Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/339575
AGGREGATES MANAGER July 2014 26 percent RAP, maximum, in its product, but Stauffer says it is working on a new Super- pave spec that will allow up to 25 percent RAP in the mix once it is fractionated. "We installed a Maxim Raptor drum on our as- phalt plant that will allow up to 50 percent RAP in the mix," he adds. "We're waiting for the state agency specs to catch up to what we're capable of here." An experienced and safe crew Stauffer raves about the crew at Hallwood Plant. "This particular group of employees has been here for 10 years," he says. "It's a family. It has been tough trying to keep ev- eryone working and maintaining a positive attitude through this down economy with all the uncertainty in the world today." The plant superintendent, Jim Dealba, has worked hard through the years to maintain a crew that has been cross- trained to be able to do any job in the plant, so no one has one specific job. This allows any member of the crew to do whatever is needed and to operate any piece of equipment. Another point of pride for Stauffer, and for Teichert, is the safety record at Hall- wood Plant. "We haven't had a single lost- time injury in 11 years," Stauffer explains. "We've received letters from MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) recognizing the plant, and have had zero citations from MSHA at three inspections in a row several times. We had OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin- istration) and MSHA here on the same day once and got zero citations from both agencies. We also received a CalCima award a few years ago recognizing us for our outstanding safety record. "The safety culture we've built here in the last 10 years is great," Stauffer con- tinues. "We try to treat everybody with respect, take care of each other, and watch out for each other. We operate under a Safe Production philosophy. Take the time to do things right and use the right tools for the job. We have a great group of people here. That's a big reason why we don't have any lost-time accidents or injuries." Reclamation and the environment Teichert has been operating under vested rights in the goldfields since it purchased the land, so it isn't required to do any ma- jor reclamation. But, the company did the right thing anyway by developing a proper reclamation plan using today's standards. "Teichert is a great company and al- ways tries to do the right thing," Stauffer says. "It goes above and beyond what the state and governing agencies require. We developed a full-blown mining and recla- mation plan and are operating under the spirit of that plan today. As we mine, we take out the moonscape of dredger tail- ings and create open-water and shoreline habitat. We decided to mine around a few of the existing big organic areas that have a lot of trees and tie our reclamation into them." After an area of dredger tailings is removed, a large pond is created by the dragline as it removes the sand below the water table. When the dragline is finished, the pond is left with vertical walls and banks, so Teichert shapes and sculpts the shoreline. First, cobbles are graded and placed on the shoreline to create the proper gentle slopes going into the water. Then, a 3- to 4-foot layer of silt is placed on top of the cobbles to support vegetation. Silt is the closest thing to dirt in the area, so it is dug out of the plant's settling ponds by the dragline, stockpiled, and hauled to the shoreline where it is dumped on top of the cobbles and graded into place. Once the site is ready, Teichert's res- toration team and biologists come out to The East Lagoon, once nothing but dredger tailings and pockets of water, was transformed by Teichert into a beautiful lake habitat surrounded by native trees and grasses.