As most of you know, I have friends up in the Twin
Ports and Iron Ore Range from Northern Minn, thru
the Upper Peninsula...an I got this report late last
night, an thought I would post it here for those who
may be interested....thw word is that their is enough
raw ore outside UniTac so that perhaps the T-Birds
will be able to continue...but am sure their will be
an investigation an it will be sometime perhaps to
repair the damages...I will try an keep this updated.
GJ....the following is the most recent report....and sorry, I tried
putting the link down but for some reason it was not working...so
I just pasted the story then from the Messabi Daily News....
**********************************************************
1 dies in mining explosion
24-year-old worker killed; another suffers smoke inhalation
Jim Romsaas
Thursday, October 12th, 2006 10:48:29 PM
FORBES — One United Taconite employee was killed and another was
injured Thursday after a pair of explosions struck the Fairlane
Plant in Forbes, officials said.
The 24-year-old employee was killed while performing electrical
troubleshooting with two other employees in the master control
center, which is in the concentrator building, Sgt. Pat McKenzie of
the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department said in a telephone
interview.
The names are not being released pending notification of relatives.
The injured employee suffered from smoke inhalation from the 12:48
p.m. accident and was treated at Virginia Regional Medical Center. A
Virginia firefighter also suffered a minor back injury in the
process of locating the worker who was killed. He was treated at
VRMC and was back to work Thursday evening, officials said.
The explosion from the troubleshooting apparently led to a secondary
explosion in the power substation about 200 yards away, which cut
power to the plant for at least two hours and temporarily shut down
operations.
"The power to the plant (and phone service) was knocked out
completely,' ' McKenzie said.
Lights even flickered in towns from Virginia to Hibbing and south to
Cotton, officials said.
Virginia firefighters arrived to see the substation burning through
the roof and hearing reports of employees missing, said Assistant
Chief Jim Theodore. The plant employs about 400.
Fire departments from Eveleth, Hibbing, McDavitt and Clinton, as
well as the county's Rescue Squad, also responded to the scene.
After beginning their rescue operation in the concentrator, they
located the victim near the explosion site, Theodore said.
Dayton Campbell, 42, of Zim, a foreman for construction workers on
contract at the plant, said he was in a trailer right after lunch
when he heard a loud electrical buzzing sound. He and other
contractors who gathered at the Boondocks bar in Forbes on Thursday
evening told The Associated Press it sounded like there was a series
of small explosions leading up to one bigger blast.
"Flames were rippin' up and down the substation," Campbell said.
The contractors said they initially couldn't find four of their men.
Two of them got out on their own. Campbell said he and others got
flashlights and went looking for the other two.
"The smoke from the electrical fire flooded all the building with
smoke, and you couldn't breathe, and you couldn't see," he said.
The contractors eventually heard the voices of their missing men,
who were stuck in an elevator, along with two plant employees, that
got caught between floors when the power went off, Campbell said.
The smoke outside the elevator was so bad they were worried about
the men inside, but they were able to pull back a panel and free
them.
"It couldn't have been a better situation because they were right
there," he said.
Todd and Jen Julin of Iron could do nothing but wait outside the
plant as the events unfolded. Jen Julin's brother was working inside
the plant Thursday, she said, when the explosions occurred.
"We still haven't seen him,'' she said. "They won't let us past the
bridge'' into the plant.
The waiting was very nerve-wracking, Julin said. "I just want to
make sure he's OK.''
The Julins could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
United Taconite Mines has mining facilities in Eveleth, with pellet
processing in Forbes. The company operates in assets formerly held
by EVTAC Mining Co. that were acquired in 2003 by a subsidiary of
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Laiwu Steel Group Ltd. of China.
Material mined in Eveleth is taken to Forbes for processing,
according to Cleveland Cliffs' Web site. Finished pellets are taken
by rail to Duluth for shipping.
The Mine Safety Health Administration has taken over the scene and
continues to investigate the cause, according to the Sheriff's
Department.
Campbell described the scene inside the plant as hectic, but not
chaotic.
"There were a few moments when the smoke was thick and everything
was down and we lost all power and everything," he said. "And it was
tough finding our guys. But we found them all. We got them all."
Even though Campbell and the other contractors were all safe, they
were still mourning the loss of the plant worker Thursday evening.
They said they're all like brothers, and that they would pass a hat
to collect donations for his family.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Major Fire up at United Taconite on the Iron Ore Range in MN
What a terrible tragedy.
Would this event cause production to increase at MI's U.P. mines?
Would this event cause production to increase at MI's U.P. mines?
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...
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i995impalass
- Yooper Foamer
- Posts: 1527
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:00 am
- Location: Marquette, MI
Alright....The UniTac is up in Forbes Minnesota, it
is served by the Iron Ore Trains of the CN [ formerly
of the DMIR ] and BNSF as they haul both proccessed
an raw ore from this place, they are called T-Birds when
hauling the ore off to the regions they haul to.
***********************************************************
UPDATE Oct 17th 2006
This mornings Duluth paper is reporting that United Taconite will be
attempting to get Line 1 started later this week. This is the line that was
down when the accident happened late last week. Line 2 may not come back
online until the end of the year. Line 1 will be operating off of a
concentrate stockpile as the Concentrator is still not able to operate.
The article does not say how large the concentrate stockpile is or when the
Conctrator may be back in operation. This means that the TBird trains will
not be running, yet. The Fairlane Pellet Loader out of Proctor could be
back this weekend, apparently.
***********************************************************
I will continue to keep all of you updated as it becomes
available...and this will not be affectiong other Iron Ore
Operations,an to note, the LS&I donot serve anything on a
line from Eagle Mills westwards or southwards, as CN or a
payback unit will normally haul Iron Ore to an from Duluth,
Twin Ports along the southern route near US 2 in the UP, and
on into the steel mills up in Soo Ontario. ...GJ
is served by the Iron Ore Trains of the CN [ formerly
of the DMIR ] and BNSF as they haul both proccessed
an raw ore from this place, they are called T-Birds when
hauling the ore off to the regions they haul to.
***********************************************************
UPDATE Oct 17th 2006
This mornings Duluth paper is reporting that United Taconite will be
attempting to get Line 1 started later this week. This is the line that was
down when the accident happened late last week. Line 2 may not come back
online until the end of the year. Line 1 will be operating off of a
concentrate stockpile as the Concentrator is still not able to operate.
The article does not say how large the concentrate stockpile is or when the
Conctrator may be back in operation. This means that the TBird trains will
not be running, yet. The Fairlane Pellet Loader out of Proctor could be
back this weekend, apparently.
***********************************************************
I will continue to keep all of you updated as it becomes
available...and this will not be affectiong other Iron Ore
Operations,an to note, the LS&I donot serve anything on a
line from Eagle Mills westwards or southwards, as CN or a
payback unit will normally haul Iron Ore to an from Duluth,
Twin Ports along the southern route near US 2 in the UP, and
on into the steel mills up in Soo Ontario. ...GJ
-
i995impalass
- Yooper Foamer
- Posts: 1527
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:00 am
- Location: Marquette, MI
check mate, and i was going to say LS&I out of Michigan, thats somthing out of the ordanary, plus i would have to expand my layout~ChrisA1 RailFan wrote:I am actually surprised CCI hasn't tried to incorporate all of the railroads serving its plants by now. I would think they would expand the Minnesota operations to be more like their Michgian Operations. Cheaper product for them to ship = more profit.
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CAT345C
- RedNeck Train Chaser
- Posts: 4141
- Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2005 8:42 pm
- Location: Buffalo Location
- Contact:
I also thought when CN aquired DMIR some of there engines would venture into michigan like the GT GP40 or 38-2 that was on the Ore Sub for a few weeks, and the UP SD9043MAC (correct order?) and CSX and NS GE's that show up on the All rail from the DMIR in the winter that sometimes made it up the Ore Sub or to the Soo. Guess not.
A1...yes the all rail has like DMIR or WC
and some payback Union Pacific or CSX
or BNSF at times, but very few...its always
CN that runs their own power along that
stretch in the Upper Peninsula during the
rest of the year...during the winter months
from mid January or so til the Soo Locks open
in mid April that the All Rails run,and they just
go from Duluth to Escanaba tho.
GJ
and some payback Union Pacific or CSX
or BNSF at times, but very few...its always
CN that runs their own power along that
stretch in the Upper Peninsula during the
rest of the year...during the winter months
from mid January or so til the Soo Locks open
in mid April that the All Rails run,and they just
go from Duluth to Escanaba tho.
GJ
-
i995impalass
- Yooper Foamer
- Posts: 1527
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:00 am
- Location: Marquette, MI
UPDATE as of Oct 21st 2006 ...GJ
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The ore dock in Duluth has been quiet this past week....but should see
trains again soon after the tragic accident at Unitac stopped
production at the plant for a week.
United Taconite back in production
Lee Bloomquist Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, October 21, 2006
A week after an electrical explosion ripped apart a motor control room
and main substation, United Taconite’s Fairlane processing plant in
Forbes, Minn., is back up and operating.
Early Friday morning the taconite plant’s Line 1 began producing iron
ore pellets, said Dana Byrne, Cleveland-Cliffs spokesman.
“It’s been running pretty consistent,” Byrne said of the production
line, which was undergoing routine maintenance when the Oct. 12
explosion occurred.
United Taconite also operates a taconite mine at Eveleth. The cause
remains under investigation.
Andrew Reed of LaPrairie, Minn., a 24-year-old electrical coordinator,
died in the explosion.
Line 2, which was operating at the time, will be down for an
undetermined time, Byrne said. Electrical power to the line was
damaged in the explosion.
Damage assessments are still under way, he said.
Mike Maleska, president of United Steelworkers 6860 in Eveleth, says
he has seen pictures of the aftermath.
“It’s way more than anything imaginable,” Maleska said.
Mine Safety and Health Administrator inspectors are conducting an
investigation. Maleska said inspectors completed their initial
inspection several days ago, but could return to the property in a few
weeks to “double-check.”
Stress counselors were at the taconite plant throughout the week to
help workers cope with psychological effects of the tragedy, he said.
Three other employees were “affected pretty badly” by the explosion,
Maleska said. Two were treated and released at Virginia Regional
Medical Center for smoke inhalation.
“Two of the three are going go try to work the day shift on Monday,”
Maleska said. “Another is not going to.”
Maleska said he thinks the explosion has other electricians concerned.
The plant isn’t yet capable of producing the taconite concentrate
needed to make pellets, Byrne said.
A “significant” stockpile of concentrate will be used to feed Line 1
until full repairs can be made to Line 2, he said. “The timetable for
full production has yet to be determined.”
United Taconite is 70 percent owned by Cleveland-Cliffs and 30 percent
by Laiwu Steel Group of China. The plant’s annual pellet capacity is
5.2 million tons.
***********************
The ore dock in Duluth has been quiet this past week....but should see
trains again soon after the tragic accident at Unitac stopped
production at the plant for a week.
United Taconite back in production
Lee Bloomquist Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, October 21, 2006
A week after an electrical explosion ripped apart a motor control room
and main substation, United Taconite’s Fairlane processing plant in
Forbes, Minn., is back up and operating.
Early Friday morning the taconite plant’s Line 1 began producing iron
ore pellets, said Dana Byrne, Cleveland-Cliffs spokesman.
“It’s been running pretty consistent,” Byrne said of the production
line, which was undergoing routine maintenance when the Oct. 12
explosion occurred.
United Taconite also operates a taconite mine at Eveleth. The cause
remains under investigation.
Andrew Reed of LaPrairie, Minn., a 24-year-old electrical coordinator,
died in the explosion.
Line 2, which was operating at the time, will be down for an
undetermined time, Byrne said. Electrical power to the line was
damaged in the explosion.
Damage assessments are still under way, he said.
Mike Maleska, president of United Steelworkers 6860 in Eveleth, says
he has seen pictures of the aftermath.
“It’s way more than anything imaginable,” Maleska said.
Mine Safety and Health Administrator inspectors are conducting an
investigation. Maleska said inspectors completed their initial
inspection several days ago, but could return to the property in a few
weeks to “double-check.”
Stress counselors were at the taconite plant throughout the week to
help workers cope with psychological effects of the tragedy, he said.
Three other employees were “affected pretty badly” by the explosion,
Maleska said. Two were treated and released at Virginia Regional
Medical Center for smoke inhalation.
“Two of the three are going go try to work the day shift on Monday,”
Maleska said. “Another is not going to.”
Maleska said he thinks the explosion has other electricians concerned.
The plant isn’t yet capable of producing the taconite concentrate
needed to make pellets, Byrne said.
A “significant” stockpile of concentrate will be used to feed Line 1
until full repairs can be made to Line 2, he said. “The timetable for
full production has yet to be determined.”
United Taconite is 70 percent owned by Cleveland-Cliffs and 30 percent
by Laiwu Steel Group of China. The plant’s annual pellet capacity is
5.2 million tons.