Asarco Copper Refinery Case Study

My grandparents have owned a lake cottage in Piedmont, Ohio since before I was born. Ever since I was baby I have traveled the one and a half hour drive to our cottage. As I grew older, I took in the scenery and the little towns along the way. One sleepy little farm town in particular we drive through, seventeen minutes away from the lake, is called Cadiz; also known as the town that hosts the Hopedale Mining Coal Company. Yet, I never even knew until eighteen years later that a coal mining operation is stationed there.

In 1907, two miles south of Centralia, Illinois was the Centralia Mine No. 5. The Mine was there to provide coal during World War II. This particular mine employed 250 men and produced 2,000 tons of coal each day. During the next several years there were several complaints made regarding the safety of the mine. On March 25, 1947, the mine exploded, killing 111 miners. (Stillman, 2010)

The workforce constituted mainly of immigrants. Well-connected railway networks allowed the United Mine workers of America to bring immigrants to Colorado. It surely proved to be cost-effective for the company. The migrant workers were paid too poorly for them to be able to sustain their families. Miners were forced to work 10-12 hours a day. “Mine work seemed to turn boys into drones, women into men, and manly laborers into an inferior class of beings.”The company employed women and children in arduous working conditions with inadequate pay, compromising their health and well being. This in turn reduced the wages of the miners as they became easily replaceable.

There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change.

For our science assessment we had the task to research about a metal of our choice. Since I am really into computers, I chose copper. A metal used in all kinds of wires, cpu’s and other stuff without a computer wouldn’t work. This fits really well into what we have to do for the second part, describe how this metal has helped human society.

On Wednesday, July 29th, 2015 Alcoa IH department did heat stress monitor in the potrooms at Alcoa Warrick Operations. This monitor is a part of the heat stress awareness program during the summer. Working at the potrooms exposes the workers to physical hazards, such as noise, radiant energy, and heat. Since the pots run at temperatures of about 980 ̊C, there is potential for heat stress hazard and burns from hot electrolytic bath and metal to occur. Workers in potrooms are in hot environments most of the time. Therefore, they are particularly at risk of heat stress since ventilation may not afford sufficient cooling. Workers at the potrooms are working for 12-hour shifts. During this 12 hours, workers are require to do 17 set up carbon which exposes workers to open pot heat 17 times every day. Exposed to heat for that long time will cause a potential heat stress hazard.

Copper is an essential part of the history of the United States, as most industrial machines need copper to operate. Wiring, vehicle construction, and roofing are but a few things made with copper. PDC was one of the leading copper mines in the Arizona. PDC was the “owner” of Morenci, the company owns or controls major services in the town, everything from electric power to the police service (Rosenblum, 1995 p.5). Many of the mineworkers, a majority (80%), were Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, who settled in Arizona in the early parts of the 20th century. This ethnic group fought long and hard for union representation as a way to solidify employee benefits and hold PDC accountable for unfair labor laws. In 1981, an economic recession affected the price of precious metals, including copper. In 1982, PDC faced three challenges: international competition, hard bargaining unions, and resistance to internal changes. PDC was forced to terminate 3,400 miners’

In its early days Sedro Woolley was a popular railroad and logging area. Ideally located to serve as a hub for railway shipping and travel, the communities that evolved into Sedro Woolley as we know it thrived in part due to coal mining, as well. Deep roots in the logging industry make it no surprise

The Copper Basin of southeastern Tennessee is an area that is climatically unique with a rich history rooted in copper mining. It is thought that man is responsible for the total destruction of the environment over this large area, but it is mostly contributed to the exclusive location. The Copper Basin was susceptible to negative environmental effects due to its topographical, geological, climatic, edaphic, and meteorological location. However, the copper mining had a transformative effect on the surrounding lands that of which are still recovering.

The owners of the mines preyed on immigrants from outside of the United States with promises of bringing them to the United States, bringing them to Colorado, setting them up with a job and housing and

XIII. Carefully remove the copper metal from the filter paper onto the watch glass. (with a spatula) Place a 400 ml beaker on a hot plate contained with water. Carefully place the watch glass before the water boils to dry the copper metal. (Use the tongs to handle the hot watch glass)

Midwest Copper Mining’s (MCM) biggest problem they are facing is that of sustaining supportable profit growth, as the undercurrents of the copper mining industry are changing. In particular, they need to figure out how they are going to increase their capacity to meet demands globally. They also need to figure out how to do this without disrupting the current culture of the business. They have been very successful and have created process and procedures that have kept them sustainable over the years. With the changing of the copper industry, MCM needs to re-evaluate their business strategy, make changes as necessary, in order to continue to be a successful company that is both a cost-leader and a differentiator.

1. Analyze the economic rationale of the Carborundum acquisition. Under what conditions an acquisition would be expected to add to shareholder value in general? Do any of these reasons apply to Carborundum acquisition?

The DGL case study is about the manufacture of refinery equipment and its urgent situation. The company has been haired the John Terrill as a new manager to manage its technical services division and informed the urgent situation of technical service division by having the 20 engineers with high paid and educated but least-productive division in the company. The instruction was turn around him.

Paying dividends will reduce the available funds of the company but is a way to increase shareholder value. Increasing or decreasing of DPR spells out the standing of the company to its shareholders. Reduction or not giving dividends for a period will reduce AFN but will mean that the company is struggling to provide enough profit. Shareholders may see this as a signal that further investments for the company are riskier.