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Minerals Extraction & Refining

Samson Mine Reversible Waterwheel & Man Engine
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 1824Samson PitSankt AndreasbergState: Lower SaxonyCountry: GermanyWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-118-samson-mine-reversible-waterwheel---man-engin, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/ee57310a-3df7-4e67-8ed6-d54357184890/118_Samson_Mine_Reversible_Waterwheel_Man_Engin.aspx

This silver mine preserves two features of bygone practice. One is the reversible waterwheel of the ore-hoist, which originally was installed in 1565 and currently dates back to 1824. The present wheel is 9 meters in diameter and reaches a depth of 700 meters.

YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Public Domain (Author's Choice)Image Caption: Samson Mine Reversible Waterwheel & Man EngineEra_date_from: 1824
Reed Gold Mine Ten-Stamp Mill
Society: SME (mining)Main Category: Mechanical, MiningSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1895Reed Gold Mine Historic SiteMidlandState: NCZip: 28107Country: USAWebsite: http://www.smenet.org/Creator: Mecklenburg Iron Works

The first authenticated discovery of gold in the U.S. occurred on the Cabarrus County farm of John Reed in 1799, sparking the nation's first gold rush. During its peak years, more than a million dollars of gold was recovered a year, making North Carolina a leader in gold production until 1848. This mill, built by the Mecklenburg Iron Works of Charlotte, North Carolina, is original except for the timber work. Two groups of five 750-pound stamps with 5- to 7-inch lift, rose and fell thirty-five times a minute to yield a finely crushed ore.

YearAdded:
1983
Image Credit: Photo Courtesy of North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.Image Caption: The Stamp Mill at the Reed Gold Mine in Midland, NC.Era_date_from: 1895
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1922Cameron World HeadquartersHoustonState: TXZip: 77041Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-227-first-ram-type-blowout-preventer-%28bop%29-%281922%29Creator: Abercrombie, James, Cameron, Harry
This mechanism allowed the manual closing of a well, saved lives and prevented surface oil accumulation at drilling sites, quickly becoming an industry standard. In the early days of oilfield operations, there was no way to control the underground pressures encountered during drilling. When an oil or gas reservoir was tapped, wells were allowed to "blow out" until pressure was reduced sufficiently to allow capping. Many inventors attempted to develop a device to control such blowouts. In 1922, oil wildcatter James Smither Abercrombie (1891-1975) and machinist Harry S.
YearAdded:
2003
Image Credit: Original Image: Flickr/Ed Schipul (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: A modern Blowout Preventer (BOP)Era_date_from: 1922
Pioneer Oil Refinery California Star Oil Works
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 187623802 Pine StreetNewhallState: CAZip: 91321Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/8-pioneer-oil-refinery-california-star-oil-worksCreator: California Star Oil Works

The economic situation in the whale oil business (for lighting), coupled with the increased demand for lubricants, stimulated growth in the U.S. petroleum industry. The drilling of the heavy, sulfurous, and asphaltic California crude began in the 1870s at the Pico Canyon area, using the apparatus and techniques from Titusville, Pennsylvania, developments.

YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Konrad Summers (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Pioneer Oil Refinery California Star Oil WorksEra_date_from: 1876
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 1828Furnace Town Living Heritage MuseumSnow HillState: MDZip: 21863Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-159-nassawango-iron-furnace-%281828%29Creator: Maryland Iron Company
This furnace was the focal point of a pre-Industrial Revolution industry town, one of hundreds of furnaces that thrived and failed in the 19th century. The Maryland Iron Company (incorporated 1828) built this furnace along the Nassawango Creek roughly four miles northwest of the Pocomoke River to produce pig iron by the cold-blast process. In 1836-37 the furnace changed ownership several times, until Thomas Spence of Worcester County purchased it and began producing pig iron at a rate of 700 tons a year. Spence is credited with the installation of the hot-blast stove.
YearAdded:
1991
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Nassawango Iron FurnaceEra_date_from: 1828
Hughes Two-Cone Drill Bit
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1909Baker HughesThe WoodlandsState: TXZip: 77380Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-246-hughes-two-cone-drill-bit-%281909%29, http://files.asme.org/MEMagazine/Web/20779.pdfCreator: Hughes Sr., Howard Robard

Prior to 1909 the traditional fishtail bit scraped the rock and quickly dulled in service. The Hughes two-cone bit's revolutionary rolling action crushed hard-rock formations with twin cone-shaped, hardened steel bits, each with 166 cutting edges, revolving on bronze bearings shaped to provide a large surface with reduced friction.

YearAdded:
2009
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Hughes Two-Cone Drill BitEra_date_from: 1909
Hanford B Reactor
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1944Hanford SiteSunnysideState: WAZip: 98944Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-14-hanford-b-reactor-%281944%29Creator: Fermi, Enrico , E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

The Hanford B-Reactor was the first plutonium production reactor to be placed in operation. Its success made possible the subsequent development of atomic energy. The research work, engineering, and planning required to make the reactor operate is one of our most advanced achievements. Much of the reactor core, cooling system, shielding, and auxiliary systems were designed by mechanical engineers.

YearAdded:
1976
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/David Lee (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Hanford B ReactorEra_date_from: 1944
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1700-1749DateCreated: 174294 Rexmont RdLebanonState: PAZip: 17042Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-106-cornwall-iron-furnace-%281742%29Creator: Grubb, Peter
When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself was enlarged; the blast-air bellows were replaced by a pair of wooden cylinder "blowing tubs"; the waterwheel that had powered them was replaced by a 20-horsepower steam engine; and a pair of waste-heat boilers to supply the engine was built into the open stack of the furnace.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Wherring (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Cornwall Iron FurnaceEra_date_from: 1742
Cooper-Bessemer Type GMV Integral-Angle Gas Compressor
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1944Knox County Historical MuseumMount VernonState: OHZip: 43050Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-240-cooper-bessemer-type-gmv-integral-angle-gas-e, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/9e28281d-2403-4337-9ec3-df2251a26ede/240-Cooper-Bessemer-Type-GMV-Integral-Angle-Gas-E.aspxCreator: Boyer, Ralph , Cooper-Bessemer Corporation

This compressor was a product of the combined technology and design heritage of both the C. & G. Cooper Company of Mount Vernon and the Bessemer Gas Engine Company of Pennsylvania, which had merged in 1929. Ralph L. Boyer, the chief architect of the GMV, worked for Cooper-Bessemer from 1926 through 1965.

YearAdded:
2006
Image Credit: courtesy www.osagcd.comImage Caption: Cooper-Bessemer Type GMV Integral-Angle Gas EEra_date_from: 1944
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1960-1969DateCreated: 1962509 Northwest 60th StreetWest MineralState: KSZip: 66782Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-127-big-brutus-mine-shovel-%281962%29Creator: Bucyrus Erie Company
When built in 1962, this shovel was the second largest in the world. It was used for the removal of overburden in the surface mining of thin coal seams. In its lifetime, it recovered nine million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet for local electric power generation. Standing 160-feet high, weighing 5,500 tons, and moving at speeds up to two-tenths of a mile per hour, the machine stripped about a square mile each year.
YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/KellyK (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: This picture of the Big Brutus Mine Shovel does not fully capture its immensity. To create a comparison, the average person would be slightly shorter than the treads, near the bottom.Era_date_from: 1962
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When built in 1962, this shovel was the second largest in the world. It was used for the removal of overburden in the surface mining of thin coal seams. In its lifetime, it recovered nine million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet for local electric power generation. Standing 160-… Read More
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When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself… Read More
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Prior to 1909 the traditional fishtail bit scraped the rock and quickly dulled in service. The Hughes two-cone bit's revolutionary rolling action crushed hard-rock formations with twin cone-shaped, hardened steel bits, each with 166 cutting edges, revolving on bronze bearings shaped to provide a…

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This furnace was the focal point of a pre-Industrial Revolution industry town, one of hundreds of furnaces that thrived and failed in the 19th century. The Maryland Iron Company (incorporated 1828) built this furnace along the Nassawango Creek roughly four miles northwest of the Pocomoke River to… Read More
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Read More
This mechanism allowed the manual closing of a well, saved lives and prevented surface oil accumulation at drilling sites, quickly becoming an industry standard. In the early days of oilfield operations, there was no way to control the underground pressures encountered during drilling. When an oil… Read More
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The first authenticated discovery of gold in the U.S. occurred on the Cabarrus County farm of John Reed in 1799, sparking the nation's first gold rush. During its peak years, more than a million dollars of gold was recovered a year, making North Carolina a leader in gold production until 1848.…

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Samson Mine Reversible Waterwheel & Man Engine

This silver mine preserves two features of bygone practice. One is the reversible waterwheel of the ore-hoist, which originally was installed in 1565 and currently dates back to 1824. The present wheel is 9 meters in diameter and reaches a depth of 700 meters.

Second, the man engine of…

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