Hello again. It is time for our Daily Report.
Yesterday the Sightseeing Screwmount visited an open pit gold mine located a few miles from Elko.
What you are looking at in this picture is one part of the Open Pit. This pit is so big that the 55mm could only capture about 1/3rd the length in one shot. Where is your wide angle when you want it? Unfortunately I didn't pack the 28.
Here you see some large haul trucks hauling the ore up a long ramp and out of the pit. Obviously these trucks are big but it is really hard to put this in perspective. In this photo these could be any old Tonka Truck toys.
So here is a little perspective. You are looking at a 1-Ton Ford Super Duty Crew Cab pickup truck parked alongside one of these huge haul trucks. These are obviously not Tonka toys.
And to put this even more into perspective, here you are looking at a 5 ton Service Truck alongside another haul truck that is coming in to the shop for service. Can you imagine the size of the garage door needed to let this truck into the shop?! Look at the mechanic that is standing next to the shop door. He is signaling the driver as the truck slowly moves into place.
And these tires are HUGE! This is one that is being brought in for repair. Imagine having to pick up a set of these at your local Goodyear store? Oh yeah, Goodyear does sell them. The new price for one of these tires will likely cost more than many people earn in a year.
This is what one of those huge haul trucks looks like "under the skin" so to speak. No "Unibody" construction here. This is a full frame under repair. It is hard for us to imagine but these trucks take a huge beating during their lives and even these massive frames will begin to crack. A truck like this costs so much money that it is cost effective to do a full "frame off" renovation.
Getting close up and personal really puts this all in perspective. Here is the rear end of one of these trucks. You can see a mechanic standing on his ladder on the other side. He can almost stand up inside the rear end. We call that rear end area the "Doghouse."
Finally, here is one electric motor. It fits onto one side of that rear end that you saw in the previous photo. See those bolts out on the far end of the motor? That is what bolts this motor into the flange you seen around the outside of the rear end. That motor weighs approximately 35,000 pounds, and two of those huge tires bolt onto it. It takes two of these motors to propel one of these trucks a ramp with 340 tons of rock in the back. I do apologize, this image did not come out as clear as I would have liked but you do get the picture.
I hope you have enjoyed this short trip to an operating mine. During our visit the Sightseer and I didn't get much chance to get down into the pit to see the mining up close, but we did get an opportunity to show you a little bit of the maintenance side.
I hope you enjoyed the tour and have a wonderful day!