record 1.6 million tons, up 3 percent. Concrete and aggregates revenue for the quarter was $39.4 million, a decrease of 3 percent. First quarter operating earnings were $4.4 million, a 19-percent decrease, which reflects lower sales volume. “The outlook for the remainder of the year continues to be positive, and demand for our products is supported by a number of favorable market dynamics including ongoing growth in jobs and wages, higher consumer confidence, and low interest rates,” Haack said. “Our low-cost operations are generating strong cash flow that we are investing to improve our operational efficiency and lower our cost position while continuing to repurchase shares in line with our capitol allocation strategy.” During the first quarter, Eagle Materials repurchased more than 2.2 million shares, nearly 5 percent of its outstanding shares. Source: Market Watch

Data

STOCK REPORT

AGGREGATES INDUSTRY OUTLOOK Aggregates Industry Outlook After back-to-back declines, the Aggregates Industry Outlook results creeped up in August to an overall score of 137.57. Wet weather in the late spring and early summer pushed projects and demand back, but responses to this month’s survey show that sales expectations for the next quarter and half run ahead of last month’s expectations for those same time frames.

150 145 140

138.10 130.86

130.68

135

143.33

127.22

130

137.57

136.42

136.65

136.11

125

132.64

120

125.00

115

120.20

110 105 100 Sept. 2018

Oct. 2018

Nov. 2018

Dec. 2018

Jan. 2019

Feb. 2019

Mar. 2019

Apr. 2019

May 2019

June 2019

July 2019

Aug 2019

We are looking forward to a very strong year end. With the wet weather so far this year, all the work is being compacted into a much smaller time frame. Truck availability will be the biggest issue throughout the rest of the year. — Rod Martin, President, Martin Stone Quarries, Inc.

We are starting to see production and volume slow downs in sand, frac sand, and aggregate materials. Customers are stating (these slow downs) are driven by demand, project letting, and general market uncertainty. — Jason Hurdis, Senior Market Professional, Caterpillar

Editor’s note: To join our panel, email Editor-in-Chief Therese Dunphy at tdunphy@randallreilly.com.

MOBILE EQUIPMENT FINANCED Type of Equipment Wheel loader (250-1,000 horsepower)

169

Excavator (160-520 horsepower)

111

Wheel loaders

Top units financed

TOP STATES

04/01/201906/30/2019

Number financed

Cat 982M

Cat 980M

Cat 966M

Deere 844K

Cat 980G

Komatsu WA500-8

Wheel Loader

Washington

Michigan California

New York

8 Texas

Excavators

Top units financed

Excavators

Number financed

Cat 349F L

Cat 336

Deere 470G LC

Cat 336F L

Volvo EC480EL

Cat 336E L

Pennsylvania

Utah

North Carolina Texas

Florida

EVO

ROLLOUTS

Your complete guide to new and updated equipment and supplies in the aggregates industry.

by Therese Dunphy | Editor-in-Chief | tdunphy@randallreilly.com

Mid-size loader designed for versatility Hitachi rolls out the ZW220-6, the first of its new mid-size wheel loaders in the Dash-6 Series. Designed as a do-it-all loader, the machine weighs in at 38,910 pounds and is powered by a 200-horsepower Cummins Tier 4 final (DPF-free) engine. It delivers 34,170 pounds of breakout force. Heaped bucket capacity is 4.2 to 4.7 cubic yards, with loading heights of up to 13.5 feet. Smart technology features such as ride control, telematics, auto power-up, and a color LCD monitor are included in Dash 6 loaders. Hitachiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Global e-Service combines with its ConSite reporting program to give fleet managers 24/7 remote monitoring, maintenance, and daily operational data, as well as monthly summary reports. The cab boasts a fully updated comfort and convenience package and an airtight seal to keep out dust. A tilt/telescoping steering pedestal is linked to a pop-up pedal that returns the steering pedestal to its start position. Air conditioning, excellent ventilation, and a new sound system with roof-mounted speakers create a comfortable work place for long shifts.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Loaders America Inc. www.hitachiwheelloaders.us

Sensor measures screens in operation Major introduces the Flex-Mat Sensor, a vibration data measurement tool that can be used to review results and fine tune screen machines without first shutting down the equipment. The app-controlled sensor enables readings of screen box vibrations within seconds and generates reports that can be used as actionable data. The operator connects the single sensor to the Flex-Mat Sensor app on their phone before placing the sensor on one corner of the machine. The user will continue to move the sensor to each corner of the machine until finished. Once the measurement process is complete, the information is quickly delivered to the phone. The sensor measures g-force, stroke, rpm, and orbit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including lateral movement.

Major | www.majorflexmat.com

Designed for difficult dewatering Metso offers the Metso VPX filter for difficult-to-dewater tailings. The filter is a new generation filtration solution designed for water recovery and reuse. It has 25 bars of operating pressure and is said to recover up to 90 percent of water in tailings. Equipped with a fully electromechanical drive system and no hydraulics, Metso says it is the safest solution on the market. Due to its modular design, it is scalable as well as easily transportable to the site in standard containers.

Metso | www.metso.com

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

ROLLOUTS Motion sensing control Conveyor Components Co. debuts Model MSD-800 series motion sensing controls which offer protection of rotating equipment such as screw conveyors, belt conveyor pulleys, rotary feeders, and bucket elevators from costly damage by continuously monitoring rotary speed. The system alerts the operator of a change in speed by sending a signal to the control unit, which can be used to sound an alarm and/or shutdown the equipment completely. The system is comprised of a control unit and speed sensor. The control unit has a simple set-up menu that can be programmed to indicate two under-speed points and two over-speed points. It is installed remotely in a control panel where it is free from dust and vibration. The speed senor installs directly to the shaft of the rotating equipment and is enclosed in a cast aluminum housing designed to withstand harsh environments.

Conveyor Components Co. www.conveyorcomponents.com

Emergency rip repair kits Flexco unveils a new kit designed to make emergency rip repairs on heavy-duty conveyor belts fast and easy. The Rip Repair Kit contains everything needed to splice up to 50 feet of belt with a power tool. Flexco recommends using standard Flexco Bolt Solid Plate Fasteners for conveyor belt holes and edge tears. For jagged lengthwise conveyor belt tears or for bridging soft spots, standard Bolt Solid Plate Fasteners can be combined with three-bolt Rip Repair Fasteners. Belt thickness is all that is needed to order a repair kit. The kits are available in a variety of belt thicknesses, ranging from ¼ to 1¼ inch thick. Kits come with a bucket filled with the appropriate fasteners for the selected belt thickness, a bolt horn, bolt breakers, a power punch, a power boring bit, two power wrenches, and a quick-change chuck. A ½-inch impact tool is all that is required to complete installation.

Flexco | www.flexco.com

Dry particle classification system The Gravitational-Inertial Classifier (GIC) system, from Van Tongeren, automatically separates dry materials without water to eliminate the need for settling ponds, sludge pits, and other basins required to manage high volumes of water generated by wet processing. The system uses a proprietary heart-shaped design that passes a current of air through a curtain of falling material, then directs each particle toward a series of angled vanes. Coarse particles are discharged, and entrained fine particles are recirculated in an eddy current until discharged and captured by a dust collector. The unit can separate particles from 50 to 230 mesh.

Van Tongeren | www.van-tongeren.com

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

Self-lubricated bearings Polygon Co. announces its line of PolyLube custom-engineered and standard composite plain bearings, which are designed for use in wheel loaders, excavators, backhoes, and compact track loaders. Featuring high load-bearing capacity, low frictional values, and corrosion resistance, the composite bearings are self-lubricated, requiring no grease and reducing maintenance labor costs. The bearings are made of continuous filamentwound glass fibers, polymer resins, and polytetrafluoroethylene fabric liners. The fiberglass filament and epoxy resin combine to form a highstrength backing. This filament-wound fiberglass structure allows for thin-walled, lightweight bearings.

Polygon Co. | www.polygoncomposites.com

Dump truck logistics app TRUX, a dump truck logistics platform, launches TRUX Connect, a new app for operators to help them manage job sites and trucking logistics. The app allows operators to access thousands of qualified drivers, scale their fleets instantly for larger or distant jobs, manage regular drivers effectively, respond to job site activity, and track truckers who are on the clock. Advanced features include shift creation workflows, fleet management, dispatching tools, and schedule views. Additional features are under development.

TRUX | www.truxnow.com

Single enterprise drone solutions DroneDeploy announces a major expansion of its products, making it a single platform for all drone operations. Drone Operations Management allows operators to record flight activity automatically, in a single platform. Operators can sync DroneDeploy with their preferred document storage or project management applications. A manual flight mode allows operators to explore however they wish, including low-altitude inspections and custom photos and videos. Drone Academy is a comprehensive training program. Earthworks offers advanced cut and fill capabilities and new 3D analytics.

DroneDeploy | www.dronedeploy.com

Tracks raw materials receipt Command Alkon introduces supplyCONNECT Replenish, a module that improves, automates, and digitizes the materials receiving process for vertically integrated producers. With the new module, material receipts are electronically transmitted to COMMANDbatch providing visibility into future deliveries of raw materials and eliminating the errors that come with manual ticket reconciliation. The supplyCONNECT system consists of Replenish and two other modules: Demand allows operators to forecast needs and plan raw material deliveries, and Inventory provides real-time visibility to current stock levels at each plant.

Command Alkon | www.commandalkon.com

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

PLANT PROFILE by Kerry Clines | Senior Editor

Hitting it Hot and Heavy in the Hill Country When the call went out for construction aggregates in a booming Texas town, West Henly Materials answered the call.

In the hill country just west of Austin lies the small town of Dripping Springs, Texas, but it isn’t as small as it was a few years ago. The town caught the eye of developers because of its close proximity to Austin, and it’s growing like crazy. Every type of construction you

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

can think of is going on in and around the town — from roadwork to residential and commercial buildings — and it’s not showing signs of slowing down any time soon. Jason Wheeler took note of the need for building materials in the area and knew that it would have to come from

somewhere nearby. So, he found and bought a nice piece of land on Highway 290 just west of Dripping Springs that was full of usable limestone aggregates. Soon after the purchase, he established West Henly Materials, which has now been in business for three and a half years. The quarry celebrated its third

a lot of work. There was an 8-foot-high rock wall right where the quarry entrance is now that we had to hammer through. We started right there, knocked it all down, and gradually worked our way to the back.” The building being used as the office and scalehouse was once a bunkhouse, and the meeting room attached to it was a dog kennel. The buildings were simply moved onto the property and stuck together.

Processing material

West Henly Materials may have started out as a greenfield site, but it is now an extremely busy limestone quarry supplying aggregate for a booming town in the hill country of Texas.

anniversary in February 2019, and business is great.

From greenfield to quarry “I opened up the quarry here because of the location,” says Jason Wheeler, owner of New Henly Materials. “I didn’t have any training in the business before

opening this. The employees are ex-military or have worked in the roadbuilding industry, but nobody here had ever been in the quarry business before. We were crazy, but we’re still here.” “This was a greenfield site when we first started here,” says Rhett Brooks, plant manager. “That first year, we did

Breaking up the material at the quarry is done in a couple different ways. When the highwall isn’t tall enough, no blasting takes place, so the crew simply breaks up the rock with a couple of excavators with hammer attachments. “The highwall needs to be about 30 feet high before we start blasting instead of breaking,” Brooks explains. “It costs more to blast a short wall, so we just break it up. It’s pretty fast.” Where the highwall is already in place and tall enough for blasting, Austin Powder is called in to do the job. It handles all the blasting and uses a subcontractor to do the drilling. “They’re great guys,” Brooks says, speaking of the crew from Austin Powder. “We tell them what we want to do and give them our price range, and they take care of it. They blast it off, and we take care of it after that.” Following the blast, the excavators with hammer attachments move in to break up the larger rock. A loader then loads the rock into four off-road haul trucks that carry it to the portable processing plant and dump it into a big hole next to the crusher. From there, an excavator scoops up the rock and feeds it into the crusher. The crusher and screen are separate machines, but they back up to each other, and the stackers are all lined up so that one person can feed everything. The crusher/screen settings can be changed to make everything from 3x5 base to 1-1/2-inch rock or fill. After the crushing and screening process, the material doesn’t sit on the AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

PLANT PROFILE

Two excavators with hammer attachments break up the rock in the pit.

ground for long. As soon as it comes off the stacker, it’s gone the next day, which is ideal for the quarry. The finished products are shipped out by truck. West Henly Materials doesn’t own any delivery trucks of its own, so customer trucks come in and pick up all their own material. The quarry also takes in haul off material from construction sites. Each truck that comes in is charged $25 to $35 for the load. They usually dump the haul off material in an area of the quarry that has already been mined and pick up a load of aggregate for their return trip. In the summer, a dozer will climb up on the haul off pile and begin pushing it down. A screen is moved down to the bottom of the pile and fed with the haul off material to make fill. Leftover concrete is also dumped at the quarry, where it gets broken up, crushed, and sold. Everything at the quarry is processed and sold — top soil, fill, rock, and recycled concrete. Even the trees that are removed before the mining begins are ground up and sold as mulch. Nothing goes to waste.

The processing plant consists of a portable crusher and a portable screen with stackers lined up to feed the stockpiles.

The crew West Henly Materials is a fairly large operation and a very busy place, but the focus is always on safety. There are nine employees that work just one shift. They keep everything running with the help of two people in the scalehouse/office. Safety meetings are held every Monday morning, but most of the crew have been in the military or in some

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

A customer truck pulls up to the scalehouse to check his weight and get a ticket.

kind of construction work all their lives, so they always think safety first. Brooks says they know how to take care of themselves and watch out for others. “We have a hell of a team out here,”

Brooks notes. “I think 80 percent of these guys have been here since day one. Everybody knows how to run the equipment. Everybody’s extremely safe. It’s almost like a family.”

The Rock Hawg In November 2018, Tesmec approached Jason Wheeler, owner of West Henly Materials, to see if he would allow the company to conduct a demo of its Rock Hawg milling machine at his quarry. The company wanted to invite people to come out to see the machine in action and thought the quarry would be a perfect place to do that. Wheeler agreed to the demo and received a surprise bonus. “We were really busy in November,” says Rhett Brooks, plant manager. “They demo’d the Rock Hawg, but they brought it out a week early and let us use it for that week on their dime. When we put that mill machine on the ground, we were running it day and night. After the demo, we committed to use it for another month, and we ran it pretty hot and heavy for that month.” Tesmec left the machine at the quarry after that, even though it wasn’t being used when the one-month commitment was over. Another demo was held at the quarry in February 2019, which saw an even bigger turnout of

“We’re all MSHA trained and work as a team, and we have two people trained in First Aid and CPR,” says Leslie Longoria, safety manager, adding that there has to be a First Aid/CPR person on every shift. “TCEQ is pretty easy,” Longoria adds. “We keep the dust down and put water on the roads when it’s really dry to keep the dust off our driveway. Plus, the stockpiles can’t be over a certain height. We just follow the rules. We also build our berms to a certain specification, so our guys don’t drive off cliffs.” Longoria notes that Wheeler has strict guidelines on using hardhats, seatbelts, and chocking the tires, and every day the crew pulls out every single machine to do a check. If they find something wrong, they notify the maintenance person immediately so that he can fix it. Water control isn’t a problem at the quarry. There’s no settling pond, because there is no wash plant. The only pond on site is used to collect stormwater and is stocked with fish, but it is not used in the plant. The well water available

Tesmec performed two demonstrations of its Rock Hawg mill machine at West Henly Materials.

people interested in seeing the machine in action. “It’s a great machine, we loved it,” Brooks says. “It was easy. Mill it, load it into a truck, and get it out of here. But right now, with our hammers, we are able to keep up with everything and don’t necessarily need it.” One thing’s for sure, though: they know where to find it if they ever need it again.

in the area is discolored due to heavy mineral content, so clean water has to be shipped in for drinking and personal use. Brooks says the entire area is pretty dry in the summer, so dust tends to be their main problem. There aren’t usually any stormwater issues because of the dryness either. The quarry does, however, have a problem with clay pockets in some locations, but even the clay finds a use. The clay is used by a partner to line ponds and a roadbuilding company in Austin. The crew usually works from 6:30 or 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but they may stay as late as 7 or 8 p.m. if asked. They work Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 12 noon, which is usually dedicated to maintenance, and may even work Sunday, if necessary. The quarry usually closes the office at 5 p.m., but operations begin shutting down between 4 and 4:30 p.m. After the operation shuts down, everybody becomes a mechanic. Everything is serviced every night — the crushers and screens are pulled out and the crew gets up under them to clean them up, blow

them off, and power wash them. That’s one thing the crew takes great pride in — keeping all the equipment clean and in good running shape. “Three employees grab the trucks at the end of the day, take off, and start servicing, and it’s done in 30 minutes,” Brooks says, noting that they do all their own maintenance. “We really try to keep our equipment in good shape. That’s one of our jobs, because if one of them goes down, we’re just losing money.”

Looking to the future Brooks says they never did any coring on the property, so they don’t know for sure how much rock is available, but he expects the quarry will be there for at least another 10 years. Wheeler also owns another 90 acres across the creek from the current quarry that can be mined when the current area is mined out. If the boom continues in Dripping Springs and other nearby towns in the hill country of Texas, business will continue to be very good...for a very long time. AM AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

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OPERATIONS ILLUSTRATED By Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief

Water 101

Contour the site to control water flow.

Filter water before it flows into the settling pond.

OUR EXPERTS

Capture and reuse process water.

Larger rock prevents plugging.

Ericka Baxter is the assistant director of environment and sustainability for Conco Companies with responsibilities for 13 of its operations. She joined Conco 18 years ago when she was a college student and never left. Baxter earned her bachelor’s degree from Missouri State and is currently working on a master’s degree in environmental management and sustainability.

John Bennington is the director of washing and classifying for Superior Industries. He began working with aggregate industry manufacturers in 1993. He is a recognized expert in wet processing technologies and travels extensively, both designing and refining processing applications. Bennington received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University.

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

From stormwater to settling ponds, know how to manage your H2O

ealing effectively with water issues — from stormwater runoff to recycling process water — is a significant challenge for many producers. “Water is such a difficult issue because it’s always changing,” says Ericka Baxter, assistant director of environment and sustainability for Springfield, Mo.-based Conco Companies, parent company of Conco Quarries Inc. Site design plays an integral role, whether from the outset of plant development or when making updates. “Most operations lay out their plant so stormwater rolls into waste water,” says John Bennington, director of washing and classifying for Morris, Minn.-based Superior Industries, noting that the time spent in laying out a good design is a worthwhile investment. When it experienced run-on from the street outside one of its operations, Conco completely redid its parking lot, tearing it out to solid ground and redesigning it to improve water flows. The entrance was sloped up to keep water on the street, then sloped down toward its property to keep water falling into the operation inside its gates. Water travels to a drain and back to the pit behind the plant. As part of the same project, the operation created a bowl effect with concrete so that water from the wash rack flows to the pit, and constructed a large berm near its river sand pile and hydroseeded it. The changes allow the operation to remain well within

the limits of is stormwater permit. Once stormwater has been directed into waste water, operators then have numerous options on how to handle it. “Obviously, the traditional way is to let it go to settling ponds,” Bennington says. Settling ponds allow process water to flow through a series of basins, with solids falling to the bottom and cleaner water overflowing into the next pond. Typically, the first ponds in the series are fairly shallow, with more of a focus on surface area than depth. As water continues to flow through the system, the last pond is often much deeper. To determine the appropriate size of settling ponds, Bennington recommends a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers brochure. “It was actually written to address water retention ponds for reservoirs and things like that,” he says, “but the mathematics work the same either way. If you use those calculations to size your pond appropriately and then bail them when you’re supposed to, that’s far and away the least expensive way to go.” Settling ponds also offer predictable maintenance. A simple calculation using the pond capacity and the tons of material going into the pond each day allows the operator to predict pond maintenance requirements with a high degree of accuracy. “You’re not going to have issues with water quality if you’re reusing it,” Baxter notes, “so recycle that water.”

Protect outflows

Determine the best management practices suitable for use at the site. Direct water flow toward settling ponds for processing. Use fiber rolls, drainage rock fill, and filter socks to slow flow and remove contaminants. Build containment berms to prevent water from leaving the site. Vegetative cover encourages water to infiltrate, minimizing runoff and erosion.

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

Settle the solids

Myriad options are available for recycling process water. Settling ponds are often the most affordable option. Use U.S. Corps of Engineers guidance on sizing ponds, keeping in mind the reach of the machine that will be used to bail them. Bowl thickeners, slope plate clarifiers, and rapid thickeners are other alternatives, but each requires additional capital investment.

Improve settling times

Polymer flocculants can be used with settling ponds and other processing equipment to minimize settling times. The flocculants attach to fine particles, allowing them to quickly sink to the bottom. Calculate the cost of treatment, roughly $1 per ton of silt for slope plate clarifiers and bowl thickeners (more for rapid thickeners), into operating costs.

Reduce chemical dependency

One way to reduce the amount of flocculant needed to treat process water is to install a fines recovery cyclone before additional equipment. With the ability to cut nearly half of the suspended solids from the process flow, it can yield corresponding savings on chemical treatment. It should not, however, be used before sending process water to a settling pond.

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

Voices of Experience Ericka Baxter

nowing your plant and spending time in the field rather than the office is one of the best ways to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your water management practices, says Ericka Baxter, assistant director of environment and sustainability for Conco Companies. Understanding the plant as a whole — including the layout and operations, not just settling ponds and stormwater controls — provides the insights she needs to do her job well. “Going to the outfalls doesn’t really provide enough information,” she says. Instead, she prefers to drive around during a heavy storm to see how rainfall impacts each site. “I drive around a lot in the rain because, if you don’t know you have a problem, you can’t fix it,” Baxter explains. “I like to drive around to see where the water is flowing. Is it actually going where you think it should be, or is it finding another way?” A regular presence at the sites also keeps her in close contact with the staff at each plant. “I find a lot of people who don’t get out into the plant come up with solutions that don’t actually work in the real world,” she says. “Some of our best fixes for water issues have come from our frontline workers, because they are the ones who are out every day. They have the best ideas.” At the 13 Conco sites that Baxter covers, various strategies are put into place to slow the flow of water and direct it to the desired part of the site. Rock checks — built using 2- by 6-inch rock — helps slow the water. Hay bales serve a similar purpose. And, before water flows into a settling pond, it may also flow through filter socks. “It’s a lot easier to treat water before it gets to the settling basin,” Baxter notes. Different types of filter socks are available for different purposes. For example, Conco uses one type to gather filterable material flowing to the settling ponds, while another type is used near the truck parking area to contain oils and grease. On a monthly basis, discharge points listed in the company’s seven stormwater permits are inspected. Samples are drawn from process water leaving the property quarterly, while stormwater samples are taken as needed to ensure compliance. While the design of controls for its stormwater and process water is important, maintenance of those controls is equally essential. “You have to stay on top of your maintenance,” Baxter says. “If you have all the best management practices in the world, all of the best filter socks, but you don’t keep up with them, they will do more harm than good because they’re holding the material you’re trying to capture.”

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

John Bennington

ettling ponds are often the easiest and cheapest way to recycle process water, but some operators view them as difficult to maintain and undesirable. Those looking for alternatives to traditional settling ponds have a number of choices, notes John Bennington, director of washing and classifying for Superior Industries, but they all come with a cost. One option is a slope plate clarifier; its rectangular tank has angled plates that increase surface area allowing for a smaller footprint. It requires flocculant, which allows for agglomeration of particles as material slides down the plates. Settled particles collect at the bottom of the machine where a sensor periodically triggers its release into a bunker or a sump that pumps it to another form of storage. “What is probably the most popular device out there is a bowl thickener,” Bennington says. The floor of the tank is usually sloped toward the center and a pair of rakes slowly move material at the bottom toward that center. Like with a slope plate clarifier, a sensor discharges the material at the bottom of the tank when it becomes thick enough. A newer twist on traditional tanks is the rapid thickener. These rectangular tanks can be 15 to 20 feet deep and quickly settle process water. While slope plate clarifiers and bowl thickeners use a similar amount of flocculant, the rapid thickener requires significantly more flocculant because it has less surface area. “The drawback to all of those is that they have a capital cost,” Bennington says. “You get a sludge out of them that is 30 to 40 percent solids, depending on what the fines are made out of, so it’s not handleable. You can pump it some place or do further processing. It’s kind of a pain, because there is not much you can do with it.” From a cost perspective, the slope plate clarifier and bowl thickener can cost as much as $1 per ton of silt. “Say you have a 500 ton-per-hour plant that has 10 percent silt in it,” Bennington says. “That’s 50 tons per hour or $50 an hour in chemical, and you still have to do something with the sludge.” One way to reduce chemical costs is to install a fines recovery cyclone in front of the clarifier. According to Bennington, cyclones can make cuts to around 300 to 400 mesh, which reduce chemical costs roughly by half. The cyclone isn’t suitable for use with a settling pond because only the minus 300 to minus 400 material enters the pond and it doesn’t settle. “I’ve heard it described as trying to bail smoke,” Bennington says, noting, “fines recovery cyclones are a great idea in tandem with other systems.”

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APPLICATIONS by Caroline Schweitzer

Tried. True. New. Rango Inc. puts Hitachi’s EX1200-7 through its paces at an aggregate operation in Mesa, Ariz.

hen the new EX1200-7 excavator rolled onto a Rango Inc. job site, there was a feeling of energy in the air. Not only had it received a new EX1200-7, but it was the first Dash-7 to be delivered and digging on North American ground. The crew put it to work immediately, breaking through 15 feet of a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate to mine aggregates at a job site in Mesa, Ariz.

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

“We’re like a bunch of kids in a candy store,” says Dave Johnson, general production superintendent at Rango, “especially when the new 1200-7 was delivered. I had multiple operators on other jobs asking when they were going to be able to run it. We all got pretty excited.”

Ready, set, grow Ready, set, grow — this has been the mentality at Rango, an excavation, haulage, and stockpiling service provider

for the mining industry headquartered in the Phoenix, Ariz., area. This mindset is also why the company added the brand new EX1200-7 to its fleet. Dan McQuade, CEO of Rango, took the position with the task of meeting the goals of a five-year growth plan. The expansion and diversification plan were the vision of the leadership team and Rodney George, one of the founders of Rango. With this strategic vision, the company has seen exponential growth in

Contractor Rango Inc. puts the excavator through its paces at an aggregate operation near Mesa, Ariz.

the past couple of years — leaping from 45 employees in 2017 to nearly 200 employees and 225 pieces of heavy machinery today. By expanding its mining, hauling, and aggregates service offerings, as well as its geographic footprint, the family-based corporation has hands in multiple honey pots, including a sister company, Rango Honey, that specializes in honey and beekeeping. Yes … beekeeping. With the evolution of Rango’s mining

business, there’s little patience for equipment that isn’t ready to handle the fast pace. Among all the business changes that have occurred, there’s one thing that has remained the same: the company’s loyalty to Hitachi excavators: specifically, the 1200 series. “The 1200 series of machines are the only excavators that Rango uses to move high volumes, sometimes 16, 18, 20, 22,000 tons of material a day,” McQuade says. As a serial purchaser of Hitachi

machines, Rango has had several EX1200-5 and EX1200-6 excavators and appreciated their productivity and speed. When the opportunity came to order the new EX1200-7, it was the clear next step. “Hitachi is our choice as the best excavator on the market,” McQuade says. “The quality, the cycle times, the production levels, the uptime, and just the overall ease for the operators when they’re sitting behind the controls all day, every day. We think they’re the AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

APPLICATIONS best machines out there, so Rango is really focused to stay with that line.”

Maintaining peak efficiency

Rango uses the 1200 series excavators to move up to 22,000 tons per day of material. This is its first Dash 7 model.

McQuade says the excavators are key to keeping job sites moving and producing at high volumes. “It’s no secret that the excavator is kind of like the kingpin on your job,” McQuade says. “It’s the most valuable piece of equipment, and sometimes the single piece of equipment that we have on the job. Keeping its efficiencies near 100 percent is what’s going to make the job successful in the long run. It’s as simple as this: if a track hoe or loading truck is waiting, then we’re losing money.” Not only does the combination of uptime and power make this machine a winner for Rango, but the ease of transportation makes a bottom-line difference as well. “We go from job-to-job with our

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business model. With some competitor machines out there, you might need 12 heavy haul trucks, cranes, and multiple people to move a machine,” McQuade says. “That can cost thousands and thousands of dollars. The 1200-7 is easy to move and then put back together, which is a benefit for us as well.” For the growing array of work Rango digs into, the EX1200-7 provides the versatility it needs for many job sites. “The 1200-7 is phenomenal and very versatile,” McQuade says. “Whether it’s hard digging or soft digging, you know you can configure the bucket so that the horsepower behind the machine, the hydraulics, and everything in the design just lets you be the best you can be. That’s why we’ve stayed with this line and purchased the new Dash-7.” Johnson says he is pleased with the new machine as well and explained that the speed and breakout power of the EX1200-7 is what makes it a top performer.

“I can’t emphasize enough how fast these machines are. It’s an EX1200 and it feels like you’re running a machine that’s half the size,” Johnson says. “It’s going to run as fast as I want it to run, and I’m going to be able to get as many loads out in the day as I can with that machine, even through caliche and the tough stuff.” Since Rango works heavily in aggregates, having an excavator powerful enough to dig through tough conglomerate has a huge impact on productivity. Johnson says the machine’s breakout power is key. “With other machines, when you hit tough caliche, it feels like they power out,” he says. “The bucket would stop and sometimes lift the whole machine up off the ground, tracks and all. With the Hitachis, they just keep going.”

culture Rango has built. He says it’s not only about new machines, but also the operators running them. “Our people and how we treat them is what makes the difference between a good company and just an okay company,” McQuade says. “Everyone can buy the best equipment made in the world, but the difference is your people.” That said, the EX1200 series is now a staple in Rango’s formula for success. “If I was going to give advice to someone out there, as far as equipment or model selection,” McQuade says, “I would tell them to not buy any Hitachis at all because Rango is going to need the next dozen they produce.” AM

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AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT by Greg Helfrich

A Case for Preemptive Replacement Rather than run to fail, plan for preemptive maintenance. It can improve morale and your bottom line.

s a frequent flyer, I appreciate that airlines replace parts before they wear out or fail. Aircraft and the people in them don’t react well to breakdowns while in operation. Depending on how often you fly or aircraft fly above your home, I’m sure you feel like I do about the preemptive replacement of parts vs. run to fail in aircraft. Why do we wait for parts to fail on crushing equipment before replacing them? The obvious answer is crushers don’t fall from the sky, so why would you preemptively replace parts? I think it’s time to rethink this practice.

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

Why move to preemptive replacement? There are numerous reasons to make the switch to preemptive replacement maintenance. Consider the following rationale: Improved availability and production cost. If you can reduce downtime and increase availability, you can sell more products, reduce overtime, or reduce the length of your season. Being able to sell more product is very economically attractive as increases in revenue come at a minimal incremental cost. Availability or uptime drives profitability in crushing. You don’t have tremendous power over the selling price of your products

because the product you sell is commoditized, and someone will always do it cheaper. Therefore, the lever you have is production cost, which is driven by availability — if you improve your availability, you will lower your production cost. Safety. Military minds throughout the world strive to do battle on their terms. They seek to choose the time and place where they do battle because it improves their odds of winning. When you decide the time and place to replace parts, you get to choose the environment, plan the work, and approach the work with a thoughtful mindset vs. being reactionary. You take the “hurry up” and “get this done at all costs” thinking out of crew that so often leads to shortcuts and, in the end, injury. The statistics are clear, a large portion of workplace injuries are as a result of maintenance and repair efforts — choose your time and place to do battle! Repairs are faster. When you choose the time for a repair, you can also ensure the required parts are on hand; you can also plan your day for items like cranes and technical support people to conduct detailed inspections and enough people to complete the work on schedule. You skip the downtime for someone to run and get parts or a service technician to get to the worksite. Breakdowns are less catastrophic. Ever heard about the $40 roller that wrecks a $5,000 belt - a single part failure compounds itself into a catastrophic failure. Anyone who has been in crushing can regale you with the story of: • A roller that destroys a belt, • Bearing failures that destroy shafts, • Belt scrapers that destroy a belt, • Worn out screen panel that led to an out-of-spec pile, and • Failed V-belts that plugged the crusher. Keeping good people. Do you remember the last “day from hell” you went through? Was it focused on “firefighting” and crisis management? Did you enjoy yourself? Being under stress for long periods has consequences for the wellbeing of your people. It also kills morale and makes for a nasty workplace. Observe your people at the end of a successful shift where everyone got to do their jobs and put lots of product on the ground — they’re happy and joking around as they leave. Then remember back to the day when they spent most of the day broken down, they get in their cars and go — exhausted and demoralized. It has always been hard to find and keep great people, and when the economy is good, it’s even harder. Imagine what it would be like to have all kinds of work booked and not enough people to meet your commitments. Good people have choices, and most will not choose to work in continual stressful situations, and breakdowns are stressful.

Implementing preemptive replacement Before you make the move to preemptive replacement, do your homework. Research. Many manufacturers will give you estimates for the life of parts, and for those where you can’t get an estimate,

If you do not properly grease screen bearings and monitor temperatures, this can result.

Think that VGF can last another week? Maybe not.

your experience will let you estimate what the best before date is for parts. When you replace the first roller on a conveyor, remember that they were all put on at the same time. The rest will fail shortly. Recordkeeping systems. Do you know the life cycle cost of the parts and consumables you use? If you don’t, your record keeping systems are not where they need to be. The best operators know how many tons manganese lasts, and they know how many tons they get out of screen media. When you have a recordkeeping system that gives you this information, changing from run to fail to preemptive replacement is natural. Your recordkeeping system should do two things: • Record the date replaced for parts and components on your equipment, and • Record the tonnage and operating hours between failures and replacement of parts and components. These records allow you to predict replacement intervals and refine your system to avoid breakdowns even more over time. AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT help identify small issues to correct during the next manganese change vs. a separate repair when you least expect it or need it. Build a system. Information is your ticket to lower downtime. Data, in the form of replacement records and inspection records, gives you the knowledge to build a system to maximize uptime. Think of it as a cycle that leads you to an optimum state where you minimize downtime and maximize uptime and availability.

What about the extra cost?

Failure to maintain and/or replace belt scrapers can lead to material build up which can cause seized pulleys and torn belts.

Diagnostics and inspection. Back to aviation; the pilot or co-pilot is required to inspect the aircraft before every flight regardless of when the last inspection was. Using an infrared temperature gun to identify bearing temperatures throughout the plant and recording those temperatures allows you to identify trends and take corrective action before a big problem happens. A daily inspection of visual and the not-so-visual can

“Waste not, want not” is an often-heard refrain and, as a rule of thumb, it works and applies to preemptive replacement as well — you choose what you are prepared to waste. Do you waste hours of your people’s time and risk a safety incident or decide to not get the last 20 percent of life out of your screen cloth? In a time when good people were easier to find and a cut hand with stitches was something that just happened and was viewed as a “price you paid” to go to work, running to fail was the way you did business. Society and our industry have evolved — we need to retain good people, and we no longer accept that a trip to the hospital for stitches is an acceptable outcome. Those two reasons alone are enough to adopt preemptive replacement as a way of doing business. The icing on the cake is the economics of preemptive replacement. There are two big payback arguments for preemptive replacement — improved availability and avoiding the cost of catastrophic breakdowns.

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Availability — Take a sand and gravel operation with two screens, a cone, jaw, conveyors, and control van and tower with a three-person crew. They run at 67.4-percent availability rate as they lose time moving around, and they work in abrasive conditions so plenty of media and manganese changes. Their cost of crushing is about $1.92 per ton. If they increase the parts budget by 20 percent but lower unplanned downtime by an hour per week, their availability goes up to 69.1 percent, their cost of crushing is unchanged, but they can produce another 9,800 tons per year with fewer headaches and safety risk. These changes allow them to sell more or shorten their season and put more money in the bank. Catastrophic breakdowns — Replacing a lubrication pump at 8,000 hours means that you don’t receive 20 percent of the $800 lubrication pump. Theoretically, you sacrifice $160 worth of life. Compared to the $30,000 to $80,000 you could spend on repair costs when a bushing or bearing fails, preemptive parts replacement becomes a no brainer. Like any change in operating philosophy, implementing preemptive replacement can take time. To get started, plan down days so they can be used to transition to preemptive replacement. Create and continually update a priority list of work that needs to be completed and parts that need to be replaced. This way, you can have the parts on hand to ensure the next down day pays off. If you are down or have service people on site, you can take care of several service items while repairs take place.

With the help of loose blocking and friction, a hydraulic leak and the oil and wood blocking ignited.

You will need to replace wear parts or suffer a breakdown at some point, so be prepared to make effective use of this downtime. Repeat the cycle of prioritizing and preparing, and you will reap the benefits in availability. AM Greg Helfrich is the North American operations manager for Elrus Aggregate Systems.

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AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

by Karen L. Johnston and Nicole Grimmesey

ROCKLAW

Is Your Defense Prepared For Interferences? Three court cases underscore the lack of a single test for what constitutes interference.

Karen L. Johnston is a member in Jackson Kelly PLLC’s Denver, Colo., office where she practices in the Construction and Manufacturing industry groups, focusing primarily on workplace health and safety and litigation. She can be reached at 303-390-0008 or kjohnston@jacksonkelly. com. Nicole Grimmesey is a summer associate.

he Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) prohibits employers from discharging, discriminating against, or “otherwise interfering with” the exercise of miners’ statutory rights. 30 U.S.C.A. § 815(c) (1). These statutory rights include protection and anonymity when reporting workplace health and safety concerns to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The prohibition against discharging or discriminating against miners is somewhat straightforward, but what constitutes “interference”? Essentially, interference is a lesser form of retaliation directed toward a miner for submitting claims to MSHA. Although courts have yet to adopt a single test for evaluating interference claims, a brief look at the competing considerations provides insight as to the purpose of the Mine Act. The first test proposed to evaluate interference claims was the Franks test. Franks v. Emerald Coal Res., L.P., 36 FMSHRC 2088 (2014). This test asks the following two questions: 1) Can the employer’s action be reasonably viewed, from the perspective of miners and under the totality of circumstances, as tending to interfere with the exercise of miners’ protected rights? and 2) Does the employer fail to justify the action

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

with a legitimate and substantial reason, whose importance outweighs the harm caused to the exercise of protected rights? A review of the totality of circumstances requires all surrounding facts to be considered from an objective standpoint. So, a miner’s subjective reaction is not to be considered. The relevant surrounding facts may include the events that occurred immediately before and after the alleged interference, along with the context and content of what occurred. If the answer to both questions is “yes,” an interference violation is found. Several years later, a second test emerged. The Pepin test differed from the Franks test by adding a new element that must be proven. Pepin v. Empire Iron Mining P’ship, 38 FMSHRC 1435 (ALJ Barbour) (June 6, 2016). A miner must prove the mine operator’s actions were motivated by the miner’s exercise of their protected rights. The Pepin test asks the following two questions: 1) Can the employer’s action be reasonably viewed, from the perspective of miners and under the totality of circumstances, as tending to interfere with the exercise of miners’ protected rights? and 2) Were the employer’s actions motivated by the exercise of miners’ protected rights?

Since it is unlikely that there would be direct evidence of motive, the surrounding circumstances may provide indirect evidence. Motive may be proven through a mine operator’s knowledge of the protected activity occurring and hostile response, coincidence in time between the protected conduct and adverse action, and disparate treatment of the miner after reporting. So, where do we go from here? Does the mine operator’s motive matter? The most recent court decision seems to point in the negative. In Marshall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit used the Franks test to determine that a mining company’s policy interfered with miners’ rights by requiring miners to file with management any complaints that were filed with MSHA. Marshall Cty Coal Co. v. FMSHRC, 923 F.3d 192, 202 (D.C. Cir. 2019). The court found that a reasonable miner would believe management was hostile to the MSHA complaint process and the exercise of miners’ rights. Id. at 198. In addition, the mining company did not have a plan to protect miners’ anonymity and the policy did not serve the goal of informing management of unsafe conditions. Id. Although the Marshall Court declined to adopt the Franks test as the official test, it provided insight into how a mine operator might defend against an interference claim. The court relied upon the facts that the mine operator did not have a method to ensure miners’ rights were protected, and the policy did not meet the stated goal. Additionally, the court pointed out that the mine operator did not object to the court’s application of the Franks test in the proceeding before the administrative law judge. Thus, the court declined to determine whether Franks or Pepin was the appropriate test. Now, let’s get practical. What can mine operators do to avoid interference violations? Try mitigating potential interference claims through the following: • Ensure any new reporting policies accomplish the stated goal, • Ensure miners feel comfortable raising safety concerns, • Be aware of whether anyone in mine management has threatened retaliation in the past, and • Caution mine management against actions that might directly or indirectly prevent miners from seeking safety assistance. When considering whether an interference violation

occurred, the following questions may be useful: • Did mine management follow through with the alleged interference? • Did mine management attempt to retract the alleged interference? • How was mine management’s behavior after the alleged interference occurred? • Would mine management have taken that same action in the absence of the protected conduct? • Did the alleged interference occur in a private or public setting? • How long did the situation of the alleged interference last? • Did the miner’s actions contribute to the alleged interference? By incorporating these practices and considerations into the workplace, your team will be better prepared to defend against interference claims. AM

Experience: Retired November 2011 following 41 years with the U.S. Geological Survey • USGS Aggregate Resource Geologist 1977-2011 • Past Chair and Distinguished Service Award recipient, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Industrial Minerals and Aggregates Division • Author of ASBPE award-winning columns - Carved In Stone, Aggregates Manager, 1998-Present

Services Offered: Applied geology and geological research for construction rocks and minerals, with an emphasis on aggregates. • Resource evaluation • Expert testimony

• Technical writing and review • Lecturer

Contact me at:

Bill-Langer@researchgeologist.com www.researchgeologist.com

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AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

12/14/16 8:54 AM

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Beka-Max of America, Inc. Aggregates Manager Mobile

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Bill Langer - Research Geologist Bill Langer

www.researchgeologist.com researchgeologist.com

Breaker Technology, Inc.

www.rockbreaker.com

bkt-tires.com

ClearSpan

clearspan.com

DRM Production CWW Conveyor Systems, LLC

na.hazemag.com www.cwwconveyors.com

Kleemann Elrus Aggregate System

wirtgen-group.com/america www.elrus.com

IBC

Flexco KPI-JCI

www.flexco.com kpijci.com/track-mount

Corp. Kruse FMI Integration

www.fminet.com kruseintegration.com

4 15

C.L. Dews & Sons Foundry Clearspan Fabric Structures

Kespry, Inc.

BKT USA Inc.

www.dewsfoundry.com

www.clearspan.com/adam

www.kespry.com/aggregates

Martin Sprocket

martinsprocket.com

McLanahan

mclanahan.com

Motion Industries

motionindustries.com

Progressive Luff Industries, Ltd

progressivecommercial.com www.luffindustries.com

KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens Kruse Integration

www.kpijci.com www.kruseintegration.com

Linear Rubber Products

www.belting4conveyors.com

The publisher does not assume any & liability for errors Martin Sprocket Gear, Inc. or omissions.

IBC 22

www.martinsprocket.com

59 59 25

2 59 59 55 22

Midwestern Industries

www.midwesternind.com

Motion Industries, Inc.

www.motionindustries.com

IFC

NSSGA Membership

www.nssga.org

Polydeck Screen Corp.

www.polydeckscreen.com

Pugmill Systems, Inc.

www.pugmillsystems.com

Rock Systems, Inc.

www.rocksystems.com

Rulmeca Group

www.rulmeca.ca

Scott Equipment

www.scottcompanies.com

SDLG North America

www.sdlgna.com

Stedman Machine Co.

www.stedman-machine.com/impact

Superior Industries

www.superior-ind.com

Terex Minerals Processing Systems

www.terexmps.com

Topcon Positioning Systems

www.topconpositioning.com

www.volvoce.com/smartcare

www.worldofasphalt.com

www.worldofconcrete.com

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AGGREGATES MANAGER / January 2016 AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019 Untitled-17 1

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CARVED IN STONE

Bill Langer is a consulting research geologist who spent 41 years with the U.S. Geological Survey before starting his own business. He can be reached at Bill_Langer@hotmail.com

What’s in your smart phone?

ack in the mid-80s, my wife, Pam, and I were working with a realtor to look at houses. The fellow had a newfangled device called a mobile phone. It was about the size of a shoe box and had a handset like that on a traditional phone of the time (if you can remember what that looked like). We were really impressed that he could call the office from his car. Since that time, mobile phones have evolved from simple communication devices into multifunction smartphones. As the phones became more complex, the list of elements needed to create them grew. There were about 25 to 30 elements that went into the 1980’s device. Today, there are about 75 different elements (almost This is approximately the amount of high-grade ore necessary to three quarters of the periodic table) that are needed to meet all obtain the gold needed for a single cell phone. the special functions of our smartphones. Twelve of the elements in a smartphone, the amount of the element in the phone, and their primary use in the phone are shown in the table below. (One ounce equals about 28 grams.) Those elements are refined from minerals that are mined all across the globe. You might wonder how much material is mined to make one smartphone. Let’s start by looking at how much gold ore is mined to produce the 0.024 grams of gold used in a smartphone. For this exercise, we will assume that a mine is capable of producing high grade ore, which is about 8 to 10 grams of gold per metric ton of ore (8 to 10 parts per million), and that the recovery of gold from processing the ore is 90 percent. First, there is no such thing as an average gold mine or average any-type-of mine. Similarly, the amount of gold or other metal recovered during processing also varies depending on the type of ore and the method of processing. So, the values I give below are very generalized. The 0.014 grams of gold used in a smartphone is about the size of a grain of sand. The amount of high-grade ore needed to obtain that amount of gold is about 3.5 pounds, a bit more than the weight of the gold ore shown in the photo. For lower-grade ore, the sample might be twice that size. Of course, mining other elements can ELEMENT AMOUNT PRIMARY USES be much more efficient. For example, silica sand is used to make the screen of a smartAluminum 31.14 grams Case phone. Most commercially worked silica Silicon 8.14 grams Glass screen sand deposits are at least 90 percent pure, Copper 7.84 grams Electrical conductor and very little of the material is lost during Cobalt 6.59 grams Rechargeable batteries processing. So, the tablespoon (15 cc) or so Chrome 4.94 grams Rechargeable batteries of silica sand used in a smartphone might require mining a heaping tablespoon of Nickel 2.72 grams Electrical connections, capacitors and batteries sand. Lithium 0.87 grams Rechargeable batteries Add to those two samples of all the other Tin 0.66 grams Solder for electrical connections types of ore that have to be mined to get Magnesium 0.65 grams Alloy with aluminum the remaining 73 elements, and you have a pile of rock that weighs somewhere around Tungsten 0.02 grams Heat sink and the mass for phone vibration 75 pounds (34 kilograms), just to make one GaAs (gallium combined with arsenic) are used Gallium 0.01 grams five-ounce (130-gram) cell phone. Arsenic 0.01 grams to make light-emitting diodes (LED) I gotta go. Pam just sent me a text mesGold 0.014 grams Circuit board sage on my mineral-laden smart phone. AM

AGGREGATES MANAGER / September 2019

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