Electricity sector in Honduras

The electricity sector in Honduras has been shaped by the dominance of a vertically integrated utility (except for about half of the generation capacity); an incomplete attempt in the early 1990s to reform the sector; the increasing share of thermal generation over the past two decades; the poor financial health of the state utility Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE); the high technical and commercial losses in transmission and distribution; and the low electric coverage in rural areas.
The key challenges in the sector include financing investments in generation and transmission in the absence of either a financially healthy utility or of concessionary funds by external donors. Tariffs need to be re-balanced, arrears need to be cut and commercial losses, including electricity theft, need to be reduced without fostering social unrest. In addition, the government must reconcile environmental concerns with its objective to build two new large dams and associated hydroelectric plants. Access to electricity in rural areas needs to be improved.
In June 2007, the President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, declared an "energy emergency". An Intervention Board ("Junta Interventora"), headed by the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Finance, was temporarily put in charge of ENEE to address the crisis. The mandate of this Board has recently been extended until October 2008.
Electricity supply and demand.
Installed capacity and expansion plans.
With an installed generation capacity of 1,568 MW (2007), Honduras relies on a thermal-based power system (accounting for nearly two-thirds of its total installed capacity), which is very vulnerable to high and volatile international oil prices. The generation mix is as follows:
Firm electricity generation capacity is substantially lower than installed capacity due to seasonality (i.e. the natural uncertainty affecting hydroelectric generation), the old age of some of the plants, and mothballing of thermal capacity.
Demand.
Total electricity sold in 2007 was 4,932 GWh. In 2005, electricity sold by connection was 4,376 kWh, which was much higher than in the neighboring countries of Guatemala (2,337 kWh per connection), Nicaragua (2,931 kWh per connection) and El Salvador (3,109 kWh per connection). It is, however, much lower than in the more developed Central American countries, such as Costa Rica (7,969 kWh) and Panama (7,574 kWh).
In 2007, the percentages of electricity sold by consumer type were:
Demand projections.
Peak demand has grown over seven percent annually in recent years, reaching 1,088 MW in 2006. For the period 2006–2010, the expected annual growth rate of energy demand is expected to be around six percent, while peak demand could increase at around seven percent. The actual growth rate will depend on whether electricity tariffs are increased, the success of a current program to decrease electricity theft and whether technical distribution losses can be reduced.
While peak demand in 2006 was below total installed capacity, it lay slightly above firm capacity. According to supply and demand projections by the World Bank, new generation capacity to be commissioned in the period between 2007–2010 will not be enough to meet demand growth, which means that an energy shortfall is likely to happen in the near future.
Interconnection with neighboring countries.
The Honduran electricity grid is interconnected with the grids of its neighbors Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. However, the capacity of the interconnections is limited. It is expected to be expanded as part of the Central American Electric Interconnection System (SIEPAC) through a 230 kV transmission line with a capacity of 300 MW. (See Regional integration, the SIEPAC project below)
In 2002, Honduras imported about 420 GW·h of electricity (more than 10% of its consumption) without any exports, thus making it a net importer of electricity.
Access to electricity.
The overall electricity coverage is 69%. In rural areas it reaches only 45%, which contrast with the 94% coverage in urban areas (2006). The table below presents the access data per number of households and consumers.
"Source": World Bank, 2007
The Electricity Coverage Index by department shows great disparities. Cortes and Islas de Bahia enjoy almost a 100% household coverage, while Lempira and Intibuca only have 24.6% and 36.2% coverage respectively.
Electrification was programmed under the 1994 Electricity Law for the Electricity Sector through the creation of the Social Fund for Electricity Development (FOSODE). The Government has set a target to increase national electricity coverage to 80% by 2015, giving equal priority to urban and rural. So far, the outcome has been positive, with an increase in national coverage from 43% in 1994 to 69% in 2006.
400,000 new connections are expected to be made by 2015. However, lack of financing has slowed grid development, causing it to lag behind demand.
Service quality.
Interruption frequency and duration.
Power outage duration is a measure of the reliability of supply to the distribution networks. This measure decreased for most regions in Honduras from 2001. However, in 2005, a general increase in the interruption duration occurred. The total duration of interruptions per connection (36 hours per year in 2005, compared to 24 hours in 2004, but 135 hours in 1999 in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch) is about twice as high as the average for Latin America and the Caribbean (14 hours per connection in 2005). However, the frequency of such interruptions has been higher in other countries, meaning that Honduras has a few long outages, while other countries have more frequent shorter ones.
Distribution and transmission losses.
In the period 2001-2006, electricity losses increased from about 20% to 25%, compared to 8% in Chile and almost 30% in Nicaragua. This relatively high level of losses is due mostly to theft, fraud, and illegal connections. A recent study estimated that technical losses are about 10%, which implies that current commercial losses are about 15%, 30% of which correspond to fraud, 29% to illegal settlements and 29% to billing errors.
Transmission and sub-transmission investments keep being delayed due to financial constraints. This situation, if further sustained, would increase the frequency of blackouts and would make it hard to reduce operating costs and technical losses.
Loss-reduction programs implemented during 2007 brought total losses down to 21.2%, 3.5% in transmission and 17.7% in distribution.
(See Distributional losses for comparison with the rest of LAC).
Responsibilities in the electricity sector.
Policy and regulation.
"De jure" situation.
The Electricity Law of 1994 assigns the policymaking function to an Energy Cabinet chaired by the President of the Republic with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment ("Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente", SERNA) as its secretary and coordinator. A regulatory agency, the "Comisión Nacional de Energía" (CNE), was created to take charge of, among other functions:
"De facto" situation.
The Energy Cabinet has met less than once a year since its creation. Also, SERNA has not been proactive in its role as the Cabinet’s secretary and coordinator to set the agenda and to supply the technical groundwork for decisions. CNE has had a marginal role due to a lack of political support and resources. As a result of this void at the cabinet level, the national utility Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE) has become the default point for energy expertise, sought by the government even in matters of policymaking and regulation, which contributes to a weak separation of roles among utility, regulatory agency and the ministry.
ENEE is governed by a board of directors, which is formed by: the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment (SERNA), who chairs the Board, the Minister of Public Works, Transportation and Housing, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, the Minister of Foreign Cooperation, and a representative of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP). The board appoints a general manager, who acts as its secretary but has no vote.
Generation.
Under the 1994 Electricity Law, generation may be undertaken by state, mixed ownership, or private entities. These entities are entitled to sell power to large consumers or to ENEE. As a result, private investors will mainly embark on new generation projects, including hydropower and alternative energy.
Every two years, ENEE must submit to the Regulator system expansion plans (i.e. procurement of new generation capacity and transmission expansion), which are to be approved by the Energy Cabinet.
By law, ENEE has a mandate to prioritize renewable-based generation when determining the optimal expansion plan. The condition is that the net present value of sequence including renewable-based generation must not exceed by more than 10% that of the least-cost expansion plan.
Private electricity generators using renewable energy have formed a National Association—Associación de Productores de Energía Renovable de Honduras (APERH)—to promote the use of renewable energy.
Transmission.
By law, transmission networks are subject to an "open access" rule. They can be built and owned by public, private, or mixed ownership operating enterprises. However, in practice Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE) is responsible for transmission and system operations through its dispatch center, which determines the system’s hourly marginal cost of generation.
In the case of isolated systems, the main generator is responsible for operating the transmission system and handling dispatch.
Distribution.
" De jure " situation.
The 1994 Law mandated ENEE to divide its distribution network by regions. The partition, which was to be approved by ENEE, would be followed by the sale of those networks to cooperatives, municipalities, workers' associations, other similar types of groups, or to private companies, always subject to approval by the National Congress. The Law established that electricity distribution was to be carried out "in priority" by private companies under a concession regime. Distributors need to have a valid supply contract with generators for at least five years duration (however, the law does not mandate a minimum quantity).
EEH private distribution entity.
The 18th of February EEH, an international consortium, signed a contract assuming responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the electrical distribution network, the commercial operation and its optimization, reduction and control of technical and non-technical losses, and for the collection of payments with the users.
Power frequency and voltage.
In Honduras the residential power plugs and sockets are of type A and B. The standard voltage is 110 V and the standard frequency is 60 Hz.
Renewable energy.
In Honduras, there is great potential in untapped indigenous renewable energy resources. Due to the likely long-term trend of high oil prices, such resources could be developed at competitive prices. However, except for the large hydro projects, the potential for the development of renewable energy has yet to be explored.
Energy efficiency.
Honduras has a very large potential to develop energy efficiency programs. Large improvements could be made in the areas of air conditioning for both the residential and commercial sectors, where the implementation of measures in the area of demand management and the rational use of energy could prevent unplanned blackouts.
Some progress has been made recently under the "Generación Autónoma y Uso Racional de Energía Eléctrica" (GAUREE) project, financed by the European Union between 2000 and 2007. The GAUREE 2 project aims at increasing the use of energy-efficient Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), lowering the consumption of energy by 50 million kW·h per year. The plan of action includes giving away, in a three-phased operation, a free 20 W CFL bulb to 800,000 households (the majority of Honduran households still use inefficient 60 W, 75 W, and 100 W bulbs).
The Inter-Institutional Group for the Efficient Use of Energy (GIURE) has set out a plan with the objective of reducing national electricity demand by 100 MW in 2008. This would entail an 8% reduction of the maximum demand forecast by ENEE. Some of the main activities included in GIURE's program are: promotion of gas stove use, use of clean development mechanisms (CDM), educational campaigns, efficiency in the industrial and commercial sectors, etc.
History.
Early monopoly and hydro-based expansion.
ENEE was created in 1957 by Decree 48, the "Ley Constitutiva de la Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica"—the Constitutive Law. Its mandate was to promote the country’s electrification through the study, construction and operation of electrification works, government representation in any company in which the government was a shareholder, and to provide assistance to any private generator or distributor that required it.
In its initial two and a half decades, the expansion of ENEE was boosted by the technical and financial support of international financial organizations. Hydroelectric projects abounded and the transmission network expanded to incorporate all economically active areas of the country into the national grid, which was interconnected with Nicaragua (1976), Costa Rica (1982) and Panama (1986). The largest project, the hydroelectric plant of El Cajón (300 MW) on the Rio Comayagua in Central Honduras was commissioned in 1985. At that time Honduras had an installed capacity of 560 MW and a peak demand of only 220 MW.
The demand growth projections did not materialize, which left the country with a large excess capacity and ENEE with a heavy debt burden. As a result, the existing thermal power plants were not well maintained. When demand eventually caught up and a severe drought occurred, many of the thermal plants were inoperative, leading to a severe energy crisis in 1993.
1994 Electricity Law and the resurgence of fossil fuels.
The 1994 new Electricity Law, passed under the administration of President Carlos Roberto Reina, was born as a response to the crisis. It contained provisions for the establishment of a competitive power market (vertical unbundling, freedom of entry to all sector activities, open access to transmission and distribution networks, and freedom of choice for large users); the separation of the roles of policy making, regulation, and provision of electricity services; application of cost-recovery tariffs and targeted subsidies; and private provision of electricity services.
The establishment of the new competitive market failed: the distribution networks were not un-bundled and privatized, and ENEE continued operating as a vertically integrated state-owned enterprise that maintained its central role in energy planning and policy making. In addition, the principles of cost covering tariffs and targeted subsidies were not properly implemented due both to inadequate political commitment and to an important dependency on imported oil for power generation. This led to high and volatile generation prices that were not passed on to retail tariffs.
In the 1990s, thermoelectric generation has come to lead a system that was dominated by hydropower: Hydropower plant capacity has gone from 90% to only 30%. The reasons for this shift are twofold. First, hydroelectric development became more expensive when funding through interest-free loans for its development from International financial institutions was cut. Second, the lower risks and shorter maturity of thermal generation projects, as perceived by private investors, directed generation expansion towards the use of heavy fuel oil and medium speed diesels.
In addition, it is worth mentioning the close relationships between oil importers, power generating companies and certain government officers, which through the last decade have been accused by the Honduran media of artificially containing the investment in renewable energy sources, favoring oil imports and the extension of very expensive and less than transparent electricity generation contracts.
The emergence of Independent Power Producers.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that ENEE has signed with independent power producers (IPP) running fossil fuel power plants now account for the majority of energy generation in Honduras. According to the Interamerican Development Bank, these PPAs were "expensive and with clauses that made them very inflexible".
As early as in 1993, during the government of Rafael Leonardo Callejas (1990–1994), ENEE signed its first PPA with an IPP for the provision of thermal energy. The contract was signed with Electricidad de Cortés (Elcosa) for a period of 17 years. One year later, Carlos Roberto Reina (1994–1998) approved two giant 10-year contracts for Empresa de Mantenimiento, Construcción y Electricidad (EMCE), which itself belongs to the Honduran Terra group, and the Honduran energy company Luz y Fuerza de San Lorenzo (Lufussa). EMCE and Lufussa managed to sign new contracts with the government of Carlos Flores (1998–2002), which included tax exemptions for up to five years and the payment of fixed and variable charges, the former independently of whether energy was actually being produced, as it is typically the case in PPAs.
The government of Ricardo Maduro (2002–2006) signed two more 12-year contracts with Enersa - partners of EMCE - and Lufussa. However, in November 2002, it quickly signed another 12-year contract for US$477 million with the Honduran subsidiary of AES Corporation, under which AES Honduras was to supply some 200 megawatts of power. In September 2003 ENEE canceled that contract as well, because the provider allegedly failed to fulfill certain clauses and was behind schedule.
Renewable energy promotion and a comeback of hydropower.
Under the Presidency of Carlos Flores, decrees No. 85-98 and 267-98 were approved in 1998 by the Honduras Congress with the aim of promoting the development of renewable energy-generating plants. The new legislation included tax breaks to developers and a secure buyer arrangement for energy at prices equivalent to the system’s short-term marginal cost. ENEE, which is the default buyer, must pay a premium (10% of the same short-run marginal cost) for the electricity generated when the installed capacity is below 50 MW. This framework has facilitated the negotiation of about 30 public-private partnerships with ENEE for small renewable energy plants. In addition, Decree No. 85-98 also established tax exemptions in favor of developers: import and sales taxes on equipment, and a five-year income tax holiday.
The government considers renewable resources a vital element of its strategy to diversify energy supply, reduce vulnerability to external shocks, and mitigate the environmental impacts of energy production. The development of large hydropower projects and the provision of further incentives for grid-connected renewable projects are the present priorities of the government in the renewable energy sector. The penetration of renewable energy technologies into rural electrification programs is still limited and most rural electrification activities are grid extensions.
According to the World Bank, the potential for the development of off-grid and small renewable sources is largely unexploited due to a lack of incentives and a clear and consistent policy framework.
Regional integration, the SIEPAC project.
In 1995, after almost a decade of preliminary studies, the Central American governments, the government of Spain and the Inter-American Development Bank agreed to the execution of the SIEPAC project. This project aims at the electric integration of the region. Feasibility studies showed that the creation of a regional transmission system would be very positive for the region and lead to a reduction in electricity costs and to improvements in the continuity and reliability of supply. In 1996, the six countries—Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador—signed the Framework Treaty for the Electricity Market in Central America.
The design of the Regional Electricity Market (MER) was done in 1997 and approved in 2000. MER is an additional market superimposed on the existing six national markets, with a regional regulation, in which the agents authorized by the Regional Operational Body (EOR) carry out international electricity transactions in the region. As for the infrastructure, EPR ("Empresa Propietaria de la Red S.A.") is in charge of the design, engineering, and construction of about of 230kV transmission lines. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2008.
Operation scissor, declaration of emergency, and tariff increase.
In February 2007, ENEE initiated a program to reduce arrears and commercial losses under the heading "Operación Tijera" (Operation Scissor). It entails coordinated action from all ministries and government agencies aiming to cut service (a) to delinquent clients, and (b) to any users detected during the operation with irregular service connections or with meters that have been tampered with. According to press reports, the operation has led to an instantaneous increase in collections.
In June 2007, President Manuel Zelaya declared an "energy emergency" in order to buy additional electricity and to overcome the country's energy crisis. The Minister of Defense is charged with resolving the crisis, and together with the Minister of Finance, was put at the head of an Intervention Board of ENEE. The mandate of the Intervention Board has been extended until October 2008.
In an attempt to address ENEE's delicate financial situation, the government intends to raise tariffs for certain consumers, those whose bills are the highest. This increase, which will bring tariffs closer to costs, would not affect residential users whose consumption is below 100 kWh. A 16% tariff increase for fuel adjustment was already applied in January 2008. According to the new manager of ENEE, an additional 11% adjustment will be applied in May. The overall target, established in the "Financial Plan for the Strengthening of ENEE" is for tariffs to have increased by 27% at the end of 2008.
Tariffs, cost recovery and subsidies.
According to the law, a tariff reflecting generation and transmission costs would be the regulated power price for distributors. The tariff, to be published in the official Gazette in order to become effective, had to be calculated yearly by the generators and approved by the regulator, who would also decide on any subsequent adjustments to it. However, ENEE has failed to apply this 1994 Law’s provision for the calculation and implementation of cost-covering tariffs and of localized subsidies.
Residential, commercial and industrial tariffs.
Average tariffs for industrial and commercial consumers already cover economic costs and are some of the highest in the region. However, the average tariff for the residential category is 60% of the economic cost of supply, and only 54% after deducting the Government's direct subsidy.
Households consuming less than 100 kW·h per month pay a tariff which only covers 22% of the cost, while those consuming between 0 and 300 kW·h—84% of all residential clients—only pay 395 percent of the cost. Even clients consuming more than 500 kW·h per month pay only 82% of the cost of supply. Tariffs for municipalities are equivalent to about 77% of the cost. The table below shows the average cost of supply and the current final price (after direct subsidy) for the different users:
"Source": World Bank, 2007
By way of comparison, the weighted average residential tariff in Latin America and the Caribbean at the end of 2005 was US$0.115 per kW·h, while the industrial weighted average was US$0.107 per kW·h. Clearly, residential tariffs in Honduras are below the regional average.
Cost recovery.
The overall result of the distortions in the tariff structure is that just 81% of economic costs of supply are covered, leading to a financial situation that is unsustainable in the short term and could lead the country to face a severe energy crisis by 2010.
Direct subsidies and cross subsidies.
A direct subsidy was established in 1994 to compensate for any tariff increase to eligible residential users (those that consume less than 300 kW·h per month). In the period (2001–2005), the Government paid about US$75.6 million in direct tariff subsidies to residential consumers.
The explicit cross-subsidy incorporated in the current tariff does not respect the caps set by the 1994 Electricity Law as it has benefited most residential consumers, making the compensatory surcharges to other consumer categories (i.e. commercial and industrial) also exceed the mandated limits. Also, the generalized subsidy and the direct subsidy paid by the Government are poorly targeted and regressive. Non-poor consumers (i.e. those consuming above 150 kW·h/month), have been benefited most by the cross-subsidy as they currently pay between 50% and 80% of economic costs. This has resulted in one of the lowest residential tariffs in the region and also in high consumption—about 200 kW·h per month in residential use. This figure doubles the average residential use in El Salvador and Guatemala, whose per capita income is more than double that of Honduras. Inefficient interfuel substitution is another result of low electricity prices, particularly for cooking and water heating, since electricity, although a more inefficient and economically expensive option, is cheaper for the consumer than, for instance, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Investment and financing.
Investments in the sector are carried out by ENEE, the Social Electrification Fund FOSODE and the private sector. ENEE has no self-financing capacity and virtually no capacity to take on new debt or other financial obligations such as those arising from PPAs. ENEE's poor financial health casts doubt on its ability to finance the planned major investments in new generation capacity.
Investment by sub-sector.
In the period 1997-2006, ENEE has invested about US$189 million in its activities. The areas that have received the largest funding have been distribution and transmission.
Financing.
Private developers.
Between 1994 and 2006, private developers have invested some US$600 million in about 800 MW of medium speed diesel and gas turbine capacity. Private investors have also invested about US$70 million in 110 MW of small hydro- and bagasse-fired capacity. Reliance on the private sector has become the norm for generation capacity expansion.
Short-term credit.
Distribution and transmission investment by ENEE has been partially financed with expensive revolving loans from local banks and credits from thermal generators on the payment of energy purchases that amounted to US$124 million in 2003–05. Debt service coverage and contribution to investments have been negative during the past five years.
Concessionary funding.
As explained in more detail in the section on external assistance further below, concessionary funding by international donors is currently directed only at rural electrification, new renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency.
The largest investments in rural electrification have been made by FOSODE, which has been successful in raising international aid funds (both concessionary loans and grants), which complement the budgetary resources that the Government provides every year as required by law. The Fund receives additional financing from fees that municipalities impose on electricity companies in their jurisdiction. Between 1995 and 2006, FOSODE invested US$91.4 million in rural electrification.
Tax exemptions.
The electricity sector enjoys several tax exemptions: import tax exemptions for fuels used by ENEE and other power companies for electricity generation, import and sales taxes on equipment and materials for rural electrification projects, import taxes on equipment and materials for power plants using renewable energy sources, and sales tax on electricity sales. According to the World Bank, the total average annual tax exemptions are estimated at about US$108 million, mostly fuel taxes (US$64.8 million) and sales taxes on electricity consumption (US$37.8 million).
Summary of private participation in the electricity sector.
Although the 1994 Electricity Law contained provisions for the establishment of a competitive power market—vertical unbundling, freedom of entry to all sector activities, open access to transmission and distribution networks, and freedom of choice for large users—ENEE has continued operating as a vertically integrated state-owned enterprise with total control over transmission and distribution.
As for generation, IPPs started to sign PPAs with ENEE as early as 1993. Today, IPPs account for over 60% of generation capacity, most of it thermal, in Honduras.
Electricity sector and the environment.
Responsibility for the environment.
SERNA, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, holds the responsibility in environmental issues, including climate change. This government agency is in a weak position due, among other things, to limited budgets and to the weakness of the civil service system. Also, ministry staff faces a total turnover whenever a new government takes over (i.e. every four years), which slows down its operations.
Greenhouse gas emissions.
OLADE (Organización Latinoamericana de Energía) estimates that CO2 emissions from electricity production in 2003 were 1.51 million tons of CO2, which represents 24% of total emissions from the energy sector
Other data (2004) report emissions of 6.04 MtCO2 from consumption and flaring of fossil fuels, which corresponds to 0.86 tCO2 per capita (Central and South America average: 2.35 tons).
Clean Development Mechanism projects in electricity.
According to its promoter, Finnder, the small hydropower project "Rio Blanco" (50 MW) was the first small Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) registered in the World, with the first Certified Emission Reductions awarded in October 2005. Currently, there are eleven CDM-registered projects related to electricity generation in Honduras. Nine of those projects are hydro plants, which represent 80% (177,636 tCO2e) of the total estimated annual emissions reductions. The two remaining projects are for cogeneration and biogas recovery and electricity generation.
External assistance.
Concessionary loans and grants from international financial institutions and bilateral donors in the Honduran energy sector are focused on rural electrification, energy efficiency and new renewable energy. This type of financing is limited. None of the current donor-funded projects supports large hydropower development, expansion of fossil energy generation or major investments in transmission, which are necessary to ensure that supply keeps up with demand and to maintain service quality.
World Bank.
Currently, the World Bank is contributing funds and assistance through three projects related to the energy sector in Honduras:
Inter-American Development Bank.
Currently, the Inter-American Development Bank is contributing funds and assistance to the following projects in the energy sector in Honduras:
The IDB has also financed an advanced pre-feasibility study for the Patuca 3 large hydroelectric project.
European Union.
Between 2000 and 2007, the European Union (EU) has financed the "Generación Autónoma y Uso Racional de Energía Eléctrica" (GAUREE) project, which aims at increasing the use of energy-efficient CFLs. The total cost of the project is Euro 6.68 million (US$9.06 million), with a total contribution from the EU of Euro 5 million (US$6.785 million)
Others.
Electrification projects have also been carried out with resources from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration ("Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica"), and with cooperation from countries like Finland, Japan, Korea, and Norway. In addition, there is an agreement in place with the "Fondo Cafetero Nacional" (FCN) for the electrification of coffee-producing regions.
The president of the CBEI announced in July 2007 that the Bank would provide "strong" financing, consisting of a "first disbursement" of US$100 million. The funds would be invested in transmission lines which, according to the CBEI president, would generate sufficient cash flow to repay the loan.


Hartford Electric Light Company

The Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO) is a defunct electrical company that was located on Pearl Street in Hartford, Connecticut. It was merged with the Connecticut Power Company in 1958 and later these became Connecticut Light & Power. Its former corporate headquarters building and main facility are in the Ann Street Historic District.
History.
The history of the Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO) begins with the Hartford Steam Company. The steam company built the originally brick building in 1880 (See 'The Hartford Electric Light Company, Pearl Street plant, circa 1902'). The building had about a dozen boilers for producing heat and steam for their customers. The steam company introduced a new technology in 1881, an electric generator. It was Hartford's first electric service.
The Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO) in 1881 received its charter as an official company and took over the electrical part of Hartford Steam Company. At that time Hartford had about a thousand gaslights in 80 miles of the city streets. It began actual operations of the steam-powered electrical generating plant on Pearl Street in 1882. Austin Cornelius Dunham was the company's first president. The first major project the company did was electrical lighting to the Asylum Street railroad station in 1883. HELCO ultimately made Hartford the first city in America with an all-electric street lighting system.
Dutch Point.
Hartford Light and Power Company, HELCO's competitor, bought the steam company and HELCO eventually vacated by 1887. HELCO bought Hartford Light and Power Company in 1896. They then returned to their original Pearl Street plant. The Hartford Electric Light Company operated the first steam turbine by a public utility to produce electricity in America. The steam turbine electrical generator was called Mary-Ann. It was installed at their Pearl Street plant in 1901. The Pearl Street plant also powered the city's street cars. The plant became a substation in 1905 when HELCO's Dutch Point plant was constructed and put in full operation.
Dutch point in Hartford was so named because the Dutch under Adrian Block landed there in 1614, which was about two decades before the English settlers came there. This plant started in operation in 1905, and before this the main electricity supply for the city of Hartford came from the original Pearl street plant of the Hartford Electric Light Company.
Tariffville powerhouse.
HELCO constructed in 1899 a dam on the Farmington River at Tariffville, which is on the edge of the town of Simsbury, Connecticut. There a powerhouse was built to generate electricity. This power plant was built with two pairs of 1300 horsepower water wheels. They connected to two seven-hundred kilowatt generators made by Westinghouse. This was the first time aluminum was used for the conductors in a transmission line. The Tariffville dam with the powerhouse was destroyed by flooding that came about because of two sequential hurricanes in August 1955.
Connecticut Power Company.
A 1909 engineering report describes the station and its equipment as having two water-power stations (See 'HELCO electrical network in 1909') operated in conjunction with it (#1 plant & #2 plant). The two electrical generator plants were located on the Farmington river about twelve miles from Hartford. The three plants were connected together and regulated at the main plant and supplied all the electricity for Hartford.
The Connecticut Power Company entered into a power exchange agreement with HELCO in 1915 where they would work together to get electricity to each other's customers as needed. HELCO built a power station in 1921 at South Meadows in Hartford.
HELCO had just over three thousand customers in 1900. Fifty years later their customer base was
almost ninety thousand. At that time they served Hartford and the surrounding area of about two hundred and fifty square miles. HELCO merged with the Connecticut Power Company in 1958. These then later became Connecticut Light & Power.
Innovations.
HELCO was the first company in America to use a steam turbine for a public utility to generate electricity. They installed the steam turbine generator in 1901 and it became known as "Mary-Ann."
HELCO made several innovations in the electrical industry. They became standard practices. HELCO was the first electric company in the United States to transmit three-phase alternating current at high voltage for long distances. The company did this in 1893 from their Rainbow Hydroelectric Station in Windsor, Connecticut to its main station in Hartford – some eight miles away. Hartford Electric Light Company was the first to use a storage battery in conjunction with the electricity produced at a hydraulic powerhouse. The innovation made it possible to collect and store water power energy that would have gone unused during low demand periods. This energy could then be returned when the demands were higher.
The president of HELCO invented an electric range that had a broiler, cooker, and roaster. The company marketed the electric range. There were about 20,000 ranges put into homes throughout the Hartford area. HELCO's president received patents for an electrical radiator to heat water and an ice-making machine. Many of the homes of Hartford had these electrical appliances by 1915.
Ann Street Historic District.
The original property at 266 Pearl Street is within the Ann Street Historic District and is now the Connecticut Light & Power Company.


Capital Power Income

Capital Power Income L.P. was a limited partnership that owned power generation assets in Canada and the United States.
Founded as TransCanada Power L.P. the company was renamed EPCOR Power L.P. after TransCanada Corporation sold its interest in the partnership to EPCOR Utilities Incorporated on September 1, 2005. It was then renamed on November 5, 2009 to reflect the transfer of ownership from EPCOR Utilities to its newly created spin-off Capital Power Corporation.
On November 7, 2011 Atlantic Power Corporation completed it plan of arrangement to acquire the company.


Isolated-phase bus

In electrical engineering, isolated-phase bus (IPB), also known as phase-isolated bus (PIB) in some countries, is a method of construction for circuits carrying very large currents, typically between a generator and its step-up transformer in a steam or large hydroelectric power plant.
Each phase current is carried on a separate conductor, enclosed in a separate grounded metal housing. Conductors are usually hollow aluminum tubes or aluminum bars, supported within the housing on porcelain or polymer insulators. The metal housings are electrically connected so that induced current, nearly of the magnitude of the phase current, can flow through the housing, in the opposite direction from the phase current. The magnetic field produced by this current nearly exactly cancels the magnetic field produced by the phase current, so there is almost no external magnetic field produced. This also limits the amount of force produced between conductors during a short circuit. The external housings of the conductors remain at a low potential with respect to earth ground and are usually bonded to ground.
By enclosing the conductors in separate housings a high degree of protection from two-phase and three-phase faults is obtained. Almost any fault would instead be a single-phase earth fault which does not produce a large fault current. The conductors between the generator and the first circuit breaker are even more important to protect against two- and three-phase faults because there is no breaker that can stop the fault current from the generator. While most modern circuit breakers will interrupt the fault current in less than 50 ms, the fault current from the generator will take several seconds to interrupt because the field current in the rotor takes this amount of time to discharge. The consequences of a two- or three-phase fault between the generator and the first circuit breaker are therefore much more serious and often result in severe damage to the busbars and nearby equipment.
Isolated-phase bus is made in ratings from 3000 amperes to 45,000 amperes, and rated for voltages from 5000 volts up to about 35,000 volts. In the larger current ratings, dry air is forced through the enclosures and within the tubular conductors for forced-air cooling of the conductors. The cooling air is recirculated through a heat exchanger. Some items of switchgear, such as circuit breakers and isolating switches, are made in housings compatible with the isolated-phase bus. Accessories such as instrument transformers, surge arresters, and capacitors are also made in compatible housings. Due to the expense of its construction and the energy loss, isolated-phase bus is usually used in short segments; a large underground powerhouse may have isolated-phase bus up to about 250 metres or so to connect generators to transformers in a cavern.
Forced-air cooling can approximately double the rating over the same size conductors used in a self-cooled system. The extra cost of losses and cooling fan power consumption must be balanced against the lower capital cost of the bus.
Various forms of flexible terminals, expansion joints, and weatherproof or fire-proof bushings and terminals are used with isolated-phase bus. Some types of apparatus such as disconnecting switches, circuit breakers, and instrument transformers are made in enclosures that can be welded to become an integral part of the isolated-phase bus system. Isolated-phase bus is usually custom manufactured for a particular project and requires accurate dimensions of the connected equipment for manufacturing.
A smaller type of isolated-phase bus is manufactured for direct-current circuits; this may be used in the field circuit of a generator.
Currently, the isolated-phase bus world record current is 52,000 A, for bus manufactured by Alstom Power (since 2015 General Electric Power) and installed at the Civaux Nuclear Power Plant, in 1997.
Other types of bus are:
These are used at lower ratings or where adequate protection of the circuit by overcurrent devices is possible.


Load factor (electrical)

In electrical engineering the load factor is defined as the average load divided by the peak load in a specified time period. It is a measure of the utilization rate, or efficiency of electrical energy usage; a high load factor indicates that load is using the electric system more efficiently, whereas consumers or generators that underutilize the electric distribution will have a low load factor.
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An example, using a large commercial electrical bill:
Hence:
It can be derived from the load profile of the specific device or system of devices. Its value is always less than one because maximum demand is never lower than average demand, since facilities likely never operate at full capacity for the duration of an entire 24-hour day. A high load factor means power usage is relatively constant. Low load factor shows that occasionally a high demand is set. To service that peak, capacity is sitting idle for long periods, thereby imposing higher costs on the system. Electrical rates are designed so that customers with high load factor are charged less overall per kWh. This process along with others is called load balancing or peak shaving.
The load factor is closely related to and often confused with the demand factor.
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The major difference to note is that the denominator in the demand factor is fixed depending on the system. Because of this, the demand factor cannot be derived from the load profile but needs the addition of the full load of the system in question.


China Yangtze Power

China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. (CYPC), known as Yangtze Power is a Chinese utilities company, headquartered in Beijing. The company is a component of SSE 180 Index. A controlling share is held by the parent company China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG, ), a state-owned enterprise under State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
The enterprise produces and sells energy to customers. China Yangtze Power was founded on 4 November 2002 and was brought on 18 November 2003 to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. China Yangtze Power originated from a cooperation of Chinese enterprises: Huaneng Power International, China National Nuclear Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation, Gezhouba Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group as well as the Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research.
Three Gorges Dam Hydroelectric Plants.
The Three Gorges Dam above ground hydroelectric plant became fully operational in 2010 and has an installed capacity of 18.2GW (26 x 700MW). These units have been progressively acquired from the majority owner China Three Gorges Corporation as they have been built. A final underground hydroelectric plant is expected to be transferred by 2012.
Other Hydroelectric Plants.
The company is the operator of other Yangtze hydroelectric plants - Xiluodu Dam (13,860 MW), Xiangjiaba Dam (6,448 MW) and Gezhouba Dam (2,715 MW). Two other are under construction - Baihetan Dam (16,000 MW) and Wudongde Dam (10,200 MW).
Marketing.
The company sells its electricity via China State Grid Corporation mainly to Central China (Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Jiangxi and Chongqing), East China (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui) and Guangdong Province.


Allegheny Energy

Allegheny Energy was an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owned and operated electric generation facilities and delivered electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Allegheny Energy was incorporated in Maryland in 1925 as West Penn Electric Company. One of its predecessor companies dates back to the formation of West Penn Power on January 31, 1907.
The company had three primary businesses: "merchant generation," which operated power plants primarily in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; "transmission expansion;" and "utility operations," consisting of transmission and distribution operations serving 1.6 million customers, primarily in small towns and rural areas.
Allegheny merged with FirstEnergy in February 2011.
Subsidiary companies.
Allegheny Energy operated its electric distribution operations under the trade name Allegheny Power. Its regulated subsidiaries were West Penn Power (serving Southwestern and Central Pennsylvania), Monongahela Power ("Mon Power," serving Northern and Southern West Virginia, as well as Hancock and Brooke Counties in the Northern Panhandle), and The Potomac Edison Company (western Maryland, parts of eastern West Virginia, and (until 2010) northern Virginia). The electric generating plants were operated by subsidiary Allegheny Energy Supply Company and Monongahela Power.
In 1999, Monongahela Power purchased the distribution assets of West Virginia Power, a utility owned by UtiliCorp United based in Lewisburg, West Virginia. West Virginia Power's operations were centered on portions of southeastern West Virginia. It is said UtiliCorp sold the subsidiary to concentrate on its main operations in the midwestern US. UtiliCorp had purchased the division from Dominion Resources in 1986, of which it had operated as the West Virginia Power division of Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO).
Allegheny Energy formerly operated in sections of eastern Ohio, until early 2006, when regulatory issues within Ohio forced them to sell the territory to Columbus Southern Power, a division of American Electric Power, Inc.
In 2010, Allegheny officially sold their Virginia service area. Counties west of the Blue Ridge Mountains were purchased by Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative of Mount Crawford, Virginia, while counties to the east were sold to Rappahannock Electric Cooperative of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Merger.
In 1997, Allegheny and Duquesne Light Holding Company (DQE) agreed to a $4.3 billion merger with headquarters remaining in Hagerstown, Maryland. However DQE backed out of the deal by 1998.
In February 2010, Allegheny announced plans to merge with FirstEnergy. The merger was completed on February 25, 2011.
Customer service.
Allegheny Power was ranked number one in customer satisfaction among utilities in the northeastern United States in 2010, according to TQS Research. The recent recognition marks the sixth consecutive year large commercial and industrial customers rated Allegheny Power the region's top performer.
Southwestern Pennsylvania, excluding the city of Pittsburgh, provided about half of regulated utility revenues.
Environmental policies, practice and record.
Allegheny has indicated that its policy is "to produce and distribute electricity in a reliable and responsible manner that protects its personnel, communities, customers, and the environment."
In February 1995, the company signed a participation accord with the United States Department of Energy as a participant in the Climate Challenge Program. Under this accord, Allegheny Energy agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (as carbon dioxide equivalents) by two million tons per year by 2000. Through a series of reduction efforts including demand side management programs, heat-rate, and efficiency improvements on generation equipment, transportation alternatives, and land-use management involving forestation and vegetative sequestration efforts, Allegheny was able to achieve just under 8.5 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent reductions. These reductions fulfilled the company's Climate Challenge commitment goal by the calendar year 2000.
Carbon dioxide reduction efforts have continued since 2000, and Allegheny has since recorded another 9 million tons of avoided emissions through continued efficiency improvements, demand-side management measures, and vegetative sequestration.
The company complied with current sulfur dioxide emissions standards through a system-wide plan combining the use of emission controls, low sulfur fuel and emission allowances. Allegheny has taken steps to significantly reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at its generating facilities, investing $1.3 billion to install clean air technology at both the Hatfield's Ferry and Fort Martin power stations. With the addition of scrubbers at these plants, 85 percent of its coal-fired fleet now utilizes the best available controls for reducing sulfur dioxide emissions. Allegheny now has one of the cleanest fleets in the United States with respect to sulfur dioxide. The scrubber projects will also significantly reduce mercury emissions at these power stations.
2005 litigation.
In 2005, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Maryland filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Allegheny Energy. The suit claimed that Allegheny Energy has made major upgrades at its Armstrong, Hatfield's Ferry, and Mitchell electric generating stations, having dramatically increased emissions without installing new pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act.
A trial was held in 2010. But in the five years that elapsed between the filing of the suit and the trial, the company's sulfur dioxide emissions profile improved significantly. The scrubbers at Fort Martin and Hatfield’s Ferry, completed in 2009, removed approximately 95 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions at those facilities, totaling more than 200,000 tons annually from the two plants. Mercury emissions at the facilities have also dropped significantly as result of the scrubbers. In 2014 the suit was dropped.
At the time the suit was filed, opponents claimed that the plants were emitting thousands of tons of pollution each year, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, which were allegedly wind-blown into New Jersey. They also claimed this causes smog, acid rain, and different respiratory disease. "New Jersey continues to pursue litigation to protect our citizens' health and meet clean air quality standards," Gov. Jon S. Corzine said. "This decision proves that New Jersey can and will pursue action to enforce the Clean Air Act's protections even when the federal government abdicates its own responsibility to do so." The 2005 suit claimed that three plants at issue in the litigation were at the time emitting in total hundreds of thousands of tons of pollutants a year. It also claimed that the three plants were putting out more nitrogen oxide emissions than all the power plants in New Jersey combined and more than three times the total amount of sulfur dioxide emissions emitted by all New Jersey power plants. The 2005 litigation also claimed that the Hatfield's Ferry plant was at that time the fifth largest single source of sulfur dioxide emissions in the country. The suit claimed violations of Pennsylvania's air pollution laws and regulations. New Jersey sought injunctive relief to require Allegheny to reduce its harmful emissions by installing up to date pollution controls at each of the three plants. The states also asked the court to apply penalties and order Allegheny to take additional appropriate actions to make up for the harm done to public health and the environment by its violations of federal and state law.


Jerome Babe

Jerome Lewellyn Babe (February 4, 1837 – April 8, 1893) was an American diamond miner and inventor.
Biography.
Babe, an American, arrived in the Cape Colony (modern-day South Africa) circa 1865 as a sales representative for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and also as a special correspondent for the "New York World". He arrived in Colesberg, Cape Colony on June 12, 1870 and by July 4 was at Jacobsdal, Orange Free State. At Jacobsdal he demonstrated the 1866 .44 Henry Winchester rifle's quick firing by shooting 16 rounds in ten seconds, resulting in a large number of sales.
Once he completed his work for Winchester and the newspaper, Babe found that he had several months before his scheduled return journey. He decided to enter into diamond mining, having previously had experience prospecting in California. This was soon after the first discovery of diamonds in the region. Babe was unimpressed with the technique that was then in use on the diamond fields, of excavating a quantity of gravel and then removing it to the nearest water source, often some distance away, for washing and screening. He devised a type of dry sorting pan that could sort diamonds from the gravel without the use of water. This machine was first used at the Vaal River field in 1871 and became known as the "Yankee Baby" or simply the "Baby" after Babe's surname. The machine became very popular and was still in use in the region in 1966. The "Baby" functioned as a swinging sieve (underneath a coarser sieve which separates out the larger pebbles), which allows medium-sized pebbles (which may contain diamonds) to roll into a tub. The contents of the tub are gravitated, and the heavier stones are placed on a sorting table to allow the diamonds to be hand-picked out.
Sales of the Baby, income from excavating diamonds, sales of diamonds purchased from other miners, and profits from "grubstakes" (whereby he earned a cut of profits from miners to whom Babe provided capital, materials or provisions) made Babe a fortune. In 1872, he was in the eastern United States where he published a book titled "The South African Diamond Fields". This work was mentioned in a discussion on potential rivals by Mark Twain in a letter to journalist John Henry Riley.
Babe was robbed of $10,000 worth of diamonds from a stagecoach in York, Pennsylvania in July 1872. After returning to the Cape, his ventures became unprofitable and, after losing his money, he returned to America in 1873. Babe was married to Elanora Ray Babe, who died on May 28, 1893, less than two months after him.


Alakhinskoye mine

The Alakhinskoye mine is one of the largest lithium mines in Russia. The mine is located in southern Russia in Altai Republic. The Alakhinskoye mine has reserves amounting to 218 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.8% lithium thus resulting 1.74 million tonnes of lithium.


Herman Frasch

Herman Frasch [or Hermann Frasch] (December 25, 1851 in Oberrot bei Gaildorf, Württemberg – May 1, 1914 in Paris) was a chemist, mining engineer and inventor known for his work with petroleum and sulphur.
Biography.
Early life.
He was the son of Johannes and Frieda Henrietta (Bauer) Frasch. Both his parents were natives of Stuttgart. His father was burgomaster of Gaildorf. Herman attended the Latin school in Gaildorf and was then apprenticed to a bookseller in nearby Schwäbisch Hall.
At the age of 16 or 19, he left the apprenticeship and sailed from Bremen to New York, then took the train to Philadelphia. After his arrival in the United States, he became a lab assistant to John Michael Maisch at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.
Engineering career.
Oil career.
In 1875, Frasch invented a recovery process for tin scrap and process to make white lead from galena. He patented a process for refining paraffin wax in 1876, and sold the patent to Standard Oil, for whom he became a consulting chemist based in Cleveland.
In 1884, Frasch sold the exclusive use of his fractional distillation patent, which was more efficient at separating oil into by-products to Imperial Oil. Imperial then hired Frasch to assist them in retrofitting their Silver Star refinery with his refining process. Imperial offered Frasch a fee of $10,000, but he persuaded the company to provide him with a salary that matched the President of Imperial Oil, Frederick A. Fitzgerald. Once Frasch's completed his work on the refinery in February 1885, he resigned and joined Imperial board member John Minhinnick in founding the Empire Oil Company. The partners purchased a refinery in London, and Frasch began experimenting on a way to remove the sulphur in kerosene refined from Petrolia oil. The oil fields in Lambton County had a high sulphur content, resulting in the kerosene producing excessive smoke and a pungent smell when burned. Canadians nicknamed the kerosene "skunk oil," and refiners had a difficult time marketing their products at home and abroad. Between 1885 and 1887 Frasch determined that mixing copper oxide during the distillation process removed the sulphur content from the oil.
Around the same time as Frasch's discovery, Standard Oil began expanding into Lima, Ohio, and discovered that its oil, like Lambton County's, had a high sulphur content. Recognizing that any improvement in the Canadian oil could also be applied to the Ohio oil, Standard hired Frasch in July 1886, offering him "a salary higher than that of any other scientist in the country," and an exchange of his shares in the Empire Oil Company for Standard Oil shares. Once Frasch returned to the United States, he began working for the Solar Refining Company, a Standard Oil subsidiary in Lima, Ohio, and perfected his desulphurization method. Standard Oil held a patent monopoly on the desulphurization method until 1905, making its investments into the Lima oilfields extremely profitable for the company. Frasch became independently wealthy when he sold half his Standard stock after the price rose from $168 to $820 per share, while the dividend on the stock he retained increased from 7 to 40 percent.
Sulphur career.
During the search for oil in Louisiana, near the present-day city of Sulphur, sulfur was found below a layer of quicksand. All attempts to get to the sulfur with conventional mining shafts ended in disaster. Herman Frasch drilled three dry holes nearby, but the sulfur was not on his property. Frasch concluded the sulfur was associated with a dome structure located on an island owned by the American Sulphur Company. On 20 Oct. 1890, he took out three patents for his Frasch Process. Frasch, and his business associates Frank Rockefeller and F.B. Squire, then entered into a 50-50 agreement with American Sulphur Company to form a new corporation called Union Sulphur Company.
In 1894, Frasch started drilling well No. 14 using a 10 inch pipe, finally getting through the quicksand to the caprock after three months. He then drilled an 8 inch bore to the bottom of the sulphur deposit. A strainer, consisting of perforated 6 inch casing, was placed at the bottom of the 623 feet long test tube. Above the strainer were larger holes acting as the hot water outlet. A 3 inch pipe inside the 6 inch casing descended to the strainer, and was connected to a sucker rod pump. Water, from the surrounding swamp, was heated in a 20 feet high cylinder 30 inches in diameter, from steam supplied by 4 boilers. The superheated water was poured into the well for 24 hours, and on Christmas Day, melted sulphur was pumped to the surface filling 40 barrels in 15 minutes. The excess was then directed to a levee, where it solidified. As Frasch himself said about the first demonstration of the first Frasch Process, "We had melted the mineral in the ground and brought it to the surface as liquid."
Frasch then eliminated the pump, by using air lift via compressed air. Bubbles form from the air, making the sulphur less dense than the surrounding water, thus raising the aerated column. Costs were also reduced by replacing wood and coal with oil. Then in 1911, he introduced bleed pumps to draw off excess cold water.
In 1908, Frasch entered into an agreement with the Italian Government dividing the world market outside the U.S., where Union Sulphur Co. was guaranteed one-third. His costs were one-fifth that of Sicilian Sulphur mined in Caltanissetta. That agreement ended in 1912. Once his original patents expired, Frasch was unsuccessful in blocking Freeport Sulphur Company from using his process.
Legacy.
Frasch was awarded the Perkin Medal in 1912.
Frasch married Romalda Berkin (1854-1889) in 1869. There is no record of her death. They had 2 children. George Berkin Frasch was born in Philadelphia in 1873. Frieda Frasch (1871-1951) was born in Cleveland. Frieda went on to marry Henry Devereux Whiton, who went on to succeed his father-in-law as president of Union Sulpher Co.
Frasch married his second wife Elizabeth Blee (1858-1924), shortly after his first wife passed away, on June 16, 1890.
Frasch Elementary school, a public school in Calcasieu Parish, and Frasch Hall, a building at McNeese State University were named after him. Frasch's surname is often misspelled "Frash".
Herman Frasch died at his home in Paris on May 1, 1914 and was buried in Gaildorf. His body and that of his widow, Elizabeth Blee Frasch, were brought to the United States and re-interred in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York following the death of Elizabeth in Paris in 1924 .
Frasch was awarded 64 U.S. patents during his lifetime.


Inskoye mine

The Inskoye mine is a large iron mine located in eastern Russia in the Sakha Republic. Inskoye represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Russia and in the world having estimated reserves of 250 million tonnes of ore grading 45.2% iron metal.


Manantenina mine

The Manantenina mine is a large mine located in the southern part of Madagascar in Anosy Region. Manantenina represents one of the largest bauxite reserve in Madagascar and one of the largest in Asia, having estimated reserves of 165 million tonnes grading 41% aluminium oxide.


Minas-Rio

Minas-Rio is an iron ore mining project in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is one of the world's largest mining projects, and is initially expected to export 26.5 million tonnes of iron ore in 2013, through a 525 km slurry pipeline to a port at Açu; production potential is 53 Mtpa or higher.
The project was bought by Anglo American PLC, which is facing high costs. The mine has certified reserves of 4.6 billion tonnes of itabirite.
There have been delays in starting the project, but in December 2010, Anglo American obtained a key license needed from Brazilian government before mining could start.
The mine began operating and shipping ore in 2014.


Three-mine policy

The three-mine policy, introduced in 1984 and abandoned in 1996, was a policy of the government of Australia to limit the number of uranium mines in the country to three.
History.
The foundations of the three-mine policy for uranium mining were laid in 1982, when, at a conference of the Australian Labor Party, the party decided to adopt a "no new mines" policy. At the time, two uranium mines were operating, both in the Northern Territory, Ranger and Nabarlek. However, this new policy left a loophole, as it permitted uranium to be mined as a by-product of other mining operations. The later exception allowed for development of the Olympic Dam mine, located in South Australia, as it also contained gold and copper.
The following year, 1983, Labor won the federal elections and came into power for the first time since 1975.
The three-mine policy was officially introduced in 1984, after the federal elections that year had confirmed Bob Hawke of the Labor Party as Prime Minister of Australia. The policy restricted uranium mining in Australia to three existing mines, Ranger, Nabarlek and Olympic Dam.
The policy was abandoned in 1996, after the 1996 federal election replaced the Labor Party with John Howard's Coalition in power. The new policy was to develop the country's uranium mining industry and uranium exports.
The Australian Labor Party changed back its policy in the 1990s to a "no new mines" policy to allow uranium mines already approved by the Coalition government to go ahead. With the opening of a fourth uranium mine in Australia in 2001, the Beverley uranium mine, and the approval of a fifth mine, the Honeymoon uranium mine, Labor's stand had essentially become a "five-mine policy", as Nabarlek had since been closed.
The Labor Party, however, continued its opposition to increased uranium mining until 2006, when, under the leadership of Kim Beazley, discussions to abandon the "no new mines" policy were initiated. In April 2007, the Labor party, under the new leadership of Kevin Rudd voted at their national conference to abandon the policy. The vote was only won by a narrow margin- 205 to 190, and heavy internal criticism resulted. Ministers Peter Garrett and Anthony Albanese remained outspokenly opposed to the decision due to the unresolved problems of nuclear waste storage and nuclear weapons proliferation.
South Australia.
South Australia's Premier Mike Rann and treasurer Kevin Foley had lobbied the Federal government to abandon the policy, and Rann reflected on this during his opening address at the 2010 AusIMM International Uranium Conference. Of the Rann Government's role, he said:"Our support for the exploration and mining of uranium can also be seen in the role we played in having the ALP overturn its "no new uranium mines" policy in 2007. I have to say, it was one of the more difficult tasks that I've been given over the years, but I personally campaigned strongly for that out-dated and illogical policy to be discarded and it has been. It's gone now, for all time."South Australian Liberal party Senator Nick Minchin supported the lobbying efforts of the Rann government, saying: "We of course welcome Mr Rann's advocacy of getting rid of one of the most stupid policies the federal Labor Party has ever had."At a working dinner of the South Australian Minerals & Petroleum Expert Group (SAMPEG), the opening address by the Minister for Mineral Resources Development Paul Holloway responded to the result of the vote. It was recorded in the meeting's minutes thus:"The narrow vote in the recent scrapping of the no new mines policy made apparent the amount of ignorance there is present regarding uranium. It will now be a challenge for the SAMPEG group to address the lack of knowledge in both the public and government... SAMPEG can now make sure the world is aware that South Australia is open for business in regards to uranium."At the same meeting, the SAMPEG Chair Dr Ian Gould spoke on uranium. The minutes reflect:"SAMPEG should consider that the public doesn't understand the industry and members could directly contribute to the continued enhancement of resources information in this state. Information has never been presented in relatively simple terms to the public. A lot of people at a Ministerial level still don't understand uranium. As a group, SAMPEG could play a role in talking to colleagues of Minister Holloway about the uranium business. This could lead to converting those at a Minister level to become ambassadors themselves. The more ambassadors we can bring on board the better off the industry will be."The abolition of the "no new mines" policy allowed the development of the Honeymoon and Four Mile in-situ leach uranium mines, which officially commenced production in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
State-based uranium mining bans.
Individual states continued their ban on uranium mining, however, with Western Australia lifting its six-year-old ban in 2008 after state elections, which saw the Labor Party replaced in government by the Liberal Party. Queensland continues to impose a ban on uranium mining but trade unions have advocated the end of the ban in the hope of uranium mining creating more jobs. Uranium mining remains banned in Victoria and New South Wales, though exploration for uranium is permitted in the latter. Uranium mining is permitted in Tasmania, but no uranium mines have been established there.


Bermo block

Bermo is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Bermo subdivision of Bokaro district, Jharkhand state, India.
Overview.
Bokaro district, a part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, has undulating surface with the altitude varying between 200 and 282 m. Topographically, the entire area is divided into three parts – the Bokaro uplands in the west, the Bokaro-Chas uplands in the middle and Barakar basin in the east. The general slope of the region is from the west to the east. The main rivers are the Damodar, Garga, Parga, Konar and Gobei. The district, covered with hills and forests, is a mining-industrial area. With the construction of the gigantic Bokaro Steel Plant in the nineteen sixties, it has become the focal point of this district.
Maoist activities.
Jharkhand is one of the states affected by Maoist activities. , Bokaro was one of the 14 highly affected districts in the state., Bokaro was identified as one of the 13 focus areas by the state police to check Maoist activities.
Geography.
Bermo is located at .
Bermo CD Block is bounded by Nawadih CD Block on the north, Chandrapura CD Block on the east, Petarwar and Gomia CD Blocks on the south and Bishnugarh CD Block, in Hazaribagh district, on the west.
Bermo CD Block has an area of 100.32 km2. It has 19 gram panchayats, 16 villages and 4 census towns. Bermo, Gandhinagar, and BTPS police stations are located in this CD Block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Bermo.
Konar River passes Gomia to receive the waters of the Bokaro River, shortly before it joins the Damodar River near Jaridih Bazar in Bokaro district.
Demographics.
Population.
As per the 2011 Census of India Bermo CD Block had a total population of 100,599, of which 4,222 were rural and 96,377 were urban. There were 52,481 (52%) males and 48,118 (48%) females. Population below 6 years was 12,616. Scheduled Castes numbered 14,963 (14.87%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 6,538 (6.50%).
Bermo CD Block has several census towns (2011 population figure in brackets): Bokaro (39,305), Kurpania (7,789), Bermo (17,401) and Jaridih Bazar (31,882).Phusro Urban Agglomeration is composed of Phusro (Nagar Parishad), Bermo (Census Town), Jaridih Bazar (CT), Bokaro (CT) and Kurpania (CT).
Literacy.
 census the total number of literates in Bermo CD Block was 69,543 (79.04% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 39,976 (87.09% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 29,567 (70.27% of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 16.82%.
 census, literacy in Bokaro district was 73.48% , Literacy in Jharkhand was 66.41% in 2011.
 Literacy in India in 2011 was 74.04%.
See also – List of Jharkhand districts ranked by literacy rate
Language.
Hindi is the official language in Jharkhand and Urdu has been declared as an additional official language. Jharkhand legislature had passed a bill according the status of a second official language to several languages in 2011 but the same was turned down by the Governor.
In the 2001 census, the three most populous mother tongues (spoken language/ medium of communication between a mother and her children) in Bokaro district were (with percentage of total population in brackets): Khortha (41.08%), Hindi (17.05%) and Santali (10.78%). In the 2011 census, scheduled tribes constituted 12.40% of the total population of the district. The five most populous mother tongues were (with percentage of ST population in brackets): Santali (70.12%), Munda (17.05%), Oraon (5.90%), Karmali (4.23%) and Mahli (3.23%).
Economy.
Livelihood.
In Bermo CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 1,758 and formed 3.41%, agricultural labourers numbered 943 and formed 1.83%, household industry workers numbered 986 and formed 1.91% and other workers numbered 47,804 and formed 92.84%. Total workers numbered 51,491 and formed 27.13% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 138,286 and formed 72.87% of the population.
Infrastructure.
There are 3 inhabited villages in Bermo CD Block. In 2011, all 3 villages had power supply, drinking water facility, pucca (hard top) village roads and 2 villages had assembly polling stations. All three villages had primary schools and 1 village had a middle school. 1 village had a primary health centre, an allopathic hospital and a dispensary.
Coal mining.
Bokaro and Kargali Area of Central Coalfields Limited operates the following projects in East Bokaro Coalfield among others in Bokaro district: Bokaro open cast, Karagli OC, Kargali underground, Karo OC, Karo UG, Karo Spl. UG, Khas Mahal OC, Khas Mahal UG and Kargali Washery. Dhori Area of CCL operates: Amlo OC, Dhori OC, Selected Dhori Quarry No.I OC, Selected Dhori Quarry No. III OC, New Selected Dhori UG and Dhori Khas UG.
Power stations.
Bokaro Thermal Power Station ‘A’ was the first thermal power station of DVC. It had three units of 45 MW each supplied by GE, USA in 1953, and one unit of 40 MW supplied by MAN, Germany in 1960. All the four were decommissioned in 2000. As of 2015, a new 500 MW unit is under construction.
Bokaro Thermal Power Station B of DVC has three units of 210 MW each. These came up in 1987, 1991 and 1994.
Agriculture.
The average annual rainfall in Bokaro district is 1291.2 mm. The soil is generally laterite and sandy. 39.21% of the total area is under agriculture. It is generally a single monsoon-dependent crop. 9.90% of the cultivable land is under horticulture. Rice and maize are the main crops. Bajara, wheat, pulses and vegetables are also grown.
Backward Regions Grant Fund.
Bokaro district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the Backward Regions Grant Fund. The fund created by the Government of India is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. As of 2012, 272 districts across the country were listed under this scheme. The list includes 21 districts of Jharkhand.
Transport.
The Gomoh-Barkakhana line serves Bermo Block.


David Garret Kerr

David Garret Kerr was an American mining engineer.
He graduated Lehigh University in 1884. He worked for Carnegie Steel, and its successor, U.S. Steel, for his entire working life. He rose from lab technician to Vice President.
Kerr is considered influential because, in 1880, he was sent to Sweden, to study and bring back, techniques for preparing "spiegeleisen", a key ingredient in newly developed Swedish steels.
US Steel made him its Vice President in charge of the production and distribution of ore, limestone and coal, in 1909. He retained that position until 1932, when he retired.
Legacy.
His alma mater, Lehigh University, granted him an honorary degree, in 1933.
In 1903 a lake freighter was named the "D.G. Kerr". When it was sold, and renamed, a second vessel, was commissioned the "D.G. Kerr", in 1916.


Illinois Street Historic District

The Illinois Street Historic District encompasses the principal business and residential area of the Fairbanks Exploration Company in Fairbanks, Alaska. It extends along Illinois Street from Slater Street to Noyes Slough, including a series of residential properties on the east side of the road, and the surviving buildings of the F.E. Company complex on the west side. The F.E. Company was a dominating economic force in interior Alaska during the second quarter of the 20th century, and its operations were managed and organized from this area. Included in the district are eight houses, including the Colonial Revival Manager's House and a group of 4 bungalows built by the company for its employees. The company also acquired and refurbished the 1911 home of Fred Noyes, for whom Noyes Slough is named. Of the company's once-extensive industrial complex on the west side of Illinois Street, only the administration building (612 Illinois Street) and the machine shop (behind the administration building and across the railroad tracks) survive. A portion of Illinois Street, which follows the original alignment of a dirt track through the area, is also included in the district.
The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Contributing Properties.
The historical district contains a total of 14 contributing properties, built between 1911 and 1935:


Sinhar Vikian Varvai coal mine

The Sinhar Vikian Varvai Coal Mine is a coal mine located in Sindh. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 3.57 billion tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world.


Phosphate mining in the United States

In 2015, 27.6 million metric tons of marketable phosphate rock, or phosphorite, was mined in the United States, making the US the world's third-largest producer, after China and Morocco. The phosphate mining industry employed 2,200 people. The value of phosphate rock mined was US$2.2 billion.
As of 2015, there are 10 active phosphate mines in four states: Florida, North Carolina, Idaho, and Utah. The eastern phosphate deposits are mined from open pits. The western deposits are mined from both surface and underground mines.
The exact phosphate content of the phosphate rock mined in 2015 is not available, but in the latest five-year period for which ore grades are available, 2009-2013, the grade of US phosphate rock varied from 28.5 to 29.0 percent P2O5.
As of 2016, remaining reserves of phosphate rock in the United States totaled 1.1 billion metric tons.
Industry structure.
As of 2017, there were 11 active phosphate mines in the US, operated by 5 companies. In addition, one mine in Idaho was in permitting and development status.
Phosphate mining operations in the US
Processing.
Many phosphate processing plants are located at the mines. In addition, some processing plants are located remote from the mines. Some process imported phosphate rock.
Use.
Phosphorus is an essential component of fertilizer. In 2013, about 90 percent of phosphate rock was used in fertilizer manufacture. Other uses included animal feed and detergents.
Geography.
The states mining phosphate rock as of early 2016 were, in descending order of tonnage mined: Florida, North Carolina, Idaho, and Utah. In 2016, 65 percent of US phosphate was mined in Florida.
Central Florida / Bone Valley / Florida Land-Pebble.
The Bone Valley mining district, also known as the Central Florida district, or the Florida Land-Pebble district, is centered in Polk County, Florida, and extends into Hardee, Hillsborough, and Manatee counties. As of 2013, phosphate was being extracted from five mines in the district, all operated by Mosaic.
Florida Hard Rock.
The Florida Hard Rock district mines phosphate from a belt up to wide and long, extending from Tallahassee on the west to Pasco County on the east. Phosphate deposits occur in Bradford County, Hamilton, and Union counties.
One mine is currently operating in the Hard Rock district: The Swift Creek mine, operated by Nutrien Ltd, in Hamilton County, Florida.
Beaufort County, North Carolina.
The North Carolina phosphate deposit was discovered in 1955. Phosphate is currently being extracted at the Aurora mine, operated by Nutrien Ltd.
South Carolina.
The first large-scale phosphate mining in the US were in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina, in Charleston, Colleton, and Beaufort counties. Mining started in 1868 and continued until 1938.
Tennessee.
Mining started in the central Tennessee phosphate district in 1896. Counties where mining took place included Giles, Hickman, Maury, and Williamson. The district has been inactive since 1991. It is regarded as largely exhausted.
Western region, Phosphoria Formation.
Parts of the Phosphoria Formation of the western United States carry economic grades of phosphorus. The Phosphoria has been mined in a wide area stretching north-south from southwest Montana, through western Wyoming and southeast Idaho, and into northeast Utah.
There are currently four active mines in Caribou County, Idaho, and one being permitted in Bear Lake County, Idaho.
Phosphate rock from the JR Simplot mine near Vernal, Utah, is crushed at the mine, then transferred in a slurry pipeline to the company's processing plant at Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Phosphate rock was formerly mined in Beaverhead, Granite, Powell, and Silver Bow counties in southwest Montana. The last operating phosphate mine in Montana, at Garrison, shut down in 1993. Phosphate was also formerly mined in Lincoln County, Wyoming.
Geology.
Although some igneous rocks have economic grades of phosphate, no igneous phosphate rock is mined in the US. Small amounts of phosphate were mined from igneous apatite deposits in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York. But since 1948, all phosphate deposits mined in the US have been sedimentary deposits. However, a small amount of phosphate was produced in the 1970s, as a byproduct of iron mining in Missouri.
Most phosphate mining is of sedimentary phosphorite, a phosphorus-rich deposit formed under shallow marine conditions. However, a number of US phosphate deposits occur where the original marine-deposited phosphate minerals have been concentrated by weathering and redeposition, often under nonmarine conditions.
Bone Valley, Florida.
The largest source of US phosphate is the Bone Valley, or Central Florida mining district, which produces from the Pliocene-age Bone Valley Formation.
Florida Hard Rock.
The Florida Hard Rock district mines phosphate from the Alachua Formation of Pliocene age. The Alachua Formation is nonmarine and consists of sediments rich in phosphate that was weathered from the Hawthorne Formation of Miocene age.
North Carolina.
The North Carolina phosphate deposit occurs in the Pungo River Formation of Miocene age.< The phosphate was deposited under shallow marine conditions.
South Carolina.
The South Carolina river-pebble deposits formed along modern rivers which reworked and concentrated lower-grade phosphate deposits.
Tennessee.
Three classes of phosphate deposits have been mined in central Tennessee; in order of decreasing importance: brown phosphate rock, blue phosphate rock, and white phosphate rock.
The most important phosphate deposits were the so-called brown phosphate rock, mined from Ordovician limestones, some parts of which are rich in phosphate. The highest-grade deposits were found where weathering or shallow groundwater had preferentially dissolved away the calcium carbonate. The last mine in Tennessee, which produced phosphate rock from the Bigby-Cannon formation, closed in 1991.
The blue phosphate rock was found in the Devonian-age Chattanooga Shale.
Minor phosphate production was mined from white phosphate rock, which formed in karsted Silurian limestones.
Western US, Phosphoria.
The western deposits, in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, are in the Phosphoria Formation of Permian age. The phosphate deposits occur in two members of the Phosphoria: the Retort phosphatic shale member in the upper part of the formation, and the Meade Peak phosphatic shale member in the lower part of the formation.
Northeast Utah Mississippian.
Although not presently mined, phosphate deposits occur in the Brazer limestone of Mississippian age in Utah.
History.
Large-scale phosphate mining in the US began in 1868 in coastal South Carolina. Access to river transport and proximity to the port of Charleston encouraged exports, and by 1885 South Carolina was producing half the world's phosphate. Phosphate mining in South Carolina declined rapidly in the 1890s, when mining of the higher-grade deposits in central Florida began. The central Florida district has provided the majority of US phosphate ever since.
US production of phosphate rock peaked in 1980 at 54.4 million metric tons. The United States was the world's largest producer of phosphate rock from at least 1900, up until 2006, when US production was exceeded by that of China. In 2015, the US produced 12 percent of the world's phosphate rock.
Environmental impacts.
For each ton of phosphoric acid produced by the processing of phosphate rock, five tons of waste are generated. This waste takes the form of impure, useless, radioactive solid called phosphogypsum. Somewhere between 100,000,000 and 280,000,000 tons of phosphogypsum waste are estimated to be produced annually worldwide.
These tailings piles and related ponds and dams can be sources of toxic chemicals, and are vulnerable to breach. For example, the 2021 Piney Point phosphate plant damn breach is predicted to have significant negative impacts on Tampa Bay.
Byproducts.
Fluoride.
Phosphorite typically contains more than 3% fluoride, in the mineral fluorapatite. Only a small amount is recovered.
In 2015, fluorosilicic acid equivalent to 114,000 tons of fluorite (fluorspar) was produced as a byproduct of phosphate rock processing. This material represented nearly all the US production of fluoride, which is subsequently converted to fluorine. The produced fluorine is used to prepare polymers, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Uranium.
The phosphorite deposits of Florida and of the western states contain from 0.005 to 0.02 percent uranium. Phosphorite deposits contain sufficient uranium to be an economic source when the price of uranium is high.
Uranium was extracted at two phosphate plants in the central Florida district from 1952 to 1961, and at seven plants during the period 1976-1998. The average uranium recovery was about 0.9 pounds U3O8 per metric ton of P2O5. However, uranium recovery is feasible only from the process that produces double superphosphate; most phosphate is processed into normal superphosphate, a process not amenable to uranium recovery.
Although no uranium has been recovered from US phosphate plants since 1998, the Central Florida phosphate deposits remain North America's largest uranium resource, containing an estimated one million tons of uranium.
Vanadium.
Some parts of the Phosphoria Formation, which is mined for phosphate in the western US, contain potentially economic concentrations of vanadium. In 2008, Rocky Mountain Resources announced that they had defined 6.7 million tons of ore containing 0.88 percent V2O5, at its Paris Hills prospect. The vanadium occurred in an bed in the Meade Peak shale member of the Phosphoria, immediately below a bed of ore-grade phosphate rock. The property has since been sold to Stonegate Agricom, and as of mid-2016 was still in permitting and development status.
As of 2015, no vanadium was being recovered from US phosphate operations.
International trade.
The US was a long-time exporter of phosphate rock, and from the 1960s into the 1990s a major exporter. The US became a net importer of phosphate rock for the first time in 1996. Since then the US has been a net importer each year. In 2015, the US imported about 12 percent of the phosphate it used.


Justin Marcum

Justin J. Marcum is a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Mingo and Logan Counties. Marcum also worked in the coal mines before becoming an attorney. He owns Marcum Law Office, PLLC in Williamson, West Virginia.
In the legislature, Justin J. Marcum fought for higher wages and jobs. He was named the Legislator of the Year in 2013.


Tahera (mining company)

Tahera Diamond Corporation was a Canadian diamond mining company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Tahera's Jericho Diamond Mine was Canada's third, and Nunavut's first, diamond mine.
Tahera opened the Jericho mine in 2006. During production Tahera had a diamond marketing alliance with Tiffany & Co. In 2007 the company reported financial losses due to operational difficulties, the high value of the Canadian dollar, high oil prices, and the short operating season of the Tibbitt-Contwoyto winter road in 2006.
In mid-January 2008, Tahera filed an application for protection from creditors, and in February it suspended its mining operations. Ore processing and diamond recovery continued until ore stockpiles were exhausted. In September 2008, a private Vancouver-based company announced a Plan Sponsorship Agreement with Tahera; however, in November Tahera announced that the Plan Sponsor's conditions were not met and the agreement fell through.
As of March 30, 2010 the company was in a stay period under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The company obtained court approval for the process of selling the Jericho Diamond Mine and other assets on 15 January 2010, and consequently opened a sales website.
On July 19, 2010 Shear Diamonds () announced that it had signed an agreement with Tahera Diamond Corp. and Benachee Resources Inc. to acquire the Jericho Diamond Mine. . The successful closing of the acquisition agreement was announced on August 27, 2010.


Charles Scott (footballer)

Charles Penman Scott (1885 – 10 August 1916) was a Scottish football outside right who played in the Scottish League for Cowdenbeath. He also played for Hearts of Beath and East Fife.
Personal life.
As of 1901, Scott was working as a miner and later married and had three children. On 9 January 1915, five months after Britain's entry into the First World War, Scott enlisted as a private in the Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders). He was appointed lance corporal in November 1915 and was posted to the Western Front the following month, but he was quickly returned to Britain for a hernia operation. Scott returned to the front in March 1916 and was hospitalised with scabies two months later. After his recovery, Scott was killed in action on the Somme on 10 August 1916 and was buried in Gordon Dump Cemetery.


Pench Kanhan Coalfield

Pench Kanhan Coalfield is located in Chhindwara District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
History.
In 1845, the earliest systematic exploration of India’s coal resources was initiated by D.H.Williams, Geological Surveyor of the East India Company. In 1924, Dr. Cyril Fox surveyed once again certain coal-bearing areas, including the Pench, Kanhan and Tawa Valleys.
The collieries in Pench Kanhan Coalfield were owned by several companies and owners such as
Amalgamated Coalfields Limited, Pench Valley Coal Company, N.H.Ojha & Co., J.A.Trivedi Brothers, Newton Chikli Collieries (Private) Ltd., S.C.Kambata (Pvt) Ltd., Oriental Coal Co. Ltd., Sial Ghogri Group and The Jamai Majri Coal Co. Ltd. These were nationalized in 1973.
The coalfield.
Satpura Coalfields are located in northern Chhindwara and Betul Districts, south of the Narmada. Three rivers flow through the area - Pench, Kanhan and Tawa. There are four coalfields in these valleys – Pench Kanhan Valley Coalfield, Mohpani Coalfield, Tawa Valley Coalfield and Pathakhera Coalfield. Outside the Damodar Valley, Satpura Gondwana Basin is the only area where coking coal is found in India.
The Pench Kanhan Valley Coalfield is situated to the northwest of Chhindwara. While Pench Valley has five seams in a column of 50-80 m thickness, the coal belt in the Kanhan valley stretches for about . In the Pench valley, except for seam no I, the other seams occur in patches.
Important collieries in the Pench valley are: Newton, Chikli, Borkuhi, Ramanwara, Eklahera, Bamori, North Chandameta, Chandameta, East Dongar Chikli, Ambara Sukri, Datla and Shivpuri. Important coalfields in the Kanhan valley are: Rakhikhol, Danwa, Kalichappar and Nandan. There is a virgin area to the north.
According to the Geological Survey of India, total reserves of coal (including proven, indicated and inferred) in the Pench Kanhan Coalfield is 2,411.28 million tonnes. Out this 657.39 million tonnes is medium coking coal, of which 347.06 million tonnes is available up to a depth of 300 m and another 310.33 million tonnes between 300 and 600 m. Total reserves of non-coking coal in the field is 1,753.89 million tonnes, of which 1,254.83 million tonnes is available up to a depth of 300 m, and another 499.06 million tonnes between 300 and 600 m.


List of coal mines in the United States

The following table lists the coal mines in the United States that produced at least 4,000,000 short tons of coal.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there were 853 coal mines in the U.S. in 2015, producing a total of 896,941,000 short tons of coal.


Marigold mine

The Marigold gold mine is an open pit gold mine in Valmy, Nevada, west-northwest of Battle Mountain. The mine is owned and operated by SSR Mining Inc.
Gold mineralization at Marigold is finely disseminated within sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks, including limestone, siltstone, breccias, meta-basalts and quartzite. The mining operation comprises 11 open pits, eight waste rock stockpiles, three leach pads, two carbon-in-leach processing facilities and a carbon processing and refining facility.
, the mine had Proven and Probable Reserves of 201.5 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 0.47 g/t, for 3.3 million ounces of gold. An anticipated mine-life, as of June 2018, of over ten years was estimated based on current Mineral Reserves.
The mine is located in northeastern Nevada, in eastern Humboldt County, 36 miles east of Winnemucca and four miles south of Valmy. The mine was owned 66.7% and 33.3% by Goldcorp Inc. and Barrick Gold respectively, until February 2014 when Barrick and Goldcorp sold the mine to Silver Standard Resources Inc. for $275 million.
In October 2017, a collision in the open pit portion of the mine killed two workers and injured others. Operations at the mine were suspended pending an investigation from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.


Darrell Lemaire

Darrell Lemaire (born August 28, 1926) is an American mining engineer and psychedelic drug researcher.


Sol Joel Park

Sol Joel Park is a public park in Earley, a town east of Reading, Berkshire, England, on the Wokingham Road. It was given to the Corporation of Reading in 1927 by Solomon Joel. Its official opening was by the then Duke of York, who subsequently became King George VI.
Earley Town Council had been in negotiation with Reading Borough Council, as successors to the Corporation of Reading, for some years now regarding the possibility of the transfer of ownership. A breakthrough in the negotiations came in 1998, when the Borough Council agreed to a 25-year lease of the old hard tennis court area on which the Town Council wished to erect a Sports and Skate Park. This facility, which has been provided by Earley Town Council, was officially opened in July 1999 by Councillor Andrew Long, Chairman of Earley Town Council. It includes one sport court for five-a-side football and/or basketball.
Discussions as to potential partnership arrangements between Earley Town Council and Reading Borough Council were successfully concluded in 1999 with regard to the remainder of the Park, which is held on a 50-year lease. When the area was conveyed to the Borough Council back in the 1930s, a Trust was set up by the late Sol Joel, and even if any new arrangement was agreed, Reading Borough Council, as the Trustees, would need to retain the freehold although Earley Town Council manages and has improved most of the remaining facilities.
There has been significant investment in facilities in the park in recent times. In Jan 2012 the then Mayor of Earley Town, Cllr Tim Chambers opened a large new skate park replacing the previous wooden structure and in June 2012 a new Parkour site, the first in the region, was officially opened by Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council Bob Wyatt and Earley Town Mayor Pauline Jorgensen. This has replaced the under used inline hockey pitch opened in 1999.
The Town Council replaced the pavilion on the site starting in September 2012 with the demolition of the old wooden structure.
Since 2012 the site has been protected by Fields in Trust as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge. This was a project to safeguard the future of parks and green spaces as public recreation land for future generations to enjoy and provide a permanent legacy of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.