Kris Palmer is a communications consultant for the CDA. She and her family toured the Quincy Mines and visited the Calumet Theatre in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in July. She shares her adventures and insights about the copper industry in Coppertalk.
Two words came to mind as my family and I embarked on a tour in mid- July of the old Quincy Copper Mine overlooking Houghton and Hancock in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula…“Resilience” and “Ingenuity.” To begin, the miners who worked in Quincy Mine, one of the first major copper producing companies in the world, used to climb long ladders down into the mine – we took the cog-wheel tram down a steep hill offering a panoramic view of the Houghton Lift-Bridge. At the bottom of the hill we put on our hard hats and foul weather gear, provided by the Historic 1894 Hoist House, and took an underground train through a horizontal mine tunnel opening called an “adit.” Our trip into the mine took about 15 semi-cozy minutes. For the miner of 1846 a one-way trip could take up to 2 bone-chilling, dark hours.
How Best to Comply with EISA if You Need to Fix or Replace a Commercial Motor
By David Brender, Copper Development Association (CDA) National Program Manager
Any new motor manufactured or sold after December 10, 2010 must meet certain energy efficiency standards, as stated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. David Brender, of the Copper Development Association, has some tips on how to comply with the new law.
There are a number of reasons you’ll want to replace a motor, primarily because an existing motor has failed, or it may not have failed, but it’s inefficient. The electricity the motor uses is about 98 percent of the cost of owning the motor. The purchase price is almost insignificant. In fact, with load cycles typical of an industrial or commercial application, the first cost of a motor may represent only one or two percent of the full cost of ownership. Most people don’t consider that – they just want the cheapest one. But that’s not the way to look at it. Read more…
The U.S. Department of Energy has New Energy Efficiency Requirements for Commercial-Size Motors
By David Brender, Copper Development Association (CDA) National Program Manager
David Brender has provided power quality and energy efficiency expertise to the copper industry for the last 15 years through his work with the CDA. A licensed professional engineer in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he is certified as a Power Quality Professional from the Association of Energy Engineers.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) goes into effect this year. The Act aims to slow down and eventually reduce America’s energy consumption. It’s important to understand EISA if you plan to purchase an electric motor this year. Under the law, motors of a commercial size become regulated as to energy efficiency. EISA expands on previous energy policy acts, expands the range of motors covered and the mandated efficiency of some of them. Read more…
Andy Kireta, Sr. is President and CEO of the Copper Development Association. He also serves on The Copper Club Board of Directors.
I’m privileged to be a part of The Copper Club’s effort to assist students as they pursue careers relating to the copper industry. Since the club began awarding scholarships to college students in 1994, we’ve awarded 73 grants totaling $1.4 million.
The awards dinner this year, held on June 2nd, marked the first time that The Copper Club has included high school students as grant recipients. Three deserving students each received a grant of $1,000. This new development allows us to extend needed funds to students from anywhere, including high schools in towns with mining sites where the kids might not otherwise have the opportunity to go to college or technical schools. This year, we gave out16 scholarships totaling $114,000.
Not bad for a not-for-profit.
Those interested in more information about The Copper Club educational grants should call 212-217-9874 or direct an email to info@copperclub.org. More information about The Copper Club can be found at http://www.copperclub.com.
By Andy Kireta, Sr. President and CEO of the Copper Development Association. He also serves on The Copper Club Board of Directors.
Good Traditions Live On
On June 2nd, nearly 500 people from all over the copper industry gathered for the Copper Club Annual Dinner at Guastavino’s in New York City, where this year’s Ankh Award was presented to Diego Hernandez, CEO of Codelco. The keynote speaker was Alexis Glick, former Vice President of Business News at the Fox Business Network and anchor of Money for Breakfast and The Opening Bell. The dinner is also a time when the Club awards financial scholarships to students who are interested in studies pertaining to copper.
Diego Hernandez, CEO of Codelco - Copperman of the Year
I look forward to this event every year. It’s really something to see so many people with copper in common, all gathered together in one place. The Ankh Award is probably the most prestigious award in the copper industry. It’s given each year by The Copper Club to a professional who has had a positive impact in one way or another. The Copper Club was established in 1944 and has been awarding the trophy itself, a replica of Rodin’s The Thinker, since 1962. So there’s a lot of meaning and tradition behind it.
The Copper Club is really growing. The dinner is a good way to honor those whose work promotes copper. It’s a good way for people to get together and share ideas, and to foster the pursuit of copper careers in young people. Ultimately, it’s good for the industry as a whole.
Left to right – Joe Robertson, Chairman of the nominating committee; Alexis Glick, keynote speaker; Diego Hernandez, CEO of Codelco; Arthur R. Miele, Chairman of Copper Club; Andy Kireta, Sr. President and CEO of the Copper Development Association
Those interested in more information about The Copper Club educational grants should call 212-217-9874 or direct an email to info@copperclub.org. More information about The Copper Club can be found at www.copperclub.org.
By Harold Moret, CDA Project Manager and Piping Applications Specialist
The Copper Development Association (CDA) has produced a series of five short, instructional how-to videos for anyone working with copper on architectural and plumbing projects. CDA Project Managers Larry Peters and Harold Moret developed the series of videos appropriate for both new construction and remodeling projects.
These educational videos were made to be helpful for the professional installer or do-it-yourselfer, who wants to learn about the correct techniques for installing copper piping and copper roofing, flashing, or other architectural systems. These videos are a great resource for someone looking for guidance on their next project.
We have a video on Copper Sheet Fabrication, describing the tools and basic preparation steps required for soldering copper sheet materials. The steps reviewed in this video are required for most of the application techniques employed to fabricate copper strip, sheet, and plate for architectural use. The video also describes the melting point for solders used with sheet copper.
The tinning copper and sheets video explains that before beginning the soldering of sheet materials you have to tin the soldering copper. This video covers cleaning, marking, flux and solder. Also, it shows the basic steps to tinning an edge. The program describes how to create a lap seam which is recommended when the copper sheet is too thick to form a flat lock seam and how to solder copper sheet material in roofing on relatively flat slopes.
There’s a video about soldering preparation and the materials used in soldering preparation. This program shows the different types of copper tubes, and how to measure and to cut copper tube. The soldering video reviews the proper techniques for fluxing and soldering. The first part of the program includes a description of certain flux and how to apply it. Part two shows how to properly apply heat and solder to a copper joint. Testing all assembly for joint integrity is emphasized in the program.
A fifth video program is about solderless fittings which are gaining acceptance throughout the industry. Push connects and press connects are demonstrated in the program.
The video series is available on the CDA web site and on CDA’s YouTube Channel. We plan to expand the how-to video series this year with additional architectural and plumbing techniques.
Pollution is warming the atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds, according to a computational study published May 10 in Geophysical Research […]
By Kris Palmer, CDA communications consultant
foul weather gear, provided by the Historic 1894 Hoist House, and took an underground train through a horizontal mine tunnel opening called an “adit.” Our trip into the mine took about 15 semi-cozy minutes. For the miner of 1846 a one-way trip could take up to 2 bone-chilling, dark hours.
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