Yo! I came back from my work trip yesterday, since i had a bit of spare time in the morning before departure, i took a truck and went up the road on top of a hill to snap some pictures of the sunrise at 9:30AM local time, so 10:30AM ET.
So this is what it looks like when you're at 50km from the Arctic circle! ;)
(https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10606296_10152801615576944_8447955297944820758_n.jpg?oh=ffee3b096986d39378594ef6f83bc7a2&oe=54D88110)
At the far left, that's the mine/mill complex, the big dome is to accumalate mineral concentrate so there's a continuous feed to the mill. The white cover all at the bottom of pic is the water treatement place, where the waste water return from the mill is recycled... i was working at 1km from that cover all in new facilities we had to setup with some huge pump systems.
(https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10616203_10152801615881944_1145440558450290097_n.jpg?oh=4144433757581c62f9b2df270a9fcb75&oe=54F66321)
....and the never ending tundra... ...love that place to be honest there's a death like calm surrounding you, digging that.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10392458_10152801616131944_8619897127595168254_n.jpg?oh=5d24c559a27d8634db909b517caf1f6d&oe=54DD918F&__gda__=1424172016_4406957f835cf54d2afc308e889464a3)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10390434_10152801616441944_5586797519069354955_n.jpg?oh=4dc0d4ebf5a732fb5e0af7a3440756da&oe=54DBE7DF&__gda__=1424848826_79ef762a0a2a56827a887a5370a293c4)
Those two last pics where taken in completely opposite direction... :o
Thought it could interest some of you guys.
Rej
So you're not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from the top of the hill ;).
Just signed up for a two year stint in Ft. Mac myself, but it's only two weeks on site out of every six, and two weeks off out of every six, so it should work out all right.
Quote from: GermanCdn on October 31, 2014, 10:13:12 PM
So you're not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from the top of the hill ;).
Just signed up for a two year stint in Ft. Mac myself, but it's only two weeks on site out of every six, and two weeks off out of every six, so it should work out all right.
Hahaha! exactly! Funny thing is that the mine plant is close to Baker Lake, Nunavut wich is the geographical center point of Canada... ::) Let say that we have some huge part of territory that is unused.
Where is located Fort Mac and what do they exploit over there? Looks like a good schedule to me :)
Next thursday i'm leaving for another 6 days near Salluit, Quebec, at quite.... the complete top north of Quebec, should be fun, all the job is inside this time though.
Quote from: GrindCustoms on October 31, 2014, 10:17:48 PM
Quote from: GermanCdn on October 31, 2014, 10:13:12 PM
So you're not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from the top of the hill ;).
Just signed up for a two year stint in Ft. Mac myself, but it's only two weeks on site out of every six, and two weeks off out of every six, so it should work out all right.
Hahaha! exactly! Funny thing is that the mine plant is close to Baker Lake, Nunavut wich is the geographical center point of Canada... ::) Let say that we have some huge part of territory that is unused.
Where is located Fort Mac and what do they exploit over there? Looks like a good schedule to me :)
Next thursday i'm leaving for another 6 days near Salluit, Quebec, at quite.... the complete top north of Quebec, should be fun, all the job is inside this time though.
Ft Mc(Murray) is oilsands and is 5 hours north of Edmonton, and I'm currently PM'ing $90M worth of equipment going to construction starting in March 2015 and ending in September 2016. We're going to be using a platoon approach to construction management, so me and one of the other guys here alternate weeks on site (8X12 and 7X12 shifts with a day overlap, then a week off, then we reverse order for two weeks, then another week off). Everyone on the tools works 14/7s, but we can't find CMs who want to do the job full time, and hiring a contractor who's going to cost you half a mill and walk away at the end of the job isn't really a suitable option either.
I've probably got a project going to construction in QC/NFLD mid 2016 which I'll have to do the same for, and one not too far from Jacob as well, but that one's still going through approvals.
You should contact my employer, we're specialized in building/setting up Mills, no matter what type they are. They've actually put together most of the Agnico-Eagle mills in the last 20 years.
My hour wage is not that bad ;)
Man, I got worried seeing the title.
Nice pictures.
Quote from: midwayfair on October 31, 2014, 10:55:14 PM
Man, I got worried seeing the title.
Nice pictures.
Hehe, i thought it would grab some attention ;)
It's still not too bad right now, average of -25C but with non-stop average 60kmh wind sand blasting your face with snow.
Yep... looks cosy... ;)
Looks like the setting of The Thing. If you find anything weird frozen in the ice get the hell out of there! lol!
Quote from: Shrtyska9 on October 31, 2014, 11:58:07 PM
Looks like the setting of The Thing. If you find anything weird frozen in the ice get the hell out of there! lol!
Hopefully i would also find some Predators temple and guns and... Pew Pew Pew Pew Pew! ;D
It's wonderful.
Let me know ifyou guys find any Eldrich horrors in the mine that may reach down through the core of the Earth or out into the depths of man's soul.
This is super cool. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful and haunting!
All Hail Megatron!
More seriously, that is desolate beauty.
Coming out of teachers college my wife and i were interview for teaching jobs in the NWT... thankfully we didn't get them, terrifying bleakness, the ice planet in Star Wars.
Glad you're enjoying it Rej!
dave
That is beautiful! I could see appreciating it for awhile. Enjoy!
Those are some awesome pics! Looks like a great location for an epic movie scene. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful
Glad to see that i'm not alone finding those place to have an appeal of their own.
I'll try to get good shots of the place i'm going next week, the landscape is similar but the action of the glacier that happened couple thousand years ago is different... there's loads of eratic rocks and boulders all over the place i can hardly imagine how the caribou can walk in that land. That mining site, CRI, is located right into the migration path of those cervidea, if lucky i might withness a cattle of thousands of them.... would be all of the badassery! :D
First the jeep pics and now this! Your really making me miss my old job. Working in remote locations is so liberating and peaceful. Your a lucky guy Rej!
Quote from: Stomptown on November 01, 2014, 07:59:12 AM
First the jeep pics and now this! Your really making me miss my old job. Working in remote locations is so liberating and peaceful. Your a lucky guy Rej!
Thanks Jon!
I also feel lucky to have the opportunity to go in those place... i mean it's not as cool as going for holydays in Jamaica... but for any common mortal it cost more to travel up those place than any other destination. You oughta be freakin' minded to pay 3800$CAN for a plane ticket that brings you to no man's land and do some hiking and get eaten by a wolverine! :o
I would'nt live there tho... i have bunch of respect for the native community that are up there and also ambiguous about how they perceive our intrusion in their land (yes they get well paid for the exploitation rights and all that but...!) 50 years ago there was no airport, school, hospital, grocery store... nothing, absolutely nothing from the modern man hand on their land.
Some folks say that it's nice for them.. but i do not totally agree. Prior to our exploitation over there, they had no form of economy. Nunavut or before the NorthWest Territory they where living from what the soil and nature was offering them, there was no modern vice around. You now see 11 years old children smoking cigarette, lots of alcoolism and violence among the community.... ...something that never happened in the past couple thousands of years.
Even if i make good money by working up there, my native roots and overall conscience is a bit tortured by the negative influence of our presence.
End of rant, there's always two distinctive sides to a medal... and most of the time we close our eyes on the darkest one, something we should'nt.
Rej
Looks like Hoth. Where's the Rebel base?
I can't help from hearing the theme song to The Thing when looking at the desolation and snow of those pictures. lol
Cody
Looks like it would be difficult to find a wet t-shirt contest in that community.
The scenery looks quite eerie and tranquil at the same time. I'm glad you took some pictures so I can see it within the warm confines of my house and while I drink some hot cocoa!
Jimi wins the internet today.
Jacob
Awesome. Looks really peaceful.
Jeep was awesome too!
Haha! Jimi indeeds wins it for today! :D
Quote from: juansolo on November 02, 2014, 04:59:15 AM
Awesome. Looks really peaceful.
Jeep was awesome too!
Jeep is getting better now, most of the maintenance parts i ordered for it will be in this week along some nice upgrades..... ;D
Last day of this other trip... waiting for the plane, freaking ugly out here right now. Hoping that the plane lands before a blizzard shows is fierce madness...
108 hours in 7 days, i'm now a master mind of the copper/nickel flottation-separation vessels.... lulz!
Can't wait to get back home and get back at my own work. ::)
Rej
Here are couple shots of that last trip... was'nt really hanging outside while being over there... wich is not necessarely a bad thing.
6AM, before our daily morning meeting.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10361591_10152846015546944_9185832273282873873_n.jpg?oh=7ecaeda09d061cbaa4a3b4929d336443&oe=551BD19B&__gda__=1428090622_e18aaaf8268cf8ca810978cd60516931)
This one shows the size of one of the buildings, the Crusher. Where the raw material is received to be crushed at first before entering the mill, at the far right, it's a 50tons Crane... beside it, it's the Jaw that crush the rocks. The jaw it self weigths around 20tons and can turn into pieces rocks bigger than a HeavyDuty truck. Quite powerfull. I was in there to do the maintenance of the belt conveyor motors and gear boxes.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10339782_10152846015651944_8624519748470581062_n.jpg?oh=de6e35ea04a5274ac6b2c9bf23651015&oe=5514D30F&__gda__=1423137136_abfe59be24a2f2cb693f2483cc1555e9)
At the airport Tarmac on my way back.. blizzard ahead, we took off just in time.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10173679_10152846015746944_7436839262809656627_n.jpg?oh=d889bd0c3eb464ff427bf447145c4bca&oe=54E8CB8E&__gda__=1423658392_16bcb4b871326594cb63982929034814)
Creepy Selfie in the Slurry tanks, where the nickel is extracted by a flottation system. Doing the maintenance of the impeler/diffuser/valves and calibration of the controller. Kind of a huge blender.
At some point i got my arm stuck in the plug valve while changing them, the security guy standing over my head talking with my watchman, kept silent in my panic so he don't have a reason to justify is paycheck LOL... lubed my entire arm and valve seat with hydraulic grease, used all of the body strenght i had to take my arm out... one of those moments where you go NO NO NO NO NO NO so freaking loud in your head.... :o
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10375117_10152845398001944_5006012920922846909_n.jpg?oh=2c0824da93e6ff6306044c49572c5b07&oe=55196EC2&__gda__=1427480950_0f8b3468418fa20e501f70b7c7d983b6)
Seems like it was one hell of a trip... Love the pics. Very interesting to see how it's done. I guess I've learned about it in process engineering or inorganic technologies at some point and forgot about it again...
Sounds quite terriffying Rej, freaks me out to be or feel physically constrained in any way, immediate panic!
dave
Awesome stuff. It's like a sci fi movie about miners on another planet.
Sounds like fortune definitely favours the bold.
If the Harry Potter wizards existed in real life, I've always gotten the impression they could make an absolute KILLING just teleporting heavy equipment and men to those remote Canada worksites.
Quote from: davent on November 15, 2014, 07:00:21 PM
Sounds quite terriffying Rej, freaks me out to be or feel physically constrained in any way, immediate panic!
dave
I also have a little problem with confined space.. i can stand 100 feet in the air walking on a 6 inch wide steel beam... but being stuck in a confined space within a confined space almost got the best out of me... after i got myself out of that un-causy situation it took me around 5 minutes to calm down and get out of the hole i was working in and look normal.
Quote from: alanp on November 15, 2014, 07:09:16 PM
Sounds like fortune definitely favours the bold.
If the Harry Potter wizards existed in real life, I've always gotten the impression they could make an absolute KILLING just teleporting heavy equipment and men to those remote Canada worksites.
I'd say that you're right about that... and that's for any of those remote location in the uBer cold, full blast wind all the time, no shelter.... survival success may not occur.
Quote from: m-Kresol on November 15, 2014, 06:51:29 PM
Seems like it was one hell of a trip... Love the pics. Very interesting to see how it's done. I guess I've learned about it in process engineering or inorganic technologies at some point and forgot about it again...
Monday i'm starting a new contract in a local mine called La Ronde that belongs to Agnico-Eagle, will be working at 60km from home, 4-3 schedule... will finally be able to breath a little bit more. I'll be working there until Xmas and maybe after too. Very good news, knowing that other guys are getting laid off for the winter break right now.
I'll try to take relevant pictures of the whole mill, it's one of the most modern gold mill in Canada with the gold foundry built in! BlingBling! ;D
For Gods sake be careful Rej!
(http://s27.postimg.org/sphrcf5pv/thing.jpg)
uh oh, something doesn't seem quite right here...
Scary stuff, Rej. Glad you slid your way out of that one.
Cool heads will prevail! Stay safe Rej.
Amazing oics, big stories... yes stay safe and make it home in one piece... ;)
I'll try to stay in one piece ;)
New gig is pretty nice, aiming for the second day over there today. Could become a year long gig... even if not exactly what i was looking for, it's still a year long job... ...so i'll take it! :)
Cellphone and cameras are not allowed on the site tho... we'll find a way! haha
Rej
Quote from: GrindCustoms on November 18, 2014, 10:28:36 AM
Cellphone and cameras are not allowed on the site tho... we'll find a way! haha
Yeah, that's what they told us on Adak as well...
(https://fbcdn-photos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-0/13475_10151362989122121_1175349430_n.jpg?oh=814a977e823e7984144ebccf8f5241df&oe=55200DBB&__gda__=1427065183_1454f4cb47c9fedd7373a0202fdc0bc1)