Parker is away today, and we’ve got three wash plants running. There’s no shortage of work today. Mitch Blushki is stepping into mine boss Parker Schnabble’s shoes for a season of “Empire Building.” Mitch is responsible for Parker’s 9,500-acre battleground, where an army of wash plants operates around the clock. The large coat is the 40-ton shaker rock sand, and Old Faithful Big Red churns through pay in the bridge coat while wash slices for gold in a sulfur coat.
For Mitch, this is another step in his gold mining career. “This is my 13th season mining, and 11 of those have been with Parker. When I started, I was just a mechanic. Now, I’m the foreman here at Parker’s mine site. The company has grown so much over the years—it’s crazy to think back to when it was just one dozer when I started with Parker.”
This season, Parker has acquired more ground and crew than ever before, but it’s proving difficult to keep the gold flowing and the machines running. Mitch explains, “Right now, we’ve got Jordan heading out to fix the excavator, and Jenko and Taylor working on loaders. There’s always something that needs to be done. The plants require everything to be running smoothly for 100% uptime. We can’t afford downtime, especially since we’re trying to get tons of sleighing done. These loaders are crucial to getting the job done. Today, with Parker being away, I’ve got to ensure everything’s good.”
There’s always a constant list of problems to solve, and the challenge lies in prioritizing them.
They head over to check the water pump for Roxan. The situation isn’t ideal, as without the wash plant running, no gold is being produced. At the end of the day, Parker will want to know why the numbers are down, and Mitch has to explain what happened.
Earlier this season, they depended heavily on the water pump. Without it, the wash plants don’t run, and cuts aren’t dewatered. Parker had spent $540,000 on three new oversized water pumps, but when they received them, the fuel tanks were completely dry. “Thanks, guys.” Despite being brand new, the tanks had rust buildup because they sat without fuel. Mitch had warned that they needed to test the pumps in a pond before bringing them out.
Mitch suspects rust clogged the fuel filter, so they plan to replace the faulty pump with an older spare.
“We just need to get this plant running again, so we have a working pump,” Mitch says.
They bring in the crane to lift the old pump and install the replacement. Once in position, Mitch and Jordan work together to ensure everything is aligned properly.
“The key is making sure everything fits perfectly, especially the discharge pipe,” Mitch explains. “Once that’s done, we’ll hook up the suction and hopefully get it running again.”
After they get the pump back in place, they tighten everything up, but another issue arises. The foot valve, which is crucial to keeping the water in the line, is faulty. When the pump was turned off earlier, the water line wouldn’t hold water, and the valve wasn’t stopping the flow.
Mitch explains the next step: “We need to pull the air out of the pipeline to create a vacuum. The pump works by sucking water through the impeller and pushing it up to Roxan. The broken foot valve caused water to escape, creating an air pocket that locked the impeller and stopped the water flow.”
Mitch decides to run the pump at full speed to create enough suction to clear the air blockage and get the water flowing. This process, known as “deadheading,” is risky. If the pump isn’t turned off or the bypass valve isn’t opened at the right time, the pressure could cause a catastrophic blowout.
“This is exactly what you don’t want to do—deadheading the pump,” Mitch says. “If we blow the pipeline, we’ll have far bigger problems.”
They watch the hose collapse, signaling that the air is being removed, and the water is finally flowing.
“We got it!” Mitch calls. “Turn it down!”
The pressure is high, but the bypass holds, and the pump starts running normally again.
“We’re back in business,” Mitch says, relieved. “Now, let’s get this plant running and keep making progress toward Parker’s goal.”
