No Spin Ag said:

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rausr said:

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Pencil prices coming down?

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What's a pencil, Boomer?

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They're those things in your junk drawer that are always broken and missing an eraser.

BigRobSA said:

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infinity ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

Even Maria is beginning to sound like Trump these days.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

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FWIW we need more mining engineers and we only graduate a few hundred annually right now, we need a few thousand.

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Why do we graduate so few? Is it because there are no jobs for those interested, so they end up taking their skills to HVAC or electricianing or plumbing? Or is the intake restricted for some reason?

So many fields have suffered because of offshoring and other unethical practices.

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Ummm, or, not many mines being started as we've become more and more efficient at things.

It's not always about ethics but often about "bidness".

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Right after high school I worked at a place that produced sulphur. They used the Frasch method to get sulphur out of the ground. Several "mines" were located in Texas and Louisiana. The last mine in the USA closed in 2000. This was because it was cheaper to get sulphur as a by product from oil and gas processing than it was to produce it. It wasn't CEOs, it wasn't H1Bs, it wasn't offshoring, or anyone else the finger pointers might name.

It was competition, it was innovation. Times change because of stuff like that. Milkmen no longer deliver door-to-door like in the old days, we no longer get just three TV stations, tv repairment don't come to your house to replace tubes, and doctors don't do housecalls.

Why TF are we diddling around with yankee doodle dumbasses when we could just put $1T into a guaranteed thing in Alabama that owns its own mine and has state of the art processing application?

Heineken-Ashi said:

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Why TF are we diddling around with yankee doodle dumbasses when we could just put $1T into a guaranteed thing in Alabama that owns its own mine and has state of the art processing application?

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What about the graphite mine in central Texas? Is it still operating?

infinity ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

Even Maria is beginning to sound like Trump these days.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

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FWIW we need more mining engineers and we only graduate a few hundred annually right now, we need a few thousand.

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Why do we graduate so few? Is it because there are no jobs for those interested, so they end up taking their skills to HVAC or electricianing or plumbing? Or is the intake restricted for some reason?

So many fields have suffered because of offshoring and other unethical practices.

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Just not as popular of a major and not offered everywhere. Most want to go into the primary engineering specialties (Electrical, Mechanical, Computer, Chemical, Biomedical, Aerospace) and don't even know about something like Mining Engineering. It's similar to Maritime specialties that are high demand but just not many folks going into it.

Have you ever been to upstate New York? I'm thinking not. Wonderful conservative place.

docb said:

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Have you ever been to upstate New York? I'm thinking not. Wonderful conservative place.

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I'm sure the Uighars in China are wonderful people, too. It doesn't matter; the rulers of the regime are who set policy. Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand, Mamdami, and the dem next to supermajority state houses make upstate conservatism meaningless from a political perspective

Bulldog73 said:

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docb said:

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Have you ever been to upstate New York? I'm thinking not. Wonderful conservative place.

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I'm sure the Uighars in China are wonderful people, too. It doesn't matter; the rulers of the regime are who set policy. Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand, Mamdami, and the dem next to supermajority state houses make upstate conservatism meaningless from a political perspective

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Ok? So have you been there? Or should we just not have industry in blue states?

Bulldog73 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

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Located in NY? And that's supposed to be an improvement over China?
Baby steps, I guess.

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Almost the same thing.

Kansas Kid said:

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infinity ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

Even Maria is beginning to sound like Trump these days.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

---

FWIW we need more mining engineers and we only graduate a few hundred annually right now, we need a few thousand.

---

Why do we graduate so few? Is it because there are no jobs for those interested, so they end up taking their skills to HVAC or electricianing or plumbing? Or is the intake restricted for some reason?

So many fields have suffered because of offshoring and other unethical practices.

---

It has absolutely nothing to do with offshoring or CEOs and everything to do with students not being prepared and/or wanting to do stem fields in general. Those that do want to enter those fields right now want to do areas involved with computers/AI. They also tend to avoid fields they incorrectly harm the environment like mining, chemical and petroleum engineering even though the salaries are among the highest in the country.

Regarding mining, the bigger issue with the downturn there is all of the government regulations and related lawsuits from environmentalists but then again, you always think the companies are the problem and not the government so you don't believe that line of thinking.

The spots available at a number of Universities for high school graduates that want to do it.

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To be fair I didn't even know there was a specific degree in it. Other than Colorado school of mines I've never even thought of the discipline, but I live in Texas and have never seen anything but a pit mine in this great state.

Stressboy said:

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Kansas Kid said:

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infinity ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

Even Maria is beginning to sound like Trump these days.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

---

FWIW we need more mining engineers and we only graduate a few hundred annually right now, we need a few thousand.

---

Why do we graduate so few? Is it because there are no jobs for those interested, so they end up taking their skills to HVAC or electricianing or plumbing? Or is the intake restricted for some reason?

So many fields have suffered because of offshoring and other unethical practices.

---

It has absolutely nothing to do with offshoring or CEOs and everything to do with students not being prepared and/or wanting to do stem fields in general. Those that do want to enter those fields right now want to do areas involved with computers/AI. They also tend to avoid fields they incorrectly harm the environment like mining, chemical and petroleum engineering even though the salaries are among the highest in the country.

Regarding mining, the bigger issue with the downturn there is all of the government regulations and related lawsuits from environmentalists but then again, you always think the companies are the problem and not the government so you don't believe that line of thinking.

The spots available at a number of Universities for high school graduates that want to do it.

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To be fair I didn't even know there was a specific degree in it. Other than Colorado school of mines I've never even thought of the discipline, but I live in Texas and have never seen anything but a pit mine in this great state.

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I think UTEP's got one too. They started out as a mining school and let that drift away. The new school of mines is firing up in 27 I believe.

techno-ag said:

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Stressboy said:

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Kansas Kid said:

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infinity ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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infinity ag said:

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This is good. Local availability, more jobs, less dependence on China.
Now let's not ruin this by shipping in H1Bs.

Even Maria is beginning to sound like Trump these days.

BREAKING: The United States just opened its first graphite mine since the 1950s to crush China's monopoly on critical minerals.

The mine is located in Upstate New York.

Graphite is needed for virtually all modern technology. It's used in EV batteries, aerospace (heat shields,… pic.twitter.com/n2HovEshZJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 15, 2026

---

FWIW we need more mining engineers and we only graduate a few hundred annually right now, we need a few thousand.

---

Why do we graduate so few? Is it because there are no jobs for those interested, so they end up taking their skills to HVAC or electricianing or plumbing? Or is the intake restricted for some reason?

So many fields have suffered because of offshoring and other unethical practices.

---

It has absolutely nothing to do with offshoring or CEOs and everything to do with students not being prepared and/or wanting to do stem fields in general. Those that do want to enter those fields right now want to do areas involved with computers/AI. They also tend to avoid fields they incorrectly harm the environment like mining, chemical and petroleum engineering even though the salaries are among the highest in the country.

Regarding mining, the bigger issue with the downturn there is all of the government regulations and related lawsuits from environmentalists but then again, you always think the companies are the problem and not the government so you don't believe that line of thinking.

The spots available at a number of Universities for high school graduates that want to do it.

---

To be fair I didn't even know there was a specific degree in it. Other than Colorado school of mines I've never even thought of the discipline, but I live in Texas and have never seen anything but a pit mine in this great state.

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I think UTEP's got one too. They started out as a mining school and let that drift away. The new school of mines is firing up in 27 I believe.

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Also South Dakota School of Mines

Most rocky mountain states have mining engineering program.

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro.

Graphite is a near-zero friction dry lubricant for valve actuators, enclosed gears, etc.

rausr said:

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Pencil prices coming down?

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It's a slippery slope.

Ag with kids said:

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https://moneywise.com/news/economy/utah-copper-mine-reopens-after-laying-dormant-for-nearly-6-years
quote from the article
-It was closed in 2019 amid a slump in the price of the metal due to trade war fears. But in 2023, Milford Mining acquired it and began hiring workers, according to a recent Fox 13 report.

When flying into Salt Lake it always amazed me how huge this mine was and now is again.

richardag said:

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When flying into Salt Lake it always amazed me how huge this mine was and now is again.

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Wow.

Even if those dump trucks are regular-sized "big" dump trucks, they're dwarfed and thusly that pic shows a YUGE mine.....if those are the GIANT dump trucks, that's just ridiculous.

BigRobSA said:

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richardag said:

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When flying into Salt Lake it always amazed me how huge this mine was and now is again.

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Wow.

Even if those dump trucks are regular-sized "big" dump trucks, they're dwarfed and thusly that pic shows a YUGE mine.....if those are the GIANT dump trucks, that's just ridiculous.

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I always wondered how many miles those dump trucks burned traveling from the top of the mine to the bottom then back up. Don't see any gas stations on the trip down & up. Would have thought a conveyor would have been better, but I'm not an engineer.

BigRobSA said:

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richardag said:

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When flying into Salt Lake it always amazed me how huge this mine was and now is again.

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Wow.

Even if those dump trucks are regular-sized "big" dump trucks, they're dwarfed and thusly that pic shows a YUGE mine.....if those are the GIANT dump trucks, that's just ridiculous.

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I'm guessing those are mine trucks, not even close to your standard dump truck.

This is a Cat 797, which is one of the smaller trucks used now



They have models that are roughly 2x this size on the bigger mines.

This is a battery electric truck. Most of them use diesel electric, just like locomotives - diesel engine that turns a generator that produces electric power to drive the wheels, etc. Much more fuel efficient than trying to run a normal ICE engine in something of that size.

One of the biggest issues with these precious metals is China owns the majority capacity to refine them. When it comes to oil refining, the US owns that. But China is ahead of the game in precious metals refining.

You can pick graphite up off the ground along RR 690 east of Lake Buchanan.

schmellba99 said:

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BigRobSA said:

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richardag said:

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When flying into Salt Lake it always amazed me how huge this mine was and now is again.

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Wow.

Even if those dump trucks are regular-sized "big" dump trucks, they're dwarfed and thusly that pic shows a YUGE mine.....if those are the GIANT dump trucks, that's just ridiculous.

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I'm guessing those are mine trucks, not even close to your standard dump truck.

This is a Cat 797, which is one of the smaller trucks used now



They have models that are roughly 2x this size on the bigger mines.

This is a battery electric truck. Most of them use diesel electric, just like locomotives - diesel engine that turns a generator that produces electric power to drive the wheels, etc. Much more fuel efficient than trying to run a normal ICE engine in something of that size.

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That was Bob LeTourneau's contribution to earth moving equipment back in the day. Well, one of many. He helped invent the bulldozer too. But the idea of electric engines for those giant wheels was something he capitalized on a lot.